Baseball Coaches
HEAD COACH – Dave Garcia
David Garcia (pronounced “GARSH – shuh”) enters into his fourth year as the Head Baseball Coach at Southwestern Illinois College.
He was named to the position in July 2021 after spending the previous two years Western Carolina University as the team’s hitting coach.
During his time at SWIC, the team has seen a steady increase in winning each of the first three seasons, totaling an overall record of 102-68.
During his third season, Garcia broke the 300-win mark for his career and finishing the season with an overall career record of 316-156-3.
He has continued his success with moving players on to the next level. In his three seasons, he has moved 17 players onto DI schools and 12 players to DII schools.
Garsh’s junior college roots run deep. Prior to his time at SWIC, he was the head coach at Parkland College in Champaign, Illinois.
Over five seasons at Parkland, Garcia compiled a record of 214-88-2, guiding the Cobras to three-straight appearances in the NJCAA Division 2 World Series including a National Championship Runner-Up finish in 2018.
In 2017, Parkland finished with a 53-8 overall record, placing third nationally. Over his final two seasons, Parkland won a combined 98 games.
He also moved 47 players to NCAA Division I programs from the junior college level.
Garcia is a two-time Mid-West Athletic Conference (MWAC) Coach of the Year selection in 2016 and 2017 and collected Region 24 Coach of the Year three-straight seasons from 2016 to 2018. He mentored five NJCAA All-America selections while at Parkland with four players taken in the MLB Draft.
Garcia also has eight years of professional baseball coaching experience. He spent four years with the independent Frontier League-member River City Rascals in O’Fallon, Missouri, where he was the bench coach for the 2010 squad that won the league championship. He was also a part of setting a league record with 68 regular season wins in 2011, again as the bench coach while adding assistant hitting coach duties.
Garcia spent a season with the Joliet (Ill.) Slammers as the hitting coach and working with the catchers, as well as working a couple seasons with the Normal (Ill.) Cornbelters as an assistant and hitting coach, both of the Frontier League. He was scheduled to serve as the Windy City Thunderbolts Pitching coach for the COVID season of 2020.
From 2017-2018, Garcia worked as an associate scout with the Los Angeles Dodgers, providing reports on potential prospects from his region that included the Big 10, Missouri Valley Conference, and junior college teams.
All told, 23 of the players he mentored over eight seasons in the independent league went on to sign with an MLB affiliated team.
A Granville, Ill., native, Garcia played collegiate baseball at Parkland College from 1998-2000 before venturing to Northern Illinois for baseball. Following his senior season, he signed a professional contract to play in the Frontier League with the Rockford (Ill.) Riverhawks.
Baseball Office: 618-235-2700, ext. 5371
Email Address: david.garcia@swic.edu
Adam Donachie-3rd Base Coach/Catching Coach
Adam Donachie’s playing career consisted of 15 professional seasons as a catcher, first baseman, and third baseman.
He was drafted in 2002 in the second round by the Kansas City Royals.
Over his nine seasons in affiliated baseball, he progressed to AAA in the Baltimore Orioles organization (3 Big League Spring Training Invites) and up to AA with the Kansas City Royals organization (5 Big League Spring Training Invites).
In 2012, he signed with the Somerset Patriots of the Atlantic League (Independent) and played 5 seasons with them.
In 2017 he shifted to a player-coach role with the team, thus beginning his coaching career.
Since 2017 he has coached at Chicago State University and has been the catching coordinator for the Nexen Heroes of the Korean Baseball Organization.
Donnie currently is an assistant coach for the Lincoln Salt Dogs. It is his second season in that role.
Jacob Claspille-Recruiting Coordinator
Coach Claspille started at Southwestern Illinois College during the 2021 season where he filled the role as assistant pitching coach / director of data and analytics. In 2022, Claspille was promoted to head pitching coach. In those two years, he has had pitching staffs finish in the top 25 in strikeouts and ERA.
During his time at SWIC, he has assisted with moving on 10 pitchers to the DI level, along with 7 pitchers to DII.
Claspille also assists the Texas Rangers as an associate scout where he focuses on finding prospects in the state of Illinois and the St. Louis area.
Prior to joining SWIC, Claspille was with the San Diego Padres in their player development system. Assisting with both hitters and pitchers, Claspille oversaw the use of data, technology, and video for the Padres High-A Lake Elsinore Storm.
Prior to that, he was a video scout for Baseball Info Solutions, a leading third-party analytics company founded by Bill James. There, he was responsible for the calculation of Defensive Runs Saved (DRS) along with the building reports of college players for over 25 MLB organizations.
Coach Jake attended Webster University in St. Louis where he graduated in 2018 with degrees in Sports Communication and Business. 12w
Jeff Wetzler – Hitting Coach/Strength and Conditioning Coach
The Newburgh, Indiana native, is in his 2nd year as the Blue Storm’s Hitting and Strength coach.
Before joining Coach Garcia’s staff, Jeff was the Head Coach for Combine Academy’s High School baseball team. In 2022, Combine Academy went 31-7, and was ranked as high as 12th in the nation.
Wetzler began his coaching career at Parkland College in 2018 and spent three and a half years as Parkland’s Hitting Coach and Strength and Conditioning Coordinator. During his time at Parkland, he helped move on 17 players to NCAA Division I, 9 to Division II, and 7 to NAIA level schools.
In total, he has been a part of moving on 46 players on to the four-year level in five seasons.
Jeff attended McKendree University where he played baseball and majored in Sport Management.
Prior to transferring to McKendree, Jeff spent two years playing for Coach Garcia at Parkland College, including a trip to the NJCAA Baseball World Series in 2016.
Wetzler is a 2014 graduate of Castle High School in Newburgh, Indiana. He is the son of Kevin and Teri Wetzler and dog dad to Harper.
Trevor Minder – Infield Coach
The Springfield, Illinois native is in his second year coaching collegiate baseball. He was a 2017 graduate of Springfield High and went on to play baseball at Parkland College.
Following this stint in Champaign, he attended Tulane as a member of the baseball program. After three years in New Orleans, he received a degree in health and wellness but ultimately decided to continue his career in baseball.
Formerly the shortstop for the Boise Hawks of the Pioneer League, he has since been traded to the local Frontier League Gateway Grizzlies. He spends his offseason working with SWIC infielders and hitters.
Kevin Muendlein – Outfield Coach
A lifelong Belleville native.
The 2023 season is Coach Muendlein’s 3rd season on the Blue Storm staff.
“Coach Kev” handles the defensive development of the Blue Storm Outfield.
His two sons, Corey and Aaron (Ace) both played at SWIC for Coach Neil Fiala.
Casey Fair / Assistant Pitching Coach
Coach Fair is in his third season with the Blue Storm pitching staff. Fair splits time between SWIC and Extreme Elite Baseball Club where he was promoted to Director of Pitching after overseeing their youth programs for years.
Casey’s baseball coaching experience has traveled across multiple levels. He was an assistant coach at Collinsville High School for three years and a head coach for multiple Extreme Elite teams over the last five years.
Fair was also a left-handed pitcher at Illinois College.
From Bethalto, IL, Casey attended Civic Memorial High School. He is now a resident in Collinsville, Illinois