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staff

Ben Krueger

BEN GRADUATED IN 2015 WITH A B.S. IN MANAGEMENT/MARKETING AFTER A FOUR YEAR PLAYING CAREER WITH YAKIMA VALLEY COLLEGE AND OREGON TECH. KRUEGER FOUNDED THE BENZ PROGRAM IN 2017, SERVING AS DIRECTOR AND HEAD COACH SINCE INCEPTION. HE BUILT THE CASCADE COLLEGIATE LEAGUE IN 2019, WHERE HE SERVES AS COMMISSIONER AND MANAGER OF THE CCL SHOWCASE TEAM. KRUEGER RECENTLY JOINED THE COACHING STAFF AT GEORGIA GWINNETT COLLEGE FOR THE 2023 SEASON. HE WAS THE RECRUITING COORDINATOR AND HEAD OF DATA ANALYTICS FOR YAKIMA VALLEY COLLEGE IN 2022 AFTER TWO SEASONS ON STAFF WITH EVERETT CC AND ONE WITH SHORELINE CC. UNDER HIS DIRECTION, OVER 50 BENZ PLAYERS HAVE MOVED ON TO PLAY COLLEGE BASEBALL, 20 CCL PLAYERS HAVE SIGNED CONTRACTS TO PLAY IN THE WEST COAST LEAGUE AND 4 COLLEGE PLAYERS HAVE BEEN DRAFTED OR SIGNED BY MLB ORGANIZATIONS.

Mack Larson

MACK WILL GRADUATE IN 2022 WITH A B.S. IN BUSINESS ECONOMICS AFTER A FOUR YEAR PLAYING CAREER AT EVERETT COMMUNITY COLLEGE, LYON COLLEGE AND ST. CLOUD STATE. LARSON DOMINATED THE NWAC BETWEEN 2016 AND 2018 WITH 80 STRIKEOUTS AND 15 WALKS IN 88 INNINGS OF WORK. IN 2019, HE LED LYON COLLEGE TO THE NAIA NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP OPENING ROUND WITH SIMILAR OUTSTANDING NUMBERS: 79IP, 77K AND 19BB BEFORE FINISHING HIS CAREER AT ST. CLOUD STATE IN 2021. LARSON NOW WORKS UNDER MLB VETERANS BRENT LILLIBRIDGE AND STEVEN SOUZA JR. AS A PITCHING INSTRUCTOR AT BASE BY PROS IN LYNNWOOD, WA. HE JOINS BENZ AFTER BEING HIRED BY EVERETT COMMUNITY COLLEGE AS ASSISTANT PITCHING COACH IN 2021.

Keith Hessler

KEITH JOINED THE BENZ BOYS AS PITCHING COACH IN 2021 AND WILL REMAIN ON STAFF AS OUR OFFSEASON PITCHING COORDINATOR IN 2022. A NATIVE OF WASHINGTON, D.C., HE PLAYED COLLEGE BASEBALL AT COASTAL CAROLINA UNIVERSITY. HE WAS DRAFTED BY THE ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS IN THE 28TH ROUND OF THE 2010 MLB DRAFT, MAKING HIS DEBUT AUGUST 8TH, 2015. HESSLER MADE 20 APPEARANCES FOR ARIZONA OVER TWO SEASONS BEFORE LOGGING 15 FOR THE SAN DIEGO PADRES IN 2016. HESSLER JOINED BENZ AFTER MANAGING IN THE CASCADE COLLEGIATE LEAGUE AND BEING HIRED BY EVERETT COMMUNITY COLLEGE AS PITCHING COACH IN 2020.