Wheaton College Alumni Magazine Spring 2013 | Page 12
WHEATON sports
From the Big Ten
By Brett Marhanka, Sports Information Director
Wheaton’s new
head baseball
coach combines
Division I
experience with
faith-first priorities.
was named the
head coach of Wheaton’s baseball
program in August 2012, it was the
first head coaching post of his 17-year
career. He’s used all of those years,
however, to prepare for such a post.
Matt says, “As an assistant coach,
I’ve had the opportunity to be involved
in all the aspects of running a college
baseball program, from mentoring
and disciplining student-athletes to
handling budgets, organizing practices,
and managing games.”
Matt went to Texas Christian
University (TCU) and then transferred
to Miami University in Oxford, Ohio,
When Matt Husted
10 S P R I N G 2 0 1 3
where he earned his bachelor’s degree
in mass communications. He recalls,
“I was a walk-on at both TCU and
Miami. I was a catcher, never a star,
but playing college baseball was a
passion of mine. I really wanted it and
would not give up.”
After graduation, Matt considered
sales jobs and other options but felt
led to go into coaching. He took his
first coaching job as an assistant at
Grace College in Indiana. Earning just
$500 a year, he worked as if it were
a full-time job. Three years later, he
decided to try Division I ball and took
a volunteer coaching position at Ball
State University, where he worked for
four years. He took two more coaching
positions before rejoining former Ball
State head coach Rich Maloney in
2008 to serve on Maloney’s staff at
University of Michigan.
“Being a grinder as a baseball player
helped me through the process of my
various coaching jobs,” says Matt. “The
process was good for me. I don’t feel a
sense of entitlement, and I think that is
something that I try to pass on to our
players.”
Matt worked under coach Rich
Maloney for nine years and calls him
“a great mentor.” He feels blessed to
have worked under a Christian boss
on coaching staffs made up entirely of
Christians.
Though he interviewed for Division
I coaching jobs, he says, “God just
showed a different path.”
He’s excited at the opportunities
Wheaton presents not just to talk about