Baseball
- Title:
- Assistant Coach
- Email:
- talinklater@bsu.edu
- Phone:
- 765.285.2862
Fourth Season at Ball State
Alma Mater:
Bachelor's -- Lake Forest '96
Bachelor's -- IPFW '99
Master's -- Dayton '02
Experience:
Ball State, assistant coach, 2013-Present
Dayton, associate head coach, 1999-2012
Southern Ohio Great Lakes, head coach, Summer 2003
IPFW, assistant coach, 1997-99
Lake Forest High School, assistant coach, 1996-97
NOTES: Coached T.J. Weir, who was a 17th round draft pick by Major League Baseball's San Diego Padres after Weir posted an 8-2 record as a senior in 2014 . . . coached Zach Plesac to Mid-American Conference Freshman Pitcher of the Year honors, Collegiate Baseball National Freshman Pitcher of the Year honors in 2014 . . . Plesac was also named to the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association and Collegiate Baseball Freshman All-America teams. . . tutored Scott Baker to a record-setting season in 2013 . . . the Mid-American Conference Pitcher of the Year in 2013, Baker was named the recipient of the Gregg Olson Award as the comeback player of the year after posting a 12-2 overall record with a 2.18 earned-run average . . . tutored Baker to American Baseball Coaches Association/Rawlings All-America Third Team honors and Louisville Slugger All-America Third Team honors . . . improved Ball State's pitching staff from a 5.25 ERA, which ranked ninth in the MAC in 2012, to a 2013 staff that led the MAC with a 3.68 ERA . . . helped the Cardinals to a 31-24 overall record and a 15-12 MAC record in 2013 . . . helped Ball State to the MAC Tournament Championship Game in 2013 and 2015 . . . helped the Cardinals to a MAC Regular-Season Championship, a MAC West Division title and the No. 1 seed in the MAC Tournament in 2014 . . . helped Dayton to the 2012 Atlantic-10 regular and tournament championship title . . . helped the Flyers also captured the regular season crown in 2009 . . . seven of Linklater's pitchers at Dayton were Major League Baseball Draft picks, including two major league level pitchers - Jerry Blevins '04 and Craig Stammen '05 . . . his 2011 Dayton pitching staff ranked second in the nation in walks allowed per nine innings, set a program record in strikeouts (429) and recorded the lowest ERA in program history during the modern era (3.94) . . . 35 percent of his roster for the Southern Ohio Great Lakes team signed a major league contract.
Personal Information:
Born: Feb. 24, 1973, in Evergreen Park, Ill.
Family: Married to the former Kerry Lambert . . . three daughters -- Caroline, Elizabeth and Madeline.
NOTES: Began his collegiate playing career as a pitcher in 1992-93 at Lincoln Trail Community College . . . transferred to Lake Forest College where he played football.
