Wally Crancer Joins Redbird Baseball Staff As Assistant Head Coach

NORMAL, Ill. – Illinois State head baseball coach Steve Holm has made the first hire for his new coaching staff, as he announced the addition of former Purdue recruiting coordinator Wally Crancer as the Redbirds' assistant head coach and recruiting coordinator Wednesday.

"I'm extremely excited to announce Wally Crancer as the assistant head coach and recruiting coordinator at Illinois State," Holm said. "Being able to hire someone who has multiple years of experience as a power five recruiting coordinator will quickly pay dividends for the Redbirds. As any of his former players would attest to, Wally is a player's coach which will help make this transition seamless for him and our players. It is with great pleasure that I welcome Wally, his wife Ashlee and their two sons, Blake and Jaxson, to Illinois State baseball family." 

At Purdue, Crancer served as the hitting coach and was tasked with the defensive instruction. The Boilermakers were the toughest team to strike out in the Big Ten during their 38-win season in 2018, and Crancer's work with the hitters and leading role in defensive alignments helped propel the Boilermakers to a 21-3 stretch during the second half of the season. It led to a No. 2 seed at the Chapel Hill Regional, just Purdue's third NCAA Tournament berth in program history.

Many of Crancer's recruits were also a big part of a 19-win improvement in 2017, which ranked as the greatest turnaround in program history. Sixteen newcomers saw action in 2017, as Purdue became just the second Big Ten team since 1988 to win 10 more games in league play than the previous year, returning to the conference tournament in the process.

"My family and I are excited to join Coach Holm and the Redbird program," Crancer stated. "Steve is a great baseball coach, an even better person, and the opportunity to work with him and rest of the staff was too good to pass up. Steve and I had great chemistry and success working together at Purdue and I am looking forward to doing my part in helping us reach the next level and bring championships here to Illinois State."

Prior to heading to West Lafayette, Crancer spent two seasons at his alma mater on the Georgia Tech staff in 2012 and 2013. As an assistant, he worked primarily with the outfielders, assisted the hitting coach and served as the first base coach. Georgia Tech won the 2012 ACC Tournament and finished as a Regional runner-up to the site host in each of his two seasons on the coaching staff. 

The Norco, California, native transferred to Georgia Tech, where he earned a bachelor's degree in 2007, after playing his first two college seasons at Riverside (Calif.) Community College. As a two-year starting outfielder at Georgia Tech, he batted .345 with 22 doubles, 14 home runs and 82 RBI in 90 career starts. In 2006, he helped lead the Yellow Jackets to a 50-win season. Following his collegiate career, Crancer was selected in the 12th round of the 2007 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft by the Baltimore Orioles.

Crancer and his wife Ashlee have two sons, Blake and Jaxson.

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