Ben Greenspan is in his fifth year as an assistant coach for Indiana Baseball. Greenspan's primary duties are as the Hoosiers' hitting coach and working defensively with IU's catchers. He also works with recruiting, budgeting and scheduling for the Hoosiers. He was responsible for travel coordination during his first four season as well. Greenspan's latest protege is Kyle Schwarber, named a Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American in 2012 after starting nearly every game behind the dish for Indiana. Greenspan, a catcher himself for IU (2006-07), saw dramatic defensive improvements from Schwarber en route to earning second team All-Big Ten accolades. It marked the second IU backstop under Coach Greenspan to be tabbed all-conference after Josh Phegley (first team) did so in 2009. The Hoosier offense was one of the best in the nation in 2010, as IU set a school record with 85 home runs on the year, a total that finished 25th nationally. In addition to Big Ten Player of the Year Alex Dickerson's 25, three other Hoosiers had double-digit homers and the team slugged a whopping .529, with three of the top four sluggers in the conference (Dickerson, Josh Lyon and Michael Earley) playing for Indiana. In his first year as an assistant coach he helped mentor Indiana to its first Big Ten Tournament Championship since 1996. Offensively, the Hoosiers finished second in the conference in both batting average (.327) and home runs (61) under Greenspan's tutelage. The 61 home runs were the most by an IU squad since 1999. Greenspan also played a strong role in the performance of Dickerson, who is the only player in conference history to win Freshman of the Year and Player of the Year honors in consecutive seasons. The Poway, Calif., native set an IU freshman record and finished fifth in the conference with his 14 home runs. In the 2009 season, nine of the 10 regulars in the lineup hit over .300, the lone exception being Chris Hervey, who hit .283 but had a .419 on-base percentage, fourth on the team. When Indiana reached the Big Ten Tournament, the offense broke out, as IU dominated the conference's postseason like no other team in history. The Hoosiers hit .411 for the tournament and bashed 16 doubles, both tourney records, and saw four IU hitters earn All-Big Ten Tournament honors. Greenspan saw catcher Josh Phegley named First Team All-Big Ten in 2009. Defensively, Phegley showed strong improvement over the previous year, as he allowed four fewer passed balls from his 2008 campaign and surrendered 19 fewer stolen bases against. As a unit, the catchers saw the opposition's stolen base success rate drop from 70.6 percent to 64.0 percent from 2008 Greenspan played two years for Smith and the Hoosiers after two years at the University of Connecticut. He played in 73 games for IU, serving as one of the team's captains as a senior and was an Academic All-Big Ten performer in the classroom as well. He led the team in slugging percentage and hit .311 in 2006. He played in 43 games at both catcher and first base in his first year in the Cream and Crimson, driving in 19 runs with six doubles and two home runs. As a senior in 2007, Greenspan was a leader on one of the youngest teams in the conference, helping the team to a 19-win season. In addition to his role as a clubhouse leader, he battled through injuries to play in 30 games and start 18. After finishing his eligibility, Greenspan worked within the athletics department before moving on to his coaching career. Meanwhile, he received his master's degree in sport administration to go along with a bachelor's in sport marketing and management. Greenspan's father, Rick, played baseball at the University of Maryland and currently serves as the director of athletics at Rice. Greenspan and his wife, Janine, resides in Bloomington with their dog Russell. |
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