Oakland University head baseball coach John Musachio enters his third year in charge of the program in 2010. The Golden Grizzlies made improvements across the board during the 2009 season, with 16 team or individual records broken during the course of the season. Three players earned Summit League Player of the Week honors, and the Golden Grizzlies posted 22 wins, a high for the Division I era. The team posted its highest RPI since the 2000 season, coming in at 241, and two players (Justin Wilson and Tommy Jablonski) were named to All-Summit League teams. Senior hurler Shane McCatty became the first player of the Musachio era picked in the Major League Baseball draft, going in the 34th round to the Washington Nationals. The OU baseball program had its share of success off the field as well, as the team posted a 3.07 GPA for the 2008-09 academic year, and the program was given the Community Service Award, awarded to the team with the highest level of community service. Individually, Rob Merkle picked up his second consecutive ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District selection, and Taylor Traub was honored with the Hollie Lepley Senior Scholar-Athlete Award, given annually to recognize community service as well as academic and athletic excellence. During Musachio's first season as head coach, the Golden Grizzlies posted a 15-30 record, but over the course of the season the team made continuous improvements on and off the field, and numerous OU players were recognized for their efforts during the year. 25 OU baseball players were named to The Summit League Commissioner's List of Academic Excellence, the most of any baseball program in the league. 21 OU players were named to the Summit League Academic All-League team, again the most selections of any baseball program in The Summit League. Rob Merkle earned a selection to the CoSIDA/ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District team, while the entire team volunteered for Jack's Place for Autism, volunteering once a week for six weeks during the fall, where the Golden Grizzlies taught the children of Jack's Place to play baseball. In addition, the Golden Grizzlies offered free clinics for several different youth organizations. Additionally, the team's 3.10 GPA in the spring of 2008 led all OU men's athletics programs. On the field the Golden Grizzlies had their share of honors as well. Scott Sexton earned an honorable mention selection to the PING! Freshman All-America squad, while Andrew Stafford and Taylor Traub were both named to the All-Summit League second team. The team posted statistical improvements in virtually every area, posting a .958 fielding percentage, the team's best number since moving to Division I. OU's team batting average was a respectable .293, good for the third-best total since OU moved to Division I. Oakland pitchers Andrew Estes and Greg Welke both earned Summit League Pitcher of the Week honors, while the Golden Grizzlies tied an NCAA record by stringing together 11 consecutive hits during OU's 17-6 win over Southern Utah. With the feat, OU became the first school to accomplish the feat since Cal State-Los Angeles accomplished it in a victory over UC-Santa Barbara during the 1977 season. Prior to being promoted to head coach, Musachio served a two-year stint as the Golden Grizzlies' top assistant. As OU's top assistant, Musachio served as the hitting coach, recruiting coordinator and travel coordinator. In 2006, Musachio's first season with the team, the Golden Grizzlies raised their team batting average 30 points from the previous year. This past season OU led the Mid-Con in hitting (.307 team batting average) and doubles (102), and was second in five other categories, including slugging percentage and on-base percentage. Several OU players have garnered attention for their feats at the plate since Musachio took over as hitting coach. Six hitters have been named to the all-conference team over the last two seasons, including Kevin Carkeek, Justin Wilson and Dan Ryan this past spring. Carkeek was drafted by the Houston Astros in June while Ryan Heath won two national awards, being named Louisville Slugger's National Player of the Week and NCBWA Hitter of the Week last April. Prior to joining Oakland's staff two years ago, Musachio served as an assistant coach at Michigan State for the 2005 season. He worked primarily with the outfielders, coached baserunning and assisted with hitting. That season all three Spartan outfielders were named to the Big Ten All-Conference team and one player, Ryan Sontag, was named Big Ten Freshman of the Year as well as a Freshman All-American. Before his appointment to MSU's staff, Musachio coached the DuPage Dragons of the Central Illinois Collegiate League for one season. Musachio worked with the Dragons' pitching staff, which compiled an overall record of 22-22. Three players--Miles Morgan, Omar Arif and Victor Ferrante--were later selected in the MLB Draft. The LaGrange, Ill. native played one season of professional baseball with the Hickory Crawdads, Class A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox. He compiled a 1-0 record with one save and a 3.60 ERA on the mound. Musachio graduated from Bradley University in 1996 with a Bachelor's degree in psychology. A four-year standout with the Braves, he was twice named to the Missouri Valley All-Conference team. Musachio served as the team captain, was voted team MVP and was named to the MVC All-Tournament team his senior season and was voted the Don Stamp Hustle Award winner three of his four years at Bradley. The Braves posted two 40-win seasons and made two appearances in the MVC championship game throughout Musachio's four-year career. Musachio and his wife, Laura, live in Rochester Hills with their two daughters, Isabella and Sienna.
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