Greg Bauer Hometown: Tulsa, Okla. Position: Assistant Coach Experience: Third Season at WFU Alma Mater: Wichita State, 2000

Greg Bauer is in his third season as an assistant coach with the Wake Forest baseball program. Bauer serves primarily as the Demon Deacons' pitching coach.

"Greg has been a very successful pitcher in both the collegiate and professional ranks and has accumulated an expansive base of pitching knowledge," said Wake Forest head coach Rick Rembielak upon Bauer's hiring. "I feel that his philosophy fits extremely well into our program.

"Hiring Greg wasn't much different than how we recruit a student-athlete. We want an individual who has the talent to succeed in the ACC, who has a winning background and who has the ideals that we are looking for at Wake Forest. We feel we found those characteristics in Greg," added Rembielak.

Bauer came to Wake Forest after pitching for six seasons in the minor league ranks. Prior to his professional career, Bauer was an All-American hurler at Wichita State.

His experience and knowledge paid immediate dividends for the Demon Deacon pitching staff in 2007. Most notably, Bauer helped turn Josh Ellis and Eric Niesen into one of the top bullpen tandems in the ACC.

Ellis emerged as Wake Forest's closer, finishing the year with 11 saves and 72 strikeouts in 50.2 innings pitched. Niesen transitioned from a starter to the bullpen midway through the year. As a reliever, Niesen had a 1.80 ERA with 50 strikeouts in 40.0 innings pitched. Both Ellis and Niesen were selected in the 2007 MLB Amateur Draft and signed professional contracts.

Bauer also helped Ben Hunter transition from the Deacons' closer to a weekend starter. Hunter was an All-American closer in 2006 but transformed into a top-notch starter for the Deacs in 2007. Hunter went 5-1 with a 2.52 ERA and 55 strikeouts in eight starts in 2007.

With Bauer's help, Garrett Bullock emerged as one of the ACC's top starting pitchers in 2007. After starting the year as the Sunday starter, Bullock progressed into Wake Forest's No. 1 starting hurler. Bullock finished 2007 with an ACC-best 13 pickoffs.

In 2008, Bauer continued to pay dividends for the Wake Forest pitching staff. Charlie Mellies finished the season strong, closing the year with three consecutive complete games, including a complete game shutout against Boston College in the last series of the regular season. Hunter also continued to improve on the mound and was drafted by the Cincinnati Reds in the 2008 MLB Draft.

Bauer spent six seasons playing professionally with the Los Angeles Dodgers, St. Louis Cardinals and Philadelphia Phillies before beginning his collegiate coaching career.

He was drafted three times before finally signing with the Dodgers after being taken in the 22nd round of the 2000 MLB Amateur Draft.

Bauer spent four seasons in the Dodgers organization, pitching his way up to the Double-A level with the Jacksonville Suns.

Primarily used as a relief pitcher, he was a Rolaids Relief finalist for the South Atlantic League in 2001. He led all Dodger farmhands in ERA and appearances for relief pitchers in 2002 and 2003.

In 2004, Bauer was picked up by the St. Louis Cardinals and attended Major League Spring Training with the team. He pitched for the Cardinals' Double-A affiliate, the Tennessee Smokies, during the 2004 season.

In his final season of professional baseball in 2005, Bauer pitched for the Reading Phillies, the Double-A affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies.

He spent a season each in the Panamanian Winter League (2001), the Arizona Fall League (2002) and the Dominican Winter League (2003). Bauer was an All-Star in the Panamanian League and posted a 0.00 ERA for Arizona Fall League champion Peoria.

Bauer was also a member of the U.S. Olympic Baseball Team that competed in the World Baseball Cup in Europe in 2005.

While at Wichita State, Bauer was a part of four consecutive Missouri Valley Conference titles from 1997-2000. He was a Collegiate Baseball All-American in 2000 and a three-time Academic All-American from 1998-2000.

Bauer was also a Collegiate Baseball Freshman All-American in 1997 and the MVC Pitcher of the Year in 2000.

During his college days, Bauer also spent two summers pitching for the Falmouth Commodores in the Cape Cod Summer Collegiate League in 1997 and 1998. He was a Cape Cod All-Star in 1997.

He received his bachelor's degree in exercise science and kinesiology with an emphasis in chemistry and physics from Wichita State in 2000.

"I'm excited to be a part of the Wake Forest baseball program. We have a lot of hard-nosed guys--guys that will buckle down and get after it," said Bauer upon his hiring in October of 2006. "I'm looking forward to the opportunity to help them get better and succeed."

Bauer and his wife, Lauren, have been married for four years.