In 2010, Craig Walter will begin his ninth year as the UW-Stout baseball coach and his 16th year in the competitive Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC). In the spring of 2007, Walter's Blue Devils went 23-29, 13-11 in the WIAC, and made their first trip to the WIAC Tournament, knocking off the top seed in the first game.
"Stout is a great place to work," Walter said. "Everyone is so friendly, there are no selfish attitudes and everyone wants everyone else to succeed. Most days, I don't even consider it a job because I really enjoy it so much. Working around the other coaches and staff, well...it is just fun. They all have such a passion for what they do. The athletes that come into this building every day have such great attitudes...how could you not love being here every day?
"Our first goal is to win as many games as possible, get into the conference tournament and see what happens. I want players who absolutely love to compete; players whe can look at themselves and say this is who I am and this is who we are. Be accountable for all of our actions. We will give them as tough of a schedule as we can every year. I expect to win and our players should expect to win because I believe we will give them every available opportunity and resource to win.
"We use a motto I call P6. If you want to know what it stands for, you will have to ask."
Walter said his teams have always hit well and have traditionally been very aggressive on the bases. Maybe too aggressive, but he would rather have that than the other option.
"I like to run, but I don't like to run just to improve our statistics," Walter said. "We will hit and run a lot. We like to get the defense moving. Force them to execute perfect skills. But the bottom line is this, if we can't pitch and play defense, we will not succeed. I tell all of the players in our program or players who come to visit that I believe everyone is a pitcher...until they prove otherwise. I do, occassionally get some strange looks on that one, but it still is all about pitching."
Walter coached at both UW-Eau Claire and UW-River Falls, winning five Northern Division titles in seven years, ranking him sixth on the WIAC all-time wins list.
After two seasons as the assistant coach at Eau Claire, Walter took over as the head coach for the Blugolds from 1990-95, leading Eau Claire to four consecutive WIAC Northern Division titles from 1992-95. In 1996, Walter coached River Falls to a Northern Division title and advanced the Falcons to their only NCAA Division III playoff game. At both schools, the Walter-led teams set school records for most wins in a season, winning 28 at Eau Claire in 1994 and 23 in his single year at River Falls.
Walter, who was the NAIA District 14 coach of the year in 1992 and three times named the Louisville Slugger conference coach of the year, likes what he sees in Division III baseball.
"Division III is very good baseball," Walter said. "The kids play because they want to. There are no dollars hanging over their heads. Many of these players could go to play at Division II of small Division I programs, but chose to play here."
Walter, a native of Wadena, Minn., played his college ball at Waldorf Junior College and Mankato State. Walter was drafted in the seventh round by the New York Mets in 1981, but didn't sign with a pro team until 1983 when he inked a package with the Kansas City Royals.
A right handed pitcher, Walter played two years in the Royals' farm system, notching 15 career saves and was voted to the South Atlantic League All-Star team in 1984. Outside of his coaching experience, Walter is perhaps best known in local baseball circles for his play with the Eau Claire Cavaliers where he posted a 155-31 record over 14 seasons. Walter also played with the Menomonie Eagles for two seasons.
Walter is the 26th person to serve as the head baseball coach at UW-Stout.
Walter and his wife, Kari, live in Eau Claire with their son, Park, and daughter, Lydia.
Craig Walter Superlatives
- Five consecutive WSUC Northern Division titles at two schools (The WSUC was the predecessor to the WIAC)
- Coached at UW-Eau Claire, 1990-95, 120-110 overall record
- Four WSUC Northern Division titles at Eau Claire
- NAIA District 14 coach of the year, 1992
- Louisville Slugger Conference Coach of the Year, 1993, 94, 96
- Set Eau Claire record for most wins in a season, 28 in 1994
- Coached at UW-River Falls, 1996, 23-14 overall record
- One WSUC Northern Division title at River Falls
- Advanced River Falls to their only NCAA Division III baseball playoff
- Set River Falls record for most wins in a season
- Overall coaching record of 216-242
- Coached two players drafted in Major League Draft (Len Manning, pitcher, UW-Eau Claire, 1994, Phillies;
- Randy Stearns, outfielder, UW-River Falls, 1996, Dodgers)
- Drafted by New York Mets, 7th round, 1981
- Signed with Kansas City Royals, 1983
- All-star in South Atlantic League, 1984
- Played 14 seasons with Eau Claire Cavaliers, 155-31 record as pitcher
Blue Devil Baseball Coaching Staff
(updated July, 2009)
