Creston, IA—Head Southwestern Community College Baseball Coach Kenny Namanny announced late last week, after two years at the helm and five years assisting with the Spartan baseball program, he has resigned his position. Southwestern will begin searching for a new head baseball coach immediately.

Namanny, a Schleswig native, served as assistant baseball coach and recruiting coordinator for the Spartans, under Head Coach Pedro Hernandez, from 2014-17. During that time, he was a residence hall coordinator and assisted with game management for basketball. Namanny moved to the head coaching position in August 2017 when Hernandez moved back to Puerto Rico with his family. In addition to coaching, in the summer of 2018, Namanny was named athletic operations and compliance director for the college and he has been an adjunct instructor since August 2017. Namanny is a 2011 graduate of Southwestern and exceled for Spartan baseball during his years as a student-athlete.

Dr. Barb Crittenden, Southwestern’s president, said Namanny is known as a coach who not only brings in great athletes, but also great students.

“We wish Kenny nothing but the best as he heads out on his next venture,” stated Crittenden. “It has been enjoyable watching Kenny grow from a student-athlete to a coach, an instructor, and a professional all during his time at Southwestern. He has recruited and coached some outstanding individuals with the ability to perform in the classroom as well as on the playing field.”

Namanny said when he reflects on his time at Southwestern, he is confident he and his coaching staff provided a good product for their student-athletes.

“We had a baseball program that consistently brought in a strong number of student-athletes and they did a tremendous job of changing the culture of our program and also performed extremely well in the classroom,” Namanny stated. “After this spring, we will likely have coached close to 90 academic all-region players during the last five years. That says a lot about our kids and I couldn’t be more proud of them.”

Namanny said he will also miss his co-workers at the college.

“I got to work alongside some great people during my five years at Southwestern and we were able to do some outstanding things during that time,” Namanny said. “It was a pleasure to work under Coach Hernandez during my first three years and Coach Ratz [Jake Ratz, assistant baseball coach] has done a phenomenal job with our hitters and our strength program the past two years. Not to mention Steve Westphal who volunteers his time to be with us. I couldn’t ask for a better group.”

Namanny will end his time with Southwestern and Spartan baseball following the Spartans’ spring 2019 tournament run in early- to mid-May.