Josh Newman served his sixth season on the Nittany Lions coaching staff in 2023.
Newman spent five seasons in professional baseball before moving into coaching and guided the Nittany Lions to success on the mound and to the next level with seven pitchers joining MLB organizations in the last six seasons.
Newman has played an instrumental role in Penn State’s pitcher development, blending his philosophies with the use of cutting-edge technology, including TrackMan, Edgertronic, K-Vest and Rapsodo systems.
Newman helped to develop six MLB Draft selections: RHP Conor Larkin (9th round, 2021), RHP Kyle Virbitsky (17th round, 2021) RHP Bailey Dees (18th round, 2021), LHP Dante Biasi (6th round, 2019), RHP Eric Mock (25th round, 2019) and Justin Hagenman (23rd round, 2018). Taylor Lehman signed with the Philadelphia Phillies organization in 2018.
Biasi is the highest-selected left-handed pitcher in program history and Larkin was the ninth pitcher in program history to be selected among the Top 10 rounds of the draft.
In 2021, all three members of the starting rotation were drafted, making Penn State one of only four schools to accomplish that. It marked the third time in program history that Penn State had four or more players selected in a single year and the second time that Penn State had three pitchers selected in a draft.
Under Newman, Penn State’s pitchers have surpassed the 400-strikeout mark in three of the last four full seasons with 491 in 2019, 503 in 2022 and 411 in 2023. The Nittany Lions’ 503 strikeouts in 2022 are a program record.
Penn State has utilized a balanced pitching approach. In each of the last four full seasons, at least nine pitchers have made double-digit appearances. In 2022, eight different pitchers made a start and earned a save. In 2023, six Nittany Lions made a start and collected a save.
In 2023, Penn State earned 25 wins, including victories against No. 22 Miami, No. 20 Maryland, West Virginia, Indiana and Iowa. The Nittany Lions swept Ohio State in a Big Ten series.
Penn State pitchers had 14 games with 10+ strikeouts, including 16 vs. Brown and 15 vs. Northern Illinois. Penn State pitchers allowed three or less earned runs in 21 games.
Six Nittany Lions collected at least 35 strikeouts. Travis Luensmann led Penn State with 59 strikeouts and six wins, while posting a 4.35 ERA. He tied eighth in the Big Ten with six wins.
Daniel Ouderkirk recorded 57 strikeouts in 39.2 innings. He recorded at least 10 strikeouts in three-straight starts: 11 vs. Northern Illinois, 11 vs. Dartmouth and 10 vs. Brown, becoming the first Nittany Lions with three-straight starts of 10+ strikeouts since at least 2004.
Jaden Henline paced PSU in innings (61.1) while registering five wins and 35 strikeouts. Steven Miller led PSU with 21 appearances, notching 54 strikeouts in 48.1 innings, while Jordan Morales made 19 appearances and struck out 53 batters.
In 2022, the Nittany Lions made their first Big Ten Tournament appearances since 2012. Penn State concluded the season with a 26-29 record, including an 11-13 mark in the Big Ten. The Nittany Lions earned the No. 6 seed in the Big Ten Tournament and won its tournament opener, 5-2, over No. 3 seed Iowa.
During the regular season, Penn State won Big Ten series against Purdue, Minnesota and Michigan State, sweeping the Spartans. Penn State also earned a win in each series against Rutgers, No. 23 Maryland, Northwestern and Ohio State.
On the mound, Penn State set a program record with 503 strikeouts in 490 innings. The Nittany Lions recorded 21 games with 10+ strikeouts and 16 games allowing three or less earned runs. In 49 of 55 games, Penn State’s starting pitcher was a Pennsylvania native.
Six pitchers recorded at least 40 strikeouts, led by Travis Luensmann (78), Jordan Morales (60), Tyler Shingledecker (60) and Jaden Henline (56). Shingledecker paced PSU with seven wins, while Morales led the staff with 26 appearances.
Luensmann finished the season with 78 strikeouts in 67.2 innings. In Big Ten games, Luensmann had a 3.25 ERA, sitting fifth in the conference. Against Iowa in the Big Ten Tournament, Luensmann struck out seven in 3.1 shutout innings of relief. He also had eight strikeouts against Maine (2/25). Threw six innings and allowed no earned runs against Purdue (4/16) and Minnesota (4/23). Between April 2 and April 23, allowed just one earned run in 19 innings.
Henline struck out 56 batters in 59 innings. Against Michigan State (5/8), earned the win by throwing a complete game, allowing three runs (two earned) and striking out six. It was PSU’s first complete game since Greg Welsh (5/17/03 vs. Michigan State).
Shingledecker made 21 appearances, collecting a team-high seven wins, with a 3.10 ERA. He held opponents without an earned run in 12 of his 21 outings. The lefty recorded 60 strikeouts and only 18 walks. In the Big Ten Tournament opener, Shingledecker threw 5.2 innings, allowing one earned run, and striking out eight batters against Iowa. He allowed one or less earned runs in eight of 10 appearances against Big Ten opponents.
Morales, after transferring from LaSalle, paced PSU with 26 appearances and tallied a 3-0 record with a 3.64 ERA. He collected 60 strikeouts and allowed only 12 walks. Did not give up an earned run in 15 of 26 appearances and one or less earned run in 22 appearances. Made two starts, throwing three shutout innings against Illinois (5/21) and 4.2 shutout frames with five strikeouts against Rutgers (5/27).
Graduate student Mason Mellott made 22 appearances. He threw five shutout innings, allowing only one hit, in a start vs. UMass (3/13). Mellott ended his Penn State career tied for third in program history with 15 saves and ranking second with 89 appearances.
The Nittany Lions concluded the 2021 season with an 18-24 record, playing against exclusively Big Ten opponents. The wins included a 3-2 victory over No. 18 Michigan on March 26 and a series sweep over Michigan State in which Penn State outscored the Spartans, 39-13. The Nittany Lions also won two series against Rutgers.
Penn State starting pitchers allowed 2 or less runs in 16 outings this season. The Nittany Lions staff recorded two shutouts this season, including a 1-0 win over Rutgers on April 2 and an 11-0 victory over Purdue on April 10. Penn State collected 367 strikeouts in 2021.
Senior Kyle Virbitsky paced the Penn State rotation with a 4.17 ERA, five wins, 77.2 innings pitched and 88 strikeouts. Virbitsky ranked seventh in the Big Ten in strikeouts and third in strikeout-to-walk ratio (4.40). His 88 strikeouts are tied for the 10th-most in a season at Penn State. Virbitsky finished the season with a 12-strikeout performance against Minnesota, covering seven innings, in a win. He threw six shutout innings in a win at Iowa on May 8 and 8.1 scoreless frames at Purdue on April 10.
Senior Bailey Dees served as PSU’s Friday night starter and was responsible for four wins and 53 strikeouts in 66 innings. One of his top performances in the 2021 season came against Michigan, where he struck out seven and allowed just two runs over 6.2 innings to lead the blue and white to a 3-2 victory over the No. 18 Wolverines. Dees also threw six shutout innings in a 1-0 win over Rutgers. He also held Nebraska to one run in a six-inning effort on April 16.
Fellow senior Conor Larkin earned three wins and 69 strikeouts in 63.2 innings. The Pennsylvania native struck out seven or more batters in six starts in 2021. Larkin had two impressive starts against Rutgers. He threw six shutout innings and struck out seven on April 3 and allowed one run in 6.2 innings on May 15. Larkin went seven innings, giving up two runs, and striking out six in a win over Michigan State.
Senior Mason Mellott went 2-1 with four saves and recorded 33 strikeouts in 31.1 innings. He threw more than one inning in 10 of his 17 appearances. Mellott struck out four in three scoreless innings against Northwestern (3/6) and registered five strikeouts in four scoreless innings at Ohio State (4/25). The State College native ranks seventh all-time at Penn State with 67 appearances and fourth with 13 career saves.
Penn State had four players drafted from the 2021 squad, including three pitchers. Larkin was selected in the ninth round (272nd overall) by the Toronto Blue Jays. Kyle Virbitsky was a 17th round selection (518th overall) by the Oakland A's. Bailey Dees was drafted in the 18th round (543rd overall) by the New York Yankees. All three members of the starting rotation were drafted, making Penn State one of only four schools to accomplish that in 2021.
It marked the third time in program history that Penn State had four or more players selected in a single year and the second time that Penn State had three pitchers selected in a draft. The Nittany Lions have had eight pitchers drafted since 2016. The four selections were double of any other Pennsylvania school and three of the draftees are Pennsylvania natives.
When the COVID-19 pandemic shortened the 2020 season, Penn State ranked sixth in the NCAA with a 1.01 WHIP and also eighth with a 2.16 team ERA. The Nittany Lions also ranked 15th with 6.33 hits allowed per nine innings and 18th with a 3.63 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Additionally, Dees, Tyler Shingledecker and Mellott held Navy hitless for 10.1 innings for the first combined no-hitter and first extra-inning no-hitter in program history. The no-hitter was the 10th in Penn State history and first since 2012.
Penn State pitchers saw big improvement in 2019, smashing the program record for strikeouts with 491 and ranking ninth in the country and tops in the Big Ten with 10.1 strikeouts-per-nine innings. The Nittany Lions also ranked 47th in the country and fifth in the Big Ten with just 8.32 hits allowed per nine innings and shaved more than a run off of the team’s earned run average from the year prior, moving up to fifth in the Big Ten (4.30).
Dante Biasi led Penn State’s starting rotation and was voted to the 2019 All-Big Ten Second Team by the conference's coaches before getting selected by the Kansas City Royals early in the sixth round to become the highest-selected left-handed pitcher in Penn State history, the highest-selected Nittany Lion pitcher since 2008 and the highest-selected Nittany Lion since 2010.
Biasi posted a 2.55 earned run average with 102 strikeouts in 74.0 innings over 14 starts. His 6.32 hits allowed per nine innings were the fewest in the conference, his ERA ranked fourth in the Big Ten, and he was one of the top strikeout pitchers during the regular season, ranking second in the Big Ten, 33rd nationally and fifth in a single-season in Penn State history. His 12.41 strikeouts per nine innings also ranked second in the Big Ten.
Eric Mock was also drafted in 2019 following a career year under Newman’s tutelage, going to the Cleveland Indians in the 23rd round. At the conclusion of the regular season, Mock ranked seventh in the Big Ten with 10.45 strikeouts per nine innings and 10th with 7.46 hits allowed per nine innings.
Penn State also added to its pro ranks following Newman’s first season at Penn State in 2018, as Justin Hagenman was drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers and Taylor Lehman signed with the Philadelphia Phillies.
Newman came to Penn State after a four-year stint at Marshall. Notable accomplishments included mentoring Chase Boster, the all-time winningest pitcher in Marshall history, and seeing three pitchers from his staff have their names called in the 2016 MLB Draft. In 2017, the pitching staff held opponents to three runs or less in 21 games, including a complete-game shutout at nationally-ranked Florida Atlantic. Additional wins over nationally-ranked teams included Virginia Tech and Southern Miss. In 2016, Newman helped guide Marshall to a program-record 34 wins and a second-place conference finish, led by three pitchers earning All-Conference USA recognition.
D1Baseball.com named Newman as a "top, up-and-coming" Division I assistant coach in 2015, as one pitcher was named to the All-Conference USA team and three players signed professional contracts. His inaugural season with the Herd in 2014 resulted in the school's first Conference USA Pitcher of the Week Award since 2008 and one player earning Conference USA All-Freshman honors.
Newman is no stranger to the Big Ten after totaling seven years in the dugout at Ohio State, as he lettered for four years as a student-athlete (2001-04) and served as a volunteer assistant coach for three seasons (2011-13) following his professional playing career. Under the guidance of Newman and pitching coach Mike Stafford, the Buckeye's team ERA dropped 1.70 over three seasons to 3.24 at the end of the 2013 campaign. In 2013, Ohio State ranked in the Top 40 nationally in every pitching category, including walks per nine innings (8th, 2.45), strikeout-to-walk ratio (15th, 2.75), WHIP (17th, 1.19), hits per nine innings (33rd, 8.29) and ERA (38th, 3.24). Ohio State also had three pitchers earn All-Big Ten honors that season. Three were drafted during his tenure as John Kuchno was a 2012 18th-round selection by the Pittsburgh Pirates, and in 2013, Brad Goldberg was taken by the Chicago White Sox in the 10th round and Brett McKinney was taken in the 19th by the Pirates.
A native of Wheelersburg, Ohio and a 2004 Ohio State graduate with a Bachelors of Arts degree in history, Newman ranks third all-time at Ohio State in career wins (32), innings pitched (369.0) and strikeouts (291). He was a freshman All-American in 2001 a three-time All-Big Ten honoree - including a first-team selection in 2004 - and a three-time Academic All-Big Ten selection. In his career, Newman helped the Buckeyes to a 161-84-1 record, a Big Ten regular-season championship (2001) and two Big Ten Tournament championships (2002 and 2003). Ohio State went to three NCAA Regionals and hosted an NCAA Super Regional (2003) during his four years in Columbus.
Newman was drafted in the 19th round of the 2004 MLB Draft and signed a professional contract with the Colorado Rockies. He had previously been drafted by the Cincinnati Reds in 2003, but he elected to stay at Ohio State for his senior season.
The Wheelersburg High School graduate spent three seasons in the minors before making his Major League debut against Philadelphia on Sept. 12, 2007, and making the Colorado Rockies World Series roster that season. He jumped between Triple-A Colorado Springs and the Rockies in 2008 before being claimed off waivers by the Kansas City Royals in July. Newman pitched in 14 games over his two seasons between Colorado and Kansas City, making his last appearance in September 2008.
He and his wife Sarah have three children, daughter, Ayda, and sons, Kash and Miler.
Newman spent five seasons in professional baseball before moving into coaching and guided the Nittany Lions to success on the mound and to the next level with seven pitchers joining MLB organizations in the last six seasons.
Newman has played an instrumental role in Penn State’s pitcher development, blending his philosophies with the use of cutting-edge technology, including TrackMan, Edgertronic, K-Vest and Rapsodo systems.
Newman helped to develop six MLB Draft selections: RHP Conor Larkin (9th round, 2021), RHP Kyle Virbitsky (17th round, 2021) RHP Bailey Dees (18th round, 2021), LHP Dante Biasi (6th round, 2019), RHP Eric Mock (25th round, 2019) and Justin Hagenman (23rd round, 2018). Taylor Lehman signed with the Philadelphia Phillies organization in 2018.
Biasi is the highest-selected left-handed pitcher in program history and Larkin was the ninth pitcher in program history to be selected among the Top 10 rounds of the draft.
In 2021, all three members of the starting rotation were drafted, making Penn State one of only four schools to accomplish that. It marked the third time in program history that Penn State had four or more players selected in a single year and the second time that Penn State had three pitchers selected in a draft.
Under Newman, Penn State’s pitchers have surpassed the 400-strikeout mark in three of the last four full seasons with 491 in 2019, 503 in 2022 and 411 in 2023. The Nittany Lions’ 503 strikeouts in 2022 are a program record.
Penn State has utilized a balanced pitching approach. In each of the last four full seasons, at least nine pitchers have made double-digit appearances. In 2022, eight different pitchers made a start and earned a save. In 2023, six Nittany Lions made a start and collected a save.
In 2023, Penn State earned 25 wins, including victories against No. 22 Miami, No. 20 Maryland, West Virginia, Indiana and Iowa. The Nittany Lions swept Ohio State in a Big Ten series.
Penn State pitchers had 14 games with 10+ strikeouts, including 16 vs. Brown and 15 vs. Northern Illinois. Penn State pitchers allowed three or less earned runs in 21 games.
Six Nittany Lions collected at least 35 strikeouts. Travis Luensmann led Penn State with 59 strikeouts and six wins, while posting a 4.35 ERA. He tied eighth in the Big Ten with six wins.
Daniel Ouderkirk recorded 57 strikeouts in 39.2 innings. He recorded at least 10 strikeouts in three-straight starts: 11 vs. Northern Illinois, 11 vs. Dartmouth and 10 vs. Brown, becoming the first Nittany Lions with three-straight starts of 10+ strikeouts since at least 2004.
Jaden Henline paced PSU in innings (61.1) while registering five wins and 35 strikeouts. Steven Miller led PSU with 21 appearances, notching 54 strikeouts in 48.1 innings, while Jordan Morales made 19 appearances and struck out 53 batters.
In 2022, the Nittany Lions made their first Big Ten Tournament appearances since 2012. Penn State concluded the season with a 26-29 record, including an 11-13 mark in the Big Ten. The Nittany Lions earned the No. 6 seed in the Big Ten Tournament and won its tournament opener, 5-2, over No. 3 seed Iowa.
During the regular season, Penn State won Big Ten series against Purdue, Minnesota and Michigan State, sweeping the Spartans. Penn State also earned a win in each series against Rutgers, No. 23 Maryland, Northwestern and Ohio State.
On the mound, Penn State set a program record with 503 strikeouts in 490 innings. The Nittany Lions recorded 21 games with 10+ strikeouts and 16 games allowing three or less earned runs. In 49 of 55 games, Penn State’s starting pitcher was a Pennsylvania native.
Six pitchers recorded at least 40 strikeouts, led by Travis Luensmann (78), Jordan Morales (60), Tyler Shingledecker (60) and Jaden Henline (56). Shingledecker paced PSU with seven wins, while Morales led the staff with 26 appearances.
Luensmann finished the season with 78 strikeouts in 67.2 innings. In Big Ten games, Luensmann had a 3.25 ERA, sitting fifth in the conference. Against Iowa in the Big Ten Tournament, Luensmann struck out seven in 3.1 shutout innings of relief. He also had eight strikeouts against Maine (2/25). Threw six innings and allowed no earned runs against Purdue (4/16) and Minnesota (4/23). Between April 2 and April 23, allowed just one earned run in 19 innings.
Henline struck out 56 batters in 59 innings. Against Michigan State (5/8), earned the win by throwing a complete game, allowing three runs (two earned) and striking out six. It was PSU’s first complete game since Greg Welsh (5/17/03 vs. Michigan State).
Shingledecker made 21 appearances, collecting a team-high seven wins, with a 3.10 ERA. He held opponents without an earned run in 12 of his 21 outings. The lefty recorded 60 strikeouts and only 18 walks. In the Big Ten Tournament opener, Shingledecker threw 5.2 innings, allowing one earned run, and striking out eight batters against Iowa. He allowed one or less earned runs in eight of 10 appearances against Big Ten opponents.
Morales, after transferring from LaSalle, paced PSU with 26 appearances and tallied a 3-0 record with a 3.64 ERA. He collected 60 strikeouts and allowed only 12 walks. Did not give up an earned run in 15 of 26 appearances and one or less earned run in 22 appearances. Made two starts, throwing three shutout innings against Illinois (5/21) and 4.2 shutout frames with five strikeouts against Rutgers (5/27).
Graduate student Mason Mellott made 22 appearances. He threw five shutout innings, allowing only one hit, in a start vs. UMass (3/13). Mellott ended his Penn State career tied for third in program history with 15 saves and ranking second with 89 appearances.
The Nittany Lions concluded the 2021 season with an 18-24 record, playing against exclusively Big Ten opponents. The wins included a 3-2 victory over No. 18 Michigan on March 26 and a series sweep over Michigan State in which Penn State outscored the Spartans, 39-13. The Nittany Lions also won two series against Rutgers.
Penn State starting pitchers allowed 2 or less runs in 16 outings this season. The Nittany Lions staff recorded two shutouts this season, including a 1-0 win over Rutgers on April 2 and an 11-0 victory over Purdue on April 10. Penn State collected 367 strikeouts in 2021.
Senior Kyle Virbitsky paced the Penn State rotation with a 4.17 ERA, five wins, 77.2 innings pitched and 88 strikeouts. Virbitsky ranked seventh in the Big Ten in strikeouts and third in strikeout-to-walk ratio (4.40). His 88 strikeouts are tied for the 10th-most in a season at Penn State. Virbitsky finished the season with a 12-strikeout performance against Minnesota, covering seven innings, in a win. He threw six shutout innings in a win at Iowa on May 8 and 8.1 scoreless frames at Purdue on April 10.
Senior Bailey Dees served as PSU’s Friday night starter and was responsible for four wins and 53 strikeouts in 66 innings. One of his top performances in the 2021 season came against Michigan, where he struck out seven and allowed just two runs over 6.2 innings to lead the blue and white to a 3-2 victory over the No. 18 Wolverines. Dees also threw six shutout innings in a 1-0 win over Rutgers. He also held Nebraska to one run in a six-inning effort on April 16.
Fellow senior Conor Larkin earned three wins and 69 strikeouts in 63.2 innings. The Pennsylvania native struck out seven or more batters in six starts in 2021. Larkin had two impressive starts against Rutgers. He threw six shutout innings and struck out seven on April 3 and allowed one run in 6.2 innings on May 15. Larkin went seven innings, giving up two runs, and striking out six in a win over Michigan State.
Senior Mason Mellott went 2-1 with four saves and recorded 33 strikeouts in 31.1 innings. He threw more than one inning in 10 of his 17 appearances. Mellott struck out four in three scoreless innings against Northwestern (3/6) and registered five strikeouts in four scoreless innings at Ohio State (4/25). The State College native ranks seventh all-time at Penn State with 67 appearances and fourth with 13 career saves.
Penn State had four players drafted from the 2021 squad, including three pitchers. Larkin was selected in the ninth round (272nd overall) by the Toronto Blue Jays. Kyle Virbitsky was a 17th round selection (518th overall) by the Oakland A's. Bailey Dees was drafted in the 18th round (543rd overall) by the New York Yankees. All three members of the starting rotation were drafted, making Penn State one of only four schools to accomplish that in 2021.
It marked the third time in program history that Penn State had four or more players selected in a single year and the second time that Penn State had three pitchers selected in a draft. The Nittany Lions have had eight pitchers drafted since 2016. The four selections were double of any other Pennsylvania school and three of the draftees are Pennsylvania natives.
When the COVID-19 pandemic shortened the 2020 season, Penn State ranked sixth in the NCAA with a 1.01 WHIP and also eighth with a 2.16 team ERA. The Nittany Lions also ranked 15th with 6.33 hits allowed per nine innings and 18th with a 3.63 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Additionally, Dees, Tyler Shingledecker and Mellott held Navy hitless for 10.1 innings for the first combined no-hitter and first extra-inning no-hitter in program history. The no-hitter was the 10th in Penn State history and first since 2012.
Penn State pitchers saw big improvement in 2019, smashing the program record for strikeouts with 491 and ranking ninth in the country and tops in the Big Ten with 10.1 strikeouts-per-nine innings. The Nittany Lions also ranked 47th in the country and fifth in the Big Ten with just 8.32 hits allowed per nine innings and shaved more than a run off of the team’s earned run average from the year prior, moving up to fifth in the Big Ten (4.30).
Dante Biasi led Penn State’s starting rotation and was voted to the 2019 All-Big Ten Second Team by the conference's coaches before getting selected by the Kansas City Royals early in the sixth round to become the highest-selected left-handed pitcher in Penn State history, the highest-selected Nittany Lion pitcher since 2008 and the highest-selected Nittany Lion since 2010.
Biasi posted a 2.55 earned run average with 102 strikeouts in 74.0 innings over 14 starts. His 6.32 hits allowed per nine innings were the fewest in the conference, his ERA ranked fourth in the Big Ten, and he was one of the top strikeout pitchers during the regular season, ranking second in the Big Ten, 33rd nationally and fifth in a single-season in Penn State history. His 12.41 strikeouts per nine innings also ranked second in the Big Ten.
Eric Mock was also drafted in 2019 following a career year under Newman’s tutelage, going to the Cleveland Indians in the 23rd round. At the conclusion of the regular season, Mock ranked seventh in the Big Ten with 10.45 strikeouts per nine innings and 10th with 7.46 hits allowed per nine innings.
Penn State also added to its pro ranks following Newman’s first season at Penn State in 2018, as Justin Hagenman was drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers and Taylor Lehman signed with the Philadelphia Phillies.
Newman came to Penn State after a four-year stint at Marshall. Notable accomplishments included mentoring Chase Boster, the all-time winningest pitcher in Marshall history, and seeing three pitchers from his staff have their names called in the 2016 MLB Draft. In 2017, the pitching staff held opponents to three runs or less in 21 games, including a complete-game shutout at nationally-ranked Florida Atlantic. Additional wins over nationally-ranked teams included Virginia Tech and Southern Miss. In 2016, Newman helped guide Marshall to a program-record 34 wins and a second-place conference finish, led by three pitchers earning All-Conference USA recognition.
D1Baseball.com named Newman as a "top, up-and-coming" Division I assistant coach in 2015, as one pitcher was named to the All-Conference USA team and three players signed professional contracts. His inaugural season with the Herd in 2014 resulted in the school's first Conference USA Pitcher of the Week Award since 2008 and one player earning Conference USA All-Freshman honors.
Newman is no stranger to the Big Ten after totaling seven years in the dugout at Ohio State, as he lettered for four years as a student-athlete (2001-04) and served as a volunteer assistant coach for three seasons (2011-13) following his professional playing career. Under the guidance of Newman and pitching coach Mike Stafford, the Buckeye's team ERA dropped 1.70 over three seasons to 3.24 at the end of the 2013 campaign. In 2013, Ohio State ranked in the Top 40 nationally in every pitching category, including walks per nine innings (8th, 2.45), strikeout-to-walk ratio (15th, 2.75), WHIP (17th, 1.19), hits per nine innings (33rd, 8.29) and ERA (38th, 3.24). Ohio State also had three pitchers earn All-Big Ten honors that season. Three were drafted during his tenure as John Kuchno was a 2012 18th-round selection by the Pittsburgh Pirates, and in 2013, Brad Goldberg was taken by the Chicago White Sox in the 10th round and Brett McKinney was taken in the 19th by the Pirates.
A native of Wheelersburg, Ohio and a 2004 Ohio State graduate with a Bachelors of Arts degree in history, Newman ranks third all-time at Ohio State in career wins (32), innings pitched (369.0) and strikeouts (291). He was a freshman All-American in 2001 a three-time All-Big Ten honoree - including a first-team selection in 2004 - and a three-time Academic All-Big Ten selection. In his career, Newman helped the Buckeyes to a 161-84-1 record, a Big Ten regular-season championship (2001) and two Big Ten Tournament championships (2002 and 2003). Ohio State went to three NCAA Regionals and hosted an NCAA Super Regional (2003) during his four years in Columbus.
Newman was drafted in the 19th round of the 2004 MLB Draft and signed a professional contract with the Colorado Rockies. He had previously been drafted by the Cincinnati Reds in 2003, but he elected to stay at Ohio State for his senior season.
The Wheelersburg High School graduate spent three seasons in the minors before making his Major League debut against Philadelphia on Sept. 12, 2007, and making the Colorado Rockies World Series roster that season. He jumped between Triple-A Colorado Springs and the Rockies in 2008 before being claimed off waivers by the Kansas City Royals in July. Newman pitched in 14 games over his two seasons between Colorado and Kansas City, making his last appearance in September 2008.
He and his wife Sarah have three children, daughter, Ayda, and sons, Kash and Miler.