Coaches

Joel Holst recently completed his 14th year as Wartburg's head coach. The level of success attained by the program in Holst's tenure couldn't be much higher.

The 28th member of NCAA Division III's 500-win club guided the Knights to a remarkable 12 straight Iowa Conference championships, beginning with his second year at the helm and continuing through 2008. His Knights' teams have qualified for the NCAA Division III national tournament nine times in the past 13 years. Holst's 2000 baseball team won the school's first regional championship and went on to compete in the NCAA Division III College World Series to finish the season ranked sixth in the nation. The 2005 team also won a regional championship and finished fourth in the College World Series with a final ranking nationally of fifth.

Holst has also been named the Iowa Conference Coach of the Year eight of the last 13 seasons, and was named the Four-year College Coach of the Year in Iowa for the 1998, 1999, and 2000 seasons, and was runner-up in 1997, 2001, and 2002. He was named Central Region Collegiate Coach of the Year in 2000 and 2005. He has posted a career record at Wartburg of 435-192-2.

Prior to arriving at Wartburg, Coach Holst served as head coach at Loras College for five seasons, where he amassed a 100-80 record and led the Duhawks to national rankings for the first time is school history. He graduated from Coe College in 1985, where he earned first team all-conference honors in baseball three straight years. He was also a three-year starter in football at Coe.

Holst spent four years as head coach at West Delaware High School after graduating from Coe. At West Delaware, he was nominated District Coach of the Year three times, won a Wamac Conference title and compiled a record of 100-50. He then earned his master's degree in health and physical education at Northwest Missouri State, while serving as recruiting coordinator and pitching coach for the nationally ranked NCAA Division II Bearcats for two seasons, before taking his first collegiate head coaching job at Loras in 1990. Holst carried out responsibilities in the football programs at Wartburg, Loras, and West Delaware.

Coach Holst and his wife, Debbie, have two boys: McClain and Ripken.

Don Spore, Pitching/catching coordinator

Coach Spore just concluded his ninth season with the Knights. He brings a love and dedication to the game along with a wealth of experience.  Spore, who has coached three All-American pitchers for the Knights over the course of the last five seasons ( 2005-Matt Scherbring, 2007 Aaron Saeugling and 2009 Jerrold Martijn), graduated from Waterloo East High School in 1965 and attended UNI. 

He has coached for 40 years at various levels, most recently as pitching coach for Waterloo East [1995-'98] where he helped groom two first team all-state players in '98 culminating in East High's first trip to the State Tournament in 25 years. He moved on as pitching coach for Waterloo Columbus HS [1999-2001] where he groomed another first team all-state pitcher in '01. In 2002-2004, he coached pitchers at Waverly-Shell Rock HS. Coach Spore attends many pitching seminars where ideas are exchanged with coaches from across the country. He has built a large network of pitching coaches from the high school, college, as well as, the major league level to keep abreast of the best information. His primary goal is to help pitchers realize their true potential. 

Don and his wife, Pearl, have two sons, Reed Spore and Brian Morris, and two granddaughters, Alyson and Emily.

Casey Chaplin, Hitting/catching coach

Coach Chaplin recently completed his 6th year as an assistant coach at Wartburg. Casey has been a member of the Wartburg staff during five Iowa Conference championships and two regional championships, accompanying the Knights on trips to the College World Series in 2000 and 2005. Casey coached Wartburg catchers Matt Thede (two-time all IIAC and former member of Montreal Expo Organization) and Brian Griener (current school record holder in career RBI.)

Chaplin earned his B.A. and M.A. from Buena Vista University , playing baseball from 1990-1993. Chaplin was voted team captain in 1993 and was the leading hitter for the Beavers in 1992. Chaplin was head coach at Galva-Holstein High School (1998, 1999) and Waverly-Shell Rock High School (2001-2004) as well as pitching coach at Buena Vista University (1996-1999). In 2001, Chaplin led Waverly-Shell Rock to their first state baseball tournament appearance in twenty-four years. Chaplin is currently head sophomore football coach at Waverly-Shell Rock.

Chaplin, his wife Angie and their two sons, Jacob and Jeremy, reside in Waverly.

Craig Denner, Assistant coach