Wright State University Athletics

In July, 2016, Jeff Mercer became the fourth head coach in the history of Wright State baseball and he hit the ground running.

Mercer was tabbed by WSU Director of Athletics Bob Grant to guide the successful program that had back-to-back NCAA Regional Finals appearances and 124 wins over the three previous years. He is the first former Raider player to lead the program.

Starter Ryan Weiss was selected in the 4^th round in the 2018 Major League Baseball Draft by the Arizona Diamondbacks (129 overall).  Weiss helped lead the Raiders to the 2018 Horizon League Championship and the NCAA Tournament by posting a 9-2 record with one save and 92 strikeouts over 98 innings.   His career-best 10 strikeouts came against UIC on May 4 this year and against Northern Kentucky last season on April 29. 

Fellow Starter Caleb Sampen was selected in the 20^th round in the Major League Baseball Draft by the Los Angeles Dodgers.  Sampen helped lead the Raiders to the 2018 Horizon League Championship and the NCAA Tournament by posting a 5-0 record in 11 appearances with a 3.26 ERA and 33 strikeouts in 47.0 innings. 

First baseman Gabe Snyder was taken in the 21st round by the Minnesota Twins after being named the Player of the Year in the Horizon League as he collected the Triple Crown with a .359 batting average, 15 home runs and 73 RBI.

Led by Snyder as Player of the Year and Mercer as Coach of the Year, 11 total members of the Wright State baseball team were recognized by the Horizon League.

In addition to Snyder, senior Matt Morrow and juniors Chase Slone, Peyton Burdick and Ryan Weiss were named to the First Team.  Sophomore Seth Gray, juniors JD Orr and Zane Harris and senior Derek Hendrixson were chosen to the Second Team while Harris and Quincy Hamilton were named to the Freshman Team. 

The Raiders pitching staff finished the 2018 season ranked nationally in earned run average (50^th, 3.80). hits allowed per nine innings (28^th, 7.87) and WHIP (33^rd, 1.29).  The Raiders also had two pitchers hear their name called in the 2018 MLB draft as well as a field player in the first 21 rounds.

In 2018, Wright State compiled the first ever top 100 ranked recruiting class in the country for the University (87^th nationally).

In his first season in 2017, the Raiders reached new heights as Wright State received its first-ever top 25 ranking.  WSU finished the year at 38-21, 21-9 as freshman pitcher Ryan Weiss was selected as the Freshman of the Year and was chosen to the First Team along with junior second baseman Matt Morrow.  Junior pitcher Danny Sexton was named to the Second Team along with junior pitcher Derek Hendrizson and freshman third baseman Seth Gray.  Both Weiss and Gray were selected to the All-Freshman Team while Weiss was later named a Freshman All American and the Second Team All Midwest.  Sexton signed a free agent contract with the San Diego Padres.

Mercer, who was a two-time All-Horizon League honoree for Wright State in 2008 and 2009, returned to the Raiders as an assistant coach in September 2013 and helped make an immediate impact on the program.  WSU set a school record for wins with 43 in 2015 just to break it a year later with 46 wins.

Mercer assisted Lovelady in not only setting records, but also coached six total players drafted by Major League Baseball, including five this past spring.   During his three years back at Wright State, the Raiders have had 30 Horizon League honorees, two Horizon League regular-season and tournament titles and two NCAA appearances.

Working with all aspects of the program, Mercer was the recruiting coordinator responsible for bringing in the majority of the talent during this most successful period in the history of Wright State baseball.  One of Mercer’s primary responsibilities was his role as the hitting coach.  In the 2016 season, WSU's 47 home runs were the most in a season since 2009, Coach Mercer’s senior year playing for the Raiders.  He also worked with the infield and outfield, and coached third base.

Mercer came back to WSU after serving two seasons as a volunteer assistant coach at Western Kentucky University.  While there, he primarily worked with pitchers and outfielders, but was also instrumental in the development and organization of baseball camps and handled other day-to-day operations.

Prior to Western Kentucky, Mercer was a volunteer assistant during the 2011 season at the University of Michigan.  During his time there, he worked with the catchers and outfielders. Prior to arriving in Ann Arbor, Mercer spent the 2010 season as the graduate assistant coach at Ohio Northern University where he was in charge of the infielders and hitters and was the recruiting coordinator.

A native of Bargersville, Indiana, Mercer played two seasons at Dayton before transferring to Wright State, where he was a two-time First Team All-Horizon League honoree as a first baseman. He was named to the Collegiate Baseball Newspaper All-American Third Team in 2009 after hitting .357 with 26 doubles and 74 RBI. He was also named the Horizon League Player of the Year in 2009 and was named to the league's All-Tournament team after he tied the WSU single-season records for RBI, doubles, games played and games started.  In 2009, the Raiders played in the Fort Worth, Texas NCAA Regional.

Mercer earned a degree in organizational leadership from Wright State in 2009.  He and his wife, Stephanie, live in Beavercreek.