The Panther Path
 
Resume Check:
-Four-year playing career for the Milwaukee baseball program
-Played catcher and outfield
-Graduate assistant coach at Minnesota State University-Mankato
-Assistant coach for a successful NCAA DIII program
-Current member of the coaching staff for the Panthers
 
As crazy as it might sound, it is the exact resume and career path of both Shaun Wegner and Drew Pearson, current members of the coaching staff of the MKE baseball program.
 
Wegner played for head coach Scott Doffek from 2006-10, capping his time with the Panthers by helping the team to the Horizon League Tournament Championship and NCAA Tournament his senior season. He batted .300 that campaign, scoring 26 runs and knocking in 29 more. A team captain for two years, Wegner was named to the Horizon League All-Newcomer Team as a freshman and Second Team All-Horizon League as a sophomore. He went on to lead the conference in runners thrown out and runners picked off each of his final three years. In 180 career games, he finished with a .286 average, 87 runs batted in, 101 runs scored and 162 hits.
 
Wegner returned to Milwaukee after spending five seasons at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. The NCAA Division III powerhouse claimed Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference championships in four of his seasons on staff, compiling an impressive 184-53 overall win-loss record (.776 winning percentage), which included an 88-22 mark (.800) in league play.
 
After graduating from UWM, Wegner served as graduate assistant coach at Minnesota State University-Mankato for two years, earning an award for the highest GPA in MSU history. During Wegner's two seasons on staff, the Mavericks posted a combined record of 91-24 (.791 winning percentage) and qualified for the NCAA Division II Tournament twice, including a trip to the 2012 Division II College World Series, which yielded a third-place finish.
 
Pearson started his Panther career with that NCAA Tournament run in 2010 – marking the one season that both him and Wegner were on the roster at the same time – and wrapped up his career with a regular-season Horizon League title in 2013. In 103 career games, he recorded 50 hits, scored 30 runs, hit six home runs – three of which came in pinch-hitting roles – and drove in 40.
 
Pearson arrived back in Milwaukee after a very successful year at Concordia University Wisconsin. In his one season on staff, CUW went 28-13 overall, setting a program record for most victories, including one over No. 3 Whitewater. The Falcons went 15-5 in conference play and finished runner-up at the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference Tournament. The season ended with six players earning NACC all-league honors and the team finishing seventh in the final Midwest Regional poll.

Prior to his time with the Falcons, Pearson also spent two years on the staff at Minnesota State University, Mankato. He helped coach the Mavericks to back-to-back NCAA Division II National Tournament appearances. In 2015, Mankato finished the season with a 43-9 record, while also recording the highest batting average in Division II Baseball.
 
Doffek has a long history of former players continuing on as members of his coaching staff. Chad Pierce (2015-17) and Cole Kraft (2013-17) recently went through the same career steps. Both players were all-conference performers on the diamond for Milwaukee. Mike Goetz – a former All-American for Doffek who led the nation in batting average in 2006 – continues to serve as director of baseball operations, a role he has worked in for five years, which followed five seasons on the coaching staff.
 
The storyline with Wegner and Pearson is so unique due to the striking similarities. The athletic communications office sat down with the duo recently to dig into the background of their relationship; first as players and now as members of the same coaching staff.
 
Did the two of you know each other before arriving at Milwaukee?

SW: "No, we didn't know each other before he came in. But, it was a pretty easy transition. I feel like we had a pretty good relationship when he came in. I was a catcher; he was a catcher. I felt like he was my understudy when he was here and hoped to make his transition a smooth one."
 
DP: "I was very fortunate to have Shaun there my first year. To ease me into things and to show me what college baseball was all about – that is usually a tough transition for most guys. So, I was lucky to have a guy with a lot of experience. You could kind of tell he was going to be a coach already back then. I knew right away that he understood the game deeper than most. I was fortunate to have someone like him show me the way."
 
When did you realize you wanted to pursue coaching as a career choice?
 
SW: "I knew I wanted to coach since high school – baseball, basketball, whatever it was, I always had a passion for the inner-workings of the game. My mind was always spinning during games, trying to figure out the game within the game. I was actually 10 minutes away from accepting a job working in life insurance when I got a phone call from the assistant coach at Minnesota State asking me if I had interest in a graduate assistant position. So, I got my Master's Degree paid for and it allowed me to coach for two years in a really good program. It helped me jumpstart my career in the coaching ranks. It then helped with Drew's as well, as I was able to help him land that role down the road."
 
DP: "I had a fifth year to finish school and was coaching a 10-year old team at the time and was trying to figure out what to do. I randomly texted Wegs (Wegner) on how he got his foot in the door at Minnesota State and they happened to have a grad assistant leaving that year. So, it worked out perfectly. It's a small world and I followed in his footsteps again."
 
Do you still use things you learned back then as a coach today?
 
SW: "Absolutely. I think the older that you get, you don't necessarily get smarter, but you get wiser. The things Scotty (Coach Doffek) and Cory (Bigler) taught us make way more sense now and have a deeper meaning now. As you get older, you see it come into play. I think it becomes easier to comprehend. The way I try and coach now is to take what Scotty is still teaching and make it make sense to the players. I was one of those same players that didn't fully understand it back then – you think you do, but you really don't – and as time goes on, it really clicks, you realize you get in your own way. I can use those experiences as a player and hopefully transition the players nowadays a little quicker so that the game clicks for them faster."
 
DP: "As a player you tend to take the knowledge from coaches for granted. Then when you get into that coaching role, it 'clicks' and you realize how much these guys know about baseball. They have been around the game and have probably forgotten more baseball than we know. So it's hard to figure that out as a player. So, I try to relate to the guys – we know what they are going through. Try and just link the two together – I think that is a good position for me on this staff. I am more in-between, where I can be more personal with the players rather than strictly the X's and O's."
 
What was the appeal of coming back to Milwaukee?
 
DP: "I wanted to keep learning. I had a taste of it at Minnesota State with the two coaches there. Coach Doffek presented me a great opportunity. He has been around the game for a long time and is probably the most baseball-savvy guy I know. Cory (Coach Bigler) as well, he's been here almost as long. With what they have done with this program, it's just an honor to be offered a position to be a part of it. I hope to continue the tradition and take it to the next level as well."
 
SW: "Doffek and Bigler, as well as Coach Augustine, have built this program from nothing, really. What they have been able to do with low-end resources to work with has been amazing. And now, moving into the new stadium and other things that are happening, I was hoping to help make an impact with the guys that made an impact on me. I know what made this special to me and I am hoping we can build on that. Give guys experiences, turn this into more of a regional power in the near future. And like Drew said, it's a great place to learn baseball. My brother in-law played here (Tim Ladron/1994-96) and a couple of other guys from my hometown played here. That drew me here initially and it was always the school I wanted to go to and I was lucky enough to do it. Now to be back here is exciting."