11 minute read
Assistant Coaches / Baseball Staff
Cal Poly Assistant Coach Ben Greenspan
Known nationwide as an elite recruiter, Ben Greenspan was hired as an assistant coach at Cal Poly in July 2021 after coaching as an assistant at Arizona State for seven seasons. A total of 30 Sun Devils were selected in the Major League Baseball Draft during Greenspan’s tenure at Arizona State.
Advertisement
BEN GREENSPAN First Year
Ben Greenspan, assistant baseball coach at Arizona State for seven seasons, including the last four as associate head coach, was hired as an assistant coach at Cal Poly in July 2021.
Greenspan works primarily with the Mustang catchers and also will assist with the team's offense. He also is the Mustangs' recruiting coordinator. "Ben is a solid addition to the Cal Poly baseball program," said Mustang head coach Larry Lee. "He has recruited successfully at two Power 5 programs and has been around highlevel players from his early days as an assistant coach. Ben will work with our catchers and also be involved on the offensive side. We look for Ben, along with coach (Jake) Silverman, to identify and bring in the level of player needed to compete at the highest level in college baseball."
With the Sun Devils, Greenspan coached the offense, worked with the catchers and was the team's recruiting coordinator. During Greenspan's tenure, Arizona State earned NCAA regional berths in 2015, 2016, 2019 and 2021. "I am appreciative of the opportunity to coach at Cal Poly under the tutelage of Larry Lee," said Greenspan. "Coach Lee is universally respected as a baseball coach and person. I'm excited to join a talented group of student-athletes and coaches to pursue championships at Cal Poly."
Greenspan established himself as one of the elite recruiters in the nation during his time in Tempe while also being instrumental in the program's development of talent, as demonstrated by Arizona State's 30 Major League Baseball draft picks under his guidance.
His recruiting acumen was solidified with the 2021 recruiting class ranked No. 10 in the nation by Baseball America. The Sun Devils brought in a top-10 recruiting class in four of the last five seasons. The 2020 crop of newcomers was ranked as the No. 8 signing class by both Baseball America and D1Baseball. The 2018 class -- which included the No. 1 overall pick in the 2020 MLB Draft, Spencer Torkelson -- was ranked No. 4 by Baseball America and No. 6 by D1Baseball. The 2017 class was ranked No. 7 by Baseball America and No. 9 by D1Baseball.
Torkelson was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2020 MLB Draft whike Alika Williams (the 37th pick of the 2020 first round) and Hunter Bishop, the No. 10 overall pick in 2019, all were recruited by Greenspan.
Greenspan assembled the No. 1 recruiting class in the nation in 2016, according to Collegiate Baseball Newspaper. The class was headlined by Bishop, who was rated the 15th-best outfielder in the nation by Perfect Game. Other highlights of that class included 2019 MLB Draft selections Carter Aldrete, Alec Marsh and Lyle Lin.
Greenspan followed that up in playing a big part in another top-five nationally ranked recruiting class in 2017, and the top recruiting class in the Pac-12 and the West. The 2017 Sun Devil class featured six signees who participated in the 2015 Area Code Baseball Games, an invitation-only elite baseball event held annually in Long Beach, Calif. The class includes Arizona State's entire starting infield in Torkelson, Williams, Workman and 2019 Pac-12 All-Defensive selection Drew Swift. Greenspan oversaw the Sun Devil baseball program's annual competition schedule, arranging over 20 non-conference games and series per season. Well-embedded in the professional baseball community, Greenspan is the program's liaison with professional scouts, analysts and coaching staffs in the MLB and played a pivotal role in preparing the current Sun Devils for life at the next level of competition. In addition to his off-the-field duties, Greenspan spent the majority of his time at Arizona State as the team's third-base coach. He was heavily involved in in-game coaching decisions from the dugout and was a key member of the coaching staff in the program's development of scouting reports on upcoming opponents.
Greenspan spent six seasons as an assistant coach at Indiana, including the last year (2014) as recruiting coordinator, and worked extensively with the team's catchers and hitters. The Hoosiers' offense ranked in the top 25 in the nation in batting average, slugging percentage, total hits and extra-base hits in 2014.
Greenspan mentored some of the most prolific hitters in Indiana program history, including two-time All-American catcher Kyle Schwarber, current Oakland Athletics catcher Josh Phegley, and 2010 Big Ten Player of the Year Alex Dickerson. He also played a large role in developing talent at Indiana as 11 of his position players were selected in the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft, including five in the top five rounds. In the nine years Greenspan has served as a catching coach, his guidance has produced a First Team AllConference player at that position in five of those seasons with two of them currently playing in the Major Leagues (Schwarber and Phegley).
Schwarber, who was selected with the fourth overall pick in the 2014 MLB Draft, was a 2013 First Team All-American and was named the best catcher in the country by Perfect Game and the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association. Dickerson won the 2010 Big Ten Triple Crown after he batted .419 with 24 home runs and 75 RBIs.
Greenspan's additional hitting protégés include 2012 Big Ten Freshman of the Year Sam Travis, two-time All-American Dustin DeMuth and current major leaguers Micah Johnson and Ethan Wilson.
Greenspan played two seasons at Indiana and was a Hoosier team captain and Academic All-Big Ten performer in 2007. He spent two years at Connecticut as a catcher and first baseman before joining the Indiana program. He earned a bachelor's degree in Sport Marketing and Management in 2007 and a master's degree in Sport Administration in 2008 from Indiana.
Greenspan is originally from West Point, N.Y., and is married to his wife, Janine. The pair have two children, Grayson and Adalyn.
Cal Poly Assistant Coach Jake Silverman
JAKE SILVERMAN Third Year
Jake Silverman, an assistant coach at Cal State Fullerton, UCLA and Nevada over the previous 11 seasons, was hired as Cal Poly’s pitching coach in August 2019.
Silverman worked with the catchers, served as recruiting coordinator and also assisted with hitting and base running at Nevada the last four years (2016-19).
Before taking the job at Nevada, Silverman spent five seasons (2011-15) with UCLA as an assistant to the pitching coach, helping the Bruins compile a 202-103-1 record in that span with four postseason appearances. Silverman and UCLA earned two trips to the College World Series, including the Bruins’ national championship season in 2013.
Silverman also coached at Cal State Fullerton as an undergraduate assistant for two seasons (2009-10).
“Jake is a great addition to our staff,” said Mustang head coach Larry Lee. “He has learned from some of the best coaches in college baseball. He is young and has the energy necessary to be successful at this level.
Silverman helped the Nevada Wolf Pack haul in the 35th-ranked recruiting class in 2016 as selected by Collegiate Baseball. It is the first nationally ranked recruiting class in school history. Nevada boasted one of the most prolific offenses in the Mountain West, posting a .338 team batting average in conference play on its way to winning the regular-season title in 2018. Nevada’s 2016 squad tied for second in the Mountain West with a .319 batting average and led the conference fielding .977. The .977 field percentage set a school record and ranked in the top 25 nationally. In his final year at UCLA, Silverman helped guide the Bruins to a 45-16 overall record, a Pac-12 title and a 3-2 record at the regionals. The Bruins posted a 49-17 record in 2013 and matched a school record with 21 league wins. UCLA went 10-0 in the postseason and won the program’s first national championship. In his first season with UCLA (2011), the Bruins posted a 35-24 record and won their first outright Pac-12 title since 1986. In two seasons as an undergraduate assistant coach at Cal State Fullerton, Silverman helped the Titans advance to the College World Series in 2009 and to an NCAA Super Regional in 2010.
A native of Tustin, Calif., Silverman is a 2005 graduate of Foothill High School in Santa Ana. At Fullerton College, he batted .350 in 16 games as a freshman in 2006. In 2007, he earned the Art Nunn Award for exemplary acts on and off the field while seeing action in 14 games.
Silverman earned an associate’s degree from Fullerton College before obtaining a bachelor’s degree in communications from Cal State Fullerton in 2009.
Volunteer Assistant Coach Justin Bridgman
JUSTIN BRIDGMAN Volunteer Assistant Coach Second Year
Justin Bridgman, who served as graduate manager at Arizona last spring following a four-year playing career at Nevada and two seasons in the Minor Leagues, was hired as a volunteer assistant coach at Cal Poly in July 2020.
A graduate of Damonte Ranch High School in Reno, Nevada, Bridgman became a starter as a true freshman at Nevada and appeared in 203 games for the Wolf Pack, hitting .311 with 33 doubles and 75 RBIs with 33 steals. He was primarily a second baseman early in his career with the Wolf Pack before becoming a shortstop as a junior and senior.
Earning second-team All-Mountain West Conference honors as a senior with a .313 average and named to the All-Mountain West Tournament Team as a junior after hitting .351, Bridgman was drafted by the Tampa Bay Rays in the 28th round in 2017 and played for four teams in the minors -- Princeton, Hudson Valley, Charlotte and Bowling Green -- hitting .281 with 11 doubles and 34 RBIs in 100 games.
After his playing career ended, Bridgman served as a broadcaster for Reno Aces games in 2019 before he was hired to serve as Arizona's graduate manager for the 2020 season, which was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Bridgman hit .445 as a senior at Damonte Ranch High and stole a school-record 42 bases. He earned first-team Reno Gazette Journal All-North, first-team All-Conference Division I Northern-Sierra and second-team All-American honors at second base.
Bridgman is a 2017 graduate of Nevada with a degree in economics.
Co-Head Student Managers
CLAIRE RUPPE Co-Head Student Manager Second Year
Claire Ruppe is a third-year Business Administration major going into her second year as a student manager with the Cal Poly baseball program.
She has been elevated to co-head student manager as Baseball Operations Manager with the following responsibilities:
Assist in day-to-day operations
Support needs of coaches and student-athletes
Serve as game-day manager for the program and liaison for the visiting team
Coordinate arrangements for aspects of team travel, including hotel, meals, per diem expenditures, and laundry along with home game meals
Oversee the program’s social media accounts and create engaging content
Supervise Student Managers
Ruppe is a graduate of Eastlake High School in Sammamish, Wash. She played club soccer for seven years.
Her parents are Catherine and Joe Ruppe and and Claire has one brother, Nick.
Ben Mangelsdorf is a third-year statistics major at Cal Poly and serving his second year as a student manager for the Cal Poly baseball program.
Mangelsdorf is a graduate of Rocklin High School. He played baseball starting in tee-ball through middle school and then again as a sophomore at Rocklin. He also played volleyball year round during his freshman, junior and senior years of high school and was the team captain as a freshman and senior. Mangelsdorf also plays basketball recreationally with his friends
Ben's parents are Dave and Kathy Mangelsdorf and he has one sister, Abby, and one brother, Jack.. Student Managers
Alex Castellanos Daniel Erro Daniel Nakamura Henry Peacock Henry Rossi Tommy Dimmock Will Schafer Adam Joaquin Del Rio Matt Juarez Spencer Stone Andrew Harlow Jack Weaver JT Young Philip Liu Tim Christian Ben Hamik Sam Bock Tommy Barr Drake Mossman
Cal Poly Baseball Athletic Trainer
NEAL Mc IVOR Athletic Trainer Seventh Year
A 2013 graduate of Point Loma Nazarene in San Diego, Neal Mc Ivor was hired in the summer of 2015 as an athletic trainer, responsible primarily for baseball. He also assists with the women’s volleyball team.
Mc Ivor served as a graduate assistant athletic trainer at San Jose State from 2013-15, primarily working with baseball, softball and men's and women's soccer. He also was a part-time teaching assistant in the kinesiology department at San Jose State.
He also worked for the Dave Nakama Baseball Academy in the summer of 2014 and for the San Jose State Soccer ID Camps in August 2013.
While working toward his bachelor's degree in athletic training at Point Loma Nazarene, Mc Ivor gained experience in athletic training from August 2009 through May 2013, working with the baseball and men's and women's soccer programs.
Mc Ivor, who obtained his National Athletic Trainers' Association certicifation in 2013 and is an American Red Cross Professional Rescuer, is a member of the California Athletic Trainers Association as well as the National Athletic Trainers Association.
