Murray State University Athletics
Skirka Introduces New Baseball Coaching Staff
8/16/2018 8:40:00 AM | Baseball
Murray State head baseball coach Dan Skirka has hired Tanner Gordon, Kent Rollins and Ryan Fucci to round out his coaching staff as he prepares for his first season with the Racers.
"I was looking for three main qualities when I started the process of filling out my staff: great human beings who would represent the university well, having a championship pedigree, and being a baseball junkie who is passionate about the game," said Skirka. "I think these three guys match those criteria and knocked everything else out of the park."
Tanner Gordon will serve as the pitching coach as he brings seven years of coaching experience with him, spending the last three seasons at Trevecca Nazarene University. While in Nashville, he helped lead the team to two Great Midwest Athletic Conference regular season titles and coached three first-team all-conference pitchers, including the 2016 GMAC Reliever of the Year, as well as five second-team all-conference pitchers and two all-conference freshman pitchers.
"Tanner is a proven winner, a tireless worker, and a great communicator and baseball mind. Our relationship over the past 4 years made it a no-brainer to ask him to lead our pitching staff," Skirka remarked.  "Tanner is also very tied in with the baseball community in the region, which will add to our recruiting efforts."
Prior to Trevecca Nazarene, Gordon spent a year as a volunteer assistant coach at Mercer University, where he worked with outfielders, including Kyle Lewis, the 11th overall pick in the 2016 MLB Draft. Gordon also spent a year at Middle Georgia State College and two years at Andrew College.
Kent Rollins joins the Racers as an assistant coach and comes to Murray State after serving as an assistant coach at Georgia College & State University the past two seasons, winning two Peach Belt Conference championships in the process. He helped lead the Bobcats to the highest batting average in the nation in Division II in both seasons as well as the top fielding percentage in 2018.
"After driving up from Georgia to meet with me, I came away very impressed and knew I wanted him to help lead the Racers," said Skirka. "His knowledge and passion for the game shows and that will carry over with our development of our current players and recruitment of new student-athletes."
Prior to coaching, Rollins signed with Auburn University out of high school before playing two seasons at Middle Georgia State College and two seasons at Georgia Southern University. He was also drafted out of high school in the 48th round by the San Diego Padres.
Ryan Fucci joins the staff as a volunteer assistant coach after serving as an instructor at the Kentucky Baseball and Softball Academy in Lexington the past two years, helping develop players' hitting, fielding and pitching mechanics. He also spent two summers scouting players for the Kentucky Baseball Club summer travel team as well as developing their mechanics.
"Although this will be Ryan's first coaching job, I am fully confident he is going to be a superstar in this profession and have a great impact on our program. Â He comes from great baseball bloodlines and had a ton of success as a player," expressed Skirka.
As a player, Fucci signed with Western Kentucky out of high school before transferring to Wright State, playing two seasons, where he was the team captain his senior season while winning team MVP and being named First-team All-Horizon League and Second-Team All-Mideast Region. Following his senior season, he was drafted in the 25th round by the Seattle Mariners.
"We have already built a great rapport together, which will rub off on our players and their performance on and off the field," Skirka added. "I couldn't be happier with our staff and look forward to working with them in setting the culture here and helping the Racer baseball program succeed."
