Shaun Wegner

Head Coach

MILWAUKEE – Director of Athletics Amanda Braun has announced the promotion of Shaun Wegner as the next head coach of the Milwaukee baseball program.

"Following a national search process, Shaun Wegner rose to the top and made the choice an easy one for us, impressing everyone involved on the committee throughout the interview process," Braun said. "In his six years on staff, he has shown his passion for coaching and made a name for himself and I have a high level of confidence in his ability to be the next leader for our program."
 
"Getting the opportunity to lead a program is a day I have imagined for a while now," Wegner said. "I want to thank Amanda Braun and the entire search and screen committee for believing in my vision and plan for the Milwaukee baseball program. I've been able to learn this game and many of the inner workings from my former bosses, which has provided me insight and direction into how to lead a successful program."
 
Wegner succeeds Scott Doffek, who announced his retirement earlier this summer following 17 seasons as the head coach and 29 overall seasons with the program. Wegner becomes the fifth skipper of the Panther baseball program since Milwaukee made the transition to Division I beginning the 1990-91 academic year.
 
"The continuity of the program leadership did play a role," Braun continued. "Coach Scott Doffek built a great culture and foundation and we feel Shaun can elevate that and continue the success. With him being an alum and a former player, it also will be a perfect fit for engagement with alumni and community members. We are happy that Shaun, his wife Chelsea, and their kids will remain Panthers and that he can take that next step in his career here in Milwaukee."
 
"Getting the chance to work with Scotty (Doffek) after having played for him was honestly a dream come true," Wegner said. "He really is a baseball savant when it comes to this sport and there are so many people he has impacted throughout his coaching, speaking, and teaching. I owe a lot of where I am today as a coach, husband, father and more to him so thank you Coach Doffek!"
 
Wegner has been a member of the coaching staff with Milwaukee since he returned to the program in 2018 as an assistant coach before his promotion to Associate Head Coach during the summer of 2019.
 
During his time as an assistant with Milwaukee, Wegner has helped the program to 129 wins over five full seasons plus the COVID-19 shortened 2020 campaign, that span included runs to the championship round of the Horizon League Tournament in both 2019 and 2021. Through his tenure on the staff, 22 Panthers have earned All-Horizon League First or Second team honors, while Tyler Bordner went on to add ABCA/Rawlings All-Mideast Regional accolades in 2019.
 
"To me, the Milwaukee program means opportunity; it means excellence on the field and in the classroom," Wegner said. "It's a sense of pride and family that we Panthers share with one another while our feet are planted here on campus and even so after we move on. It's a blue-collar mentality that works at it daily with a common goal for success at the end. It's about all those guys that came before me and trying to leave the program better than you found it."
 
"My goal is to instill a belief and pride that reaches beyond our roster and into the community and state. Being the only NCAA Division I baseball program in our state, I want to become a place that local and regional kids want to be to pursue their academic goals and compete for championships. I want them to know that when you stay near, you can go far in life both on and off the diamond. My job is that when my time here comes to an end, we can say we left it far better than we found it! I'm excited to embark upon this journey."
 
Before returning to Milwaukee in the fall of 2017, Wegner spent five seasons at Whitewater serving as hitting and catching coach while also coordinating the program's recruiting efforts. He helped lead the Warhawks to four Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Championships and five trips to the NCAA Division III Championship.
 
At Whitewater, Wegner helped the team to 184 wins in his five-year stay culminating in a pair of appearances at the NCAA Division III College World Series in Appleton, Wisconsin in both 2014 and 2016.
 
Wegner began his coaching career as a graduate assistant coach at Division II Minnesota-Mankato, where he was on the Maverick coaching staff for both the 2011 and 2012 seasons, resulting in 91 wins. During the team's 51-win 2012 season, the Mavericks reached the national semifinals, as the team won three of its first four games in Cary, North Carolina.
 
Wegner spent the summer of 2012 on the coaching staff of the Lakeshore Chinooks of the Northwoods League, a collegiate summer baseball league, during the franchises' inaugural season. With the Chinooks, Wegner was on the staff that coached future Major Leaguer and current Milwaukee Brewers' infielder Brian Anderson.
 
His coaching career came following a four-year playing career with the Panthers, graduating from UW-Milwaukee in 2010 with his degree in both communications as well as economics.
 
As a student-athlete at Milwaukee, Wegner amassed 162 hits and hit .286 for his four-year career, which included a career-best 49 hits, with 12 doubles to go along with two home runs and a .329 batting average as he earned All-Conference Second Team honors as a sophomore in 2008.
 
"Being a former student-athlete and coach in this program, I have a tremendous amount of gratitude to Coach Augustine, Coach Doffek and Coach Bigler for the opportunity they gave me out of high school," Wegner said. "It gave me the chance to play for highly intellectual baseball minds that truly care about the person in the uniform. As the leader of the Milwaukee Baseball program, I look forward to carrying on the legacy that those before me left and expanding the footprint of UWM Baseball into the future."
 
He finished his career with 28 doubles, a pair of triples, and nine home runs with 87 RBIs, while also scoring 101 times with 18 stolen bases in 180 total games. His playing career culminated with a Horizon League Championship in 2010, and the program's fourth NCAA Division I Tournament appearance taking on top-ranked Arizona State, and 15th-ranked San Diego in the Tempe, Arizona regional bracket.
 
Wegner inherits a team that that finished the 2023 season with 25 wins, including a pair of wins in the Horizon League Tournament. The team will head into its fourth full season at Franklin Field in 2024, as one of the top facilities in the Horizon League and the Mideast Region.
 
"I need to thank many people for helping me develop as a player: Rusty Tiedemann, Tim Ladron, John Stueber, Tim Fitzsimmons, Scott Doffek, and Dean Haase. And also, as a coach to Scott Doffek, Cory Bigler, John Vodenlich, Matt Magers, and Adam Christ. Lastly want to thank my parents for always providing me every opportunity to grow my love and passion for this sport, my siblings for always pushing me to never settle and go after my goals, and ultimately my wife, Chelsea, and kids for always supporting my journey and sacrificing for my path to get here today. I love you all!"