Huskers Name Will Bolt Volunteer Baseball Assistant Coach

Lincoln ? University of Nebraska Baseball Coach Mike Anderson announced several changes on the Husker staff.

The changes result from volunteer assistant coach Brandt Vlieger accepting a full-time assistant coaching position at Barton County (Kan.) Community College. Vlieger replaced another former Husker at the school, as Jay Sirianni recently left Barton County CC for a full-time assistant coaching position at the University of Texas-Arlington.

Anderson is grateful for the contributions that Vlieger, who played at NU in 1999 and 2000 and also served as a student assistant coach, has made to the Husker program and wishes him success as he begins the newest chapter in his coaching career.

"I’m happy for Brandt Vlieger that he will have an opportunity to continue on in his baseball coaching career," Anderson said." His contributions as both a player and coach to our program have been tremendous, and even through he is leaving, he will always be a Husker."

Vlieger oversaw Nebraska’s infielders and assisted in hitting coach duties for the past two seasons. In 2004, Vlieger helped Nebraska set a school record and rank seventh nationally with a .975 fielding percentage. All four infielders earned all-conference recognition, while sophomore third baseman Alex Gordon was named Big 12 Player of the Year and earned unanimous All-America accolades.

Following Vlieger’s announcement, Anderson announced that Will Bolt will join the coaching staff as a volunteer assistant. Bolt, who was a four-year starter and team captain in 2001 and 2002, had been on the staff serving as a graduate manager for the past year. In his new role, Bolt will oversee NU’s infielders and assist with the hitters.

"We are once again excited to invite back an ex-player to our coaching ranks," Anderson said. "Will’s hard-nosed attitude and knowledge of the game were evident at all times as a player, and we are excited for him to bring that experience to both our current and future players in this program."

Bolt played an instrumental role in helping Nebraska to four NCAA Regionals, three Super Regionals and back-to-back College World Series appearances in 2001 and 2002 in his playing career. He finished his career holding six school records (games played, games started, at-bats, hits, doubles and assists) and ranked among the school’s top 10 in several other categories. In the classroom, Bolt, who played both shortstop and second base, was a two-time academic All-Big 12 honoree and graduated in 2003 with a degree in communication studies.