Coaches

Sacramento City College head coach Andy McKay was named the new field manager of the La Crosse Loggers at a video press conference held September 11, 2007 on the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse campus. McKay succeeds Rick Boyer who stepped down following the 2007 season after two years at the helm.

McKay brings a wealth of coaching experience with him to La Crosse both at the collegiate level and from the summer collegiate ranks. The Monroe, Mich. native has served as the field general at Sacramento City College for the past nine seasons where he has amassed a 302-113 record (.728) which includes six conference championships, 13 post-season regionals and five State Final Four qualifiers. During this nine-year reign Sacramento City College has also won more post-season games than any other program in the state of California and over 140 student athletes have either transferred to four-year schools or signed professional contracts.

Coach McKay was honored as the 1999 Community College Coach of the Year and the Panther Baseball program was tabbed as the 1990's Team of the Decade by Baseball America.

McKay is no stranger to summer collegiate ball either, having served as the head coach for the Anchorage Glacier Pilots of the Alaskan League in 2005 and as the pitching coach for the Chatham A's of the Cape Cod League in 1996. The 1996 Chatham club captured the Cape Cod League Championship and boasted some top talent in the country. Over four million dollars were paid out to the pitchers from the Chatham club by Major League organizations including the first overall pick of the 1997 MLB Draft, Matt Anderson, who starred as the closer on that Chatham team.

Coach McKay also served as an assistant coach for five years (1994-98) at Sacramento City College before taking over the top position and was also a player/coach on the 1993 Division II National Championship squad at the University of Tampa.

As a player McKay played at Sacramento City College for two seasons. During those two seasons the Panthers claimed two league championships, two state runner-up finishes and compiled a record of 101 wins and 8 losses. McKay was also a co-captain on the 1992 Panther squad, along with former assistant coach, Rob Cooper, who is now the head coach at Wright State University.

Andy McKay the coach is also Andy McKay the instructor. The 36-year old has utilized his Master's Degree in Business Administration to help in the classroom as he teaches Sports Psychology at Sacramento City College when he's not on the baseball diamond.

His work on and off the field has also garnered attention by national publications. This year McKay is publishing a column entitled 'Mental Game of Baseball' for Collegiate Baseball Magazine and in 1996 he assisted Jerry Weinstein in assembling the pitching and catching manual for Team USA.

McKay also served as an associate scout for the Chicago White Sox from 1994-1997.

Coach McKay and his wife Anne (Marquiss) currently reside in Sacramento, Calif. with their son Hank (8) and their daughter Gabrielle (5).

Joe Potulny was hired on November 12, 2007 and will be entering his first season of Northwoods League Baseball in 2008 but he is certainly no stranger to summer collegiate ball.

Potulny will be re-joining forces with McKay as the two worked together in the summer of 2005 as the leaders of the Anchorage Glacier Pilots in the Alaskan League. Currently in the midst of his 16th year at the helm of the Jesuit High (California) program, Potulny has helped numerous players advance to collegiate and professional baseball including 2008 Logger Corey Vaughn (San Diego State). Potulnys' teams have qualified for the post-season in 12 of the last 14 seasons including five league titles and three sectional titles in California. The Sacramento, Calif. resident will coach third base and work with the Logger infielders during the summer.

Helping spearhead the Loggers pitching staff will be Derrick Tate who is in his second season as a pitching instructor at the University of San Francisco, his alma mater. A standout pitcher in his own right, Tate is not far removed from a career in professional baseball having spent the 2004-2006 seasons in the Toronto Blue Jays organization. A former two-time all-West Coast Conference pitcher (2003-04), southpaw Tate was also tabbed as the 2004 Toronto Blue Jays Minor League Pitcher of the Year. Tate is no stranger to summer collegiate baseball either, having spent the summer of 2002 with the Wennatchee AppleSox of the West Coast Collegiate League and the 2003 summer with the Harrisonburg Turks of the Valley League.

Returning for his third season in Logger green will be Scott Gillitzer, who served as an assistant in each of the past two seasons. Gillitzer, like Tate, had a successful stint previously in professional baseball as a utility infielder in the Los Angeles Dodgers organization from 2001-2004. Following his playing days the Prairie Du Chien, Wisc. native enjoyed coaching stints at MATC, WWTC and the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse before settling into his current position as an assistant Winona State University. Gillitzer will coach first base and work with the Loggers hitters.