Page 43 - DBU Baseball 23

MICAH POSEY–PITCHING COACH
Micah Posey is in his third season as the Pitching Coach at DBU. In each of his first two seasons with the Patriots, DBU has reached the NCAA postseason, highlighted by a trip to the Columbia Super Regional in 2021.
Under Posey’s direction last season, the Patriots pitching staff led the Missouri Valley Conference and ranked 26th nationally in strikeouts per nine innings (10.0). The Patriots’ 10.0 strikeouts per nine innings set a new school record, previously held by last year’s staff. DBU pitchers also held
opponents to a league-low 8.9 hits per nine innings.
A pair of Patriot pitchers were selected in the Major League Draft following the 2022 season including Jacob Meador, a 12th round selection of the St. Louis Cardinals, and Chandler Arnold, who went in the 13th round to the St. Louis Cardinals. Arnold was also tabbed a First Team All-Missouri Valley Conference selection after leading the league in saves.
In his first year with the Patriots in 2021, DBU won the Fort Worth Regional and reached the Columbia Super Regional, falling just one win shy of advancing to the College World Series. The Patriots also clinched both the Missouri Valley Conference regular-season and tournament titles in Posey’s first year as the team’s pitching coach. At season’s end, DBU compiled the top ERA (4.28) in The Valley and also led the league in strikeouts per nine innings (9.93).
Posey directed a Patriot pitching staff in 2021 that produced All-American Dominic Hamel, who set the school’s single-season strikeout record, fanning 136 batters in 2021. Hamel also broke the program’s Division I record for wins (13) in a season. Along with Hamel, Posey coached five DBU pitchers that garnered All-MVC honors in 2021 including First Team selections Rhett Kouba and Peyton Sherlin, along with Luke Eldred and Kragen Kechely who were each tabbed as Honorable Mention selections.
Following the 2021 season, Dominic Hamel became the sixth-highest draft pick in school history when he was taken by the New York Mets in the third round with the 81st overall pick. Rhett Kouba (12th round - Houston Astros) and Ross Carver (20th round - Arizona Diamondbacks) were also selected in the 2021 MLB Draft.
Posey joined the Patriots after spending three seasons at East Tennessee State University. During the shortened 2020 season, Posey’s pitching staff at East Tennessee State compiled the sixth-best strikeout-to-walk ratio (4.15) at the NCAA Division I level, totaling 166 strikeouts compared to just 40 walks. The Buccaneers also ranked 19th in the nation in strikeouts per nine innings (11.1).
In just his second season in 2019, Posey’s staff was regarded as one of the best in college baseball, ranking in the top 20 nationally in four categories as the Bucs ranked sixth in walks allowed per nine innings (3.00), 11th in ERA (3.48), 17th in WHIP (1.27), and 20th in strikeouts-to-walk ratio (2.69). Posey also directed the Buccaneer pitching staff to the second-most strikeouts (441) in program history and the fifth-most wins (34).
Along with ETSU’s team success on the mound, Posey also helped to develop one of the elite arms in college baseball in Landon Knack. As a senior right-handed pitcher, Knack was selected as the 60th overall pick by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the second round of the Major League Draft
last June. In 2020, Knack posted a 4-0 record with a 1.08 ERA and led the nation in strikeouts (51) before the season was cancelled. In 25.0 innings, Knack allowed just one walk and ranked fourth in the country in WHIP (0.52) and eighth in walks allowed per nine innings (0.36).
During his three seasons at ETSU, Posey also developed Michah Kaczor, a First Team All-Southern Conference selection in 2019. Kaczor registered the second-lowest ERA (2.13) in a single-season in school history and compiled the Bucs’ third lowest career ERA (3.42). Following the 2019 season, Kaczor signed a professional contract with the Colorado Rockies.
Prior to his three-year stint at ETSU, Posey spent four years working with the pitching staff at Elon University. In his first season at Elon in 2013, the Phoenix won the Southern Conference Baseball Tournament and reached the finals of the Charlottesville Regional. In 2017, Elon’s staff ranked No. 25 in the nation in strikeouts per nine innings (9.0), established a school record for strikeouts (491) and tossed two no-hitters.
Under Posey’s leadership at Elon, Kyle Brnovich was named the Colonial Athletic Association Freshman of the Year and was tabbed a Collegiate Baseball Freshman All-American in 2017 after posting a 3.10 ERA and striking out 103 batters in 90.0 innings.
During Posey’s 10 years at the collegiate level, he has coached 29 players who were either drafted or signed professional baseball contracts. Most notably, Posey coached Addison Russell, a five-year veteran with the Chicago Cubs and an All-Star in 2016, while working for Prospectwire as a scout and coach. Russell was the 11th overall pick in the 2012 MLB Draft and won a World Series title with the Cubs in 2017.
Posey’s coaching career began under the tutelage of his father, Mike Posey, who has won over 700 games and four state championships at North Florida Christian School. In four years as an assistant coach, Posey helped lift North Florida Christian to a Class 3A state title in 2011 and was ranked No. 30 in the nation at season’s end by Baseball America.
During his time at North Florida Christian, Posey coached five pitchers that were eventually selected in the MLB Draft, including 1st round pick, Cole Ragans (2016 - Texas Rangers), 4th rounder Carson Sands (2014 - Chicago Cubs), 5th rounder Cole Sands (2018 - Minnesota Twins), 25th round pick Gage Smith (2014 - Detroit Tigers), and 33rd round pick MT Minacci (2015 - Chicago Cubs).
Following the 2011 season at North Florida Christian, Posey accepted his first head coaching position with the Next Level Baseball 16U team before reaching the NCAA Division I ranks in 2013 at Elon.
Prior to his coaching career, Posey was a 15th round selection of the Anaheim Angels in 2001 out of North Florida Christian School. A left-handed pitcher, Posey spent four seasons in the Angels’ minor league system and was a Midwest League All-Star selection in 2004. He went on to pitch two years in Independent Baseball and was named to the United League All-Star Team and won a league championship in 2008.
Following his professional baseball career, Posey graduated from Florida State University with a degree in Marketing in 2011. He is married to Julie Posey and became a father in April 2018.
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