Head Baseball Coach: Rob Fournier

Rob Fournier is entering his 16th season as the Wabash Valley College Head Baseball Coach. A 1994 graduate of MacMurray College (B.S. Psychology and Physical Education) and a 1992 graduate of Ventura Community College (Associates of Arts), Fournier is looking forward to continued success with the Warrior team.

Under his 16 years as Head Coach at WVC, Fournier's teams have experienced a lot of success on the field and in the classroom. In his first year, he helped turn around a 12 - 34 team in 1996 to a 37 - 16 mark in 1997. Since then the standard of winning has remained intact. In the past 15 seasons the Warriors have been ranked consistently in the top 25 in the country. His teams have won 30 or more games every year with nine 40+ win seasons. The Warriors have also been able to win 5 regular season Great Rivers Athletic Conference titles, and have consistently finished among the top 3 teams in the highly competitive GRAC Division One NJCAA Conference. Fournier has won the GRAC Coach of the Year Award four times ('00, 03, 08, 10.).

More than wins and losses, Fournier has stood by the importance of moving kids on to the next level. "That doesn't happen without pushing kids to do well in the classroom," Fournier says. "We push all of our players to earn an A.A. (Associate of Arts) degree so they have the opportunity to move on to the 4 year college level, and/or to professional baseball." In the past 14 seasons the Warriors have been able to send players to schools such as the SEC, Big 12, MVC, C-USA, Sun Belt, Big 10, A-Sun, OVC and many other 4 year colleges. Sending players to the professional level has been just as successful as Fournier has had the opportunity to help 54 players be drafted or signed professionally.

Other coaching experience for Fournier includes two years as the hitting coach and recruiting coordinator for MacMurray College in 1995 and 1996. In those two seasons MacMurray had a record of 62 - 22 with 2 regional appearances. Fournier spent two years as a shortstop for Ventura Community College (CA) in 1991 and 1992. He then became an All-Conference centerfielder for MacMurray College in 1993 and 1994.

Fournier, 37, is a native of Ojai, California. His wife, Jennifer, is from Ft. Branch, Indiana.
The couple resides in Fort Branch, IN.

Assistant Coach: Lance Rhodes

Lance Rhodes returns for his 3rd season on the Warriors coaching staff as the pitching coach.

In 2011 Rhodes helped guide the Warriors to back to back GRAC Conference Champions. The Warriors pitching staff registered a 3.60 ERA in 2011, a 1.20 run per game below the 2010 mark. The Warriors pitching staff under Rhodes once again led the league in innings pitched (429.1) and Games Pitched (62).

In 2010, Rhodes helped led the Warriors pitching staff to a league best 4.80 ERA. The Warriors also led the league in innings pitched (455.2) - Games Pitched (62) - Wins (50 School Record) and Strike out per nine innings (7.7). Rhodes also helped guide two Warrior pitchers to 1st Team All-Conference selections.

Before coming to Wabash Valley College, Rhodes was the Volunteer Assistant at Southeast Missouri State University. Rhodes' duties at SEMO included 1st base coach, working with the outfielders, assisting with the pitching, and on campus recruiting.

Prior to his coaching stint at Southeast Missouri State University, Rhodes was a member of the Redhawks pitching staff for two years. Before transferring to Southeast Missouri State, Rhodes spent two years at Saint Louis University as a pitcher for the Billikens baseball program.

In the summer of 2009, Rhodes was the pitching coach for the Quincy Gems in the Prospect League. Rhodes helped guide the Gems to a Prospect League Championship. Three pitchers off the Gems pitching staff were among the league leaders. Jared Hippen led the league in wins with 7, Richie Derbak led the league in ERA with a 1.10, and Kevin Lee led the league in saves with 13. Rhodes has also had experience with summer baseball as a player having played for the Geneva Redwings (New York Collegiate League) Galesburg Pioneers and the Springfield Rifles (Central Illinois Collegiate League).

Rhodes is a 2004 graduate of Sikeston High School in Sikeston, Missouri. Rhodes went on the graduate from Southeast Missouri State University in 2008 with a Bachelor of General Studies with an emphasis in Physical Education. Rhodes also received a Masters in Physical Education in 2010 through Emporia State University.

Rhodes is married to the former Brittney Hiett, they reside in Mt. Carmel, IL.

Assistant Coach: Dustin Coffman

Dustin Coffman is in his 2nd year as the Warriors hitting coach. Before coming to Wabash Valley College, Coffman was the Volunteer Assistant at Indiana University where he worked with outfielders, hitters, and over saw the Hoosiers strength & conditioning program. The 2010 Indiana Hoosiers offense hit 85 homeruns and had a team batting average of .328. The Hoosier offense was led by First Team All-American Alex Dickerson who won the Triple Crown in the Big Ten with a .419 batting average, 24 homeruns, and 75 RBI.

Coach Coffman spent last summer as the hitting coach for the Edenton Steamers in the Coastal Plains Summer Collegiate League. The Steamers were runners up in the 2010 Pettit Cup and finished with an overall record of 37-26. The Steamers offense finished in the top three in seven different offensive categories including batting average, runs, hits, doubles, triples, homeruns, and the team stole 109 bases. Coffman also coached Seton Hall shortstop AJ Rusbarsky who won the 2010 Coastal Plains batting title with a .345 batting average.

Coffman graduated from Indiana University in 2009 with a bachelor’s degree in exercise science and currently resides in Mt. Carmel, IL.

Administrative Assistant: Steve Patberg

Steve Patberg begins his 12th season with WVC baseball. Patberg was an Assistant Coach for the Warriors for four seasons (1997-2001) and has handled academic advising and scheduling for the Warrior players since 2000.
Prior to WVC, he coached two seasons (97-98) with the Dubois County Dragons, a professional independent team in the Frontier League. Patberg has also been an assistant at Oakland City University for one year (97) and managed Ferdinand, Indiana's American Legion Post for six seasons (91-96). While at Ferdinand, he coached the New York Yankees 3rd round pick Alex Graman (their fifth best prospect by Baseball America-now playing in the Japanese Professional Baseball League), left-handed pitcher Brian Partenheimer, a 19th round pick of the Boston Red Sox, and outfielder Andy Rohleder (23rd round Marlins).
Patberg also was the varsity baseball coach for Mt. Carmel High school from 2002-05. He guided the Aces to their first regional title in 18 years in 2004. He ended his four year stint with a 62-53 record and the final 3 seasons with a winning record.
Patberg, is a Huntingburg, Indiana native and graduate of Southridge High School, where he earned 14 varsity letters in baseball, football, basketball and track. He played under Coaches Bob Snyder and Scott Rendel at WVC. Patberg resides in Mt. Carmel with wife Megan and sons Stone (9), Satchel (7), and daughter Selby (3).

Head Groundskeeper: Bob Cunningham

Cunningham performs a variety of duties to the Warriors field and surrounding areas. He has been instrumental in general upkeep, building new structures, and making general improvements to the bleachers, press box, dugouts, BP platform, and maintenance shed. Bob holds a Masters degree from Miami(OH) University. He worked for the Navy for 6 years, and for Honeywell in Atlanta, GA for 12 years. He is married, has 3 daughters, and resides in Mt. Carmel. The Warrior baseball complex would not be the same without Cunningham's help!