May 4, 2008

LANCASTER, Pa. - The Mat-Su Miners of the Alaska Baseball League have announced the hiring of Jordan Wyckoff as the assistant coach for the 2008 summer season. Wyckoff has been an assistant coach for the baseball team at Franklin & Marshall for the past two seasons. He will serve as the Miner's first base coach and throw batting practice.

"There were several qualified candidates for this position, however, Jordan's persistence and experience separated him from the pack" said General Manager Pete Christopher. "We are looking forward to having him be a part of the Miner community."

The Miners are based out of Palmer, Alaska, and are one of the six teams that form the Alaska Baseball League. The teams compete for the chance to advance to the National Baseball Congress Championship, which is held in Wichita, KS. The Alaska League is considered one of the most prestigious summer wooden bat leagues in the country. Over 250 former Miners have gone on to play professional baseball, including 54 players who have advanced to the Major Leagues. Craig Counsell and Steve Trachesal, both current big leaguers, played for the Alaskan club.

Wyckoff will serve under Head Coach Conor Bird, who is the pitching coach at College of Marin in California. He will join a staff that includes pitching coach Ryan Heil, an assistant at Cal State Marcos and Jimmy Kolaitis, director of baseball operations at Troy University in Alabama.

In 2007, the Miners were named the ABL co-champions. They finished with a record of 26-11. Perfect Game ranked the Miners as the #16 squad amongst all college summer league teams. Between June and July, they will play a 41 game schedule, including two non-league games against the Taiwan National team. The Miners are set to open play on June 13th.

Additional information about the Miners is available at: matsuminers.org.