Troy University Athletics
Troy Baseball Adds Fineman to Coaching Staff, Meade Doles Out Promotions
8/12/2024 1:59:00 PM | Baseball
TROY, Ala. – Troy Baseball head coach Skylar Meade announced Monday the addition of one of the nation's top recruiters, Ryan Fineman, to be the Trojans' new recruiting coordinator and assistant coach. Additionally, Ben Wolgamot was promoted to associate head coach, Adam Godwin was promoted to outfield and base running coordinator and Joe Bialkoski was promoted to director of player development and operations.
"First off, I want to thank our outgoing coaches and staff for their well-earned new positions and what they brought to Troy Baseball over the years," Meade said. "Ethan Landon, Hunter Reeves and Jesse Hall will crush it at their new positions at Toledo, East Carolina and Quincy, respectively.
"Next, I am extremely happy to announce our newest addition in Ryan Fineman," Meade said. "He is a killer on the road, an elite people person, and to me, one of the brightest young stars in the game. We are lucky to have him, and his early work is already paying off on the recruiting front."
Fineman joins the Troy staff following one season as an assistant at Old Dominion (2024) and one season at Alabama (2023) as the Crimson Tide's Director of Player Personnel. The Monarchs upset No. 21 Louisiana in the opening round of the Sun Belt Tournament this past spring, in addition to picking up victories over No. 10 Virginia, No. 20 Coastal Carolina and No. 11 East Carolina.
During his tenure at Alabama, he assisted with the development of the team's hitters and catchers and assisted with on-campus recruiting. Alabama earned a host site for a 2023 NCAA Regional and advanced to the Super Regionals, where it faced No. 1 Wake Forest.
Prior to his time in Tuscaloosa, he was a volunteer assistant coach at New Orleans (2021-2022) and an assistant coach/recruiting coordinator at Chipola Junior College (2020-21).
Originally from Westlake Village, California, Fineman was a four-year starting catcher at Indiana from 2016-2019, helping the Hoosiers capture a Big Ten regular-season title in 2019 and make three appearances in the NCAA Regionals. After earning Big Ten All-Freshman honors in 2016, he hit .284 with seven home runs and 37 RBIs as a junior in 2018. He signed an undrafted free agent deal with the Tampa Bay Rays and played one season with their Gulf Coast rookie team in 2019.
The addition of Fineman to the staff means that Meade will take over full responsibility of the Troy pitching staff moving forward, which was his role in assistant jobs at South Carolina, Michigan State, Middle Tennessee and Eastern Illinois. Additionally, Meade served as the pitching coach for Team USA's Collegiate National Team this past summer.
In Meade's final season at South Carolina, six Gamecock pitchers were selected in the MLB Draft, tying Arkansas for the most in that year's Draft; in total, 14 South Carolina pitchers were drafted in his four seasons.
During his tenure at Michigan State, a Spartan pitcher led the Big Ten in ERA in each of his last two seasons on staff (Walter Borkovich in 2017; Dakota Mekkes in 2016). Additionally, the Spartans posted their top three strikeout totals in school history his final three seasons, with 409 strikeouts in 2015, 466 in 2016 and 420 in 2017.
"Our returning staff has elevated our program during our three years together and they will continue the upward momentum of Troy Baseball," Meade said. "I am excited for Ben, Adam and Joe for their increased role within our program."
Ben Wolgamot – Associate Head Coach
Ben Wolgamot has been named associate head coach. Leading Troy's offensive game plan the past three seasons, Wolgamot has guided the Trojans to elite offensive status each of the past two seasons. This past season, Troy ranked eighth nationally in on-base percentage, 14th in runs scored and third in walks, while Kole Myers ranked fourth nationally in walks and 13th in runs scored and Brooks Bryan was fifth in RBIs.
Adam Godwin – Outfield / Base Running Coordinator
Adam Godwin has been named outfield and base running coordinator. Godwin, who led the NCAA and set Troy's single-season record with 84 stolen bases in 2005 and holds Troy's career stolen base record with 112, has spearheaded Troy's base running game during his tenure with the Trojans, which helped Myers rank seventh nationally last season with 34 stolen bases, an increase in 13 from the previous season.
Joe Bialkoski – Director of Player Development / Analytics / Operations
Joe Bialkoski enters his fourth season with the program and adds the role of director of operations to his role as director of player development and analytics. Bialkoski joined the Troy staff following four years at Virginia, where he served as a baseball operations assistant. The Cavaliers advanced to the College World Series in 2021 for the first time since 2015.
"First off, I want to thank our outgoing coaches and staff for their well-earned new positions and what they brought to Troy Baseball over the years," Meade said. "Ethan Landon, Hunter Reeves and Jesse Hall will crush it at their new positions at Toledo, East Carolina and Quincy, respectively.
"Next, I am extremely happy to announce our newest addition in Ryan Fineman," Meade said. "He is a killer on the road, an elite people person, and to me, one of the brightest young stars in the game. We are lucky to have him, and his early work is already paying off on the recruiting front."
Fineman joins the Troy staff following one season as an assistant at Old Dominion (2024) and one season at Alabama (2023) as the Crimson Tide's Director of Player Personnel. The Monarchs upset No. 21 Louisiana in the opening round of the Sun Belt Tournament this past spring, in addition to picking up victories over No. 10 Virginia, No. 20 Coastal Carolina and No. 11 East Carolina.
During his tenure at Alabama, he assisted with the development of the team's hitters and catchers and assisted with on-campus recruiting. Alabama earned a host site for a 2023 NCAA Regional and advanced to the Super Regionals, where it faced No. 1 Wake Forest.
Prior to his time in Tuscaloosa, he was a volunteer assistant coach at New Orleans (2021-2022) and an assistant coach/recruiting coordinator at Chipola Junior College (2020-21).
Originally from Westlake Village, California, Fineman was a four-year starting catcher at Indiana from 2016-2019, helping the Hoosiers capture a Big Ten regular-season title in 2019 and make three appearances in the NCAA Regionals. After earning Big Ten All-Freshman honors in 2016, he hit .284 with seven home runs and 37 RBIs as a junior in 2018. He signed an undrafted free agent deal with the Tampa Bay Rays and played one season with their Gulf Coast rookie team in 2019.
The addition of Fineman to the staff means that Meade will take over full responsibility of the Troy pitching staff moving forward, which was his role in assistant jobs at South Carolina, Michigan State, Middle Tennessee and Eastern Illinois. Additionally, Meade served as the pitching coach for Team USA's Collegiate National Team this past summer.
In Meade's final season at South Carolina, six Gamecock pitchers were selected in the MLB Draft, tying Arkansas for the most in that year's Draft; in total, 14 South Carolina pitchers were drafted in his four seasons.
During his tenure at Michigan State, a Spartan pitcher led the Big Ten in ERA in each of his last two seasons on staff (Walter Borkovich in 2017; Dakota Mekkes in 2016). Additionally, the Spartans posted their top three strikeout totals in school history his final three seasons, with 409 strikeouts in 2015, 466 in 2016 and 420 in 2017.
"Our returning staff has elevated our program during our three years together and they will continue the upward momentum of Troy Baseball," Meade said. "I am excited for Ben, Adam and Joe for their increased role within our program."
Ben Wolgamot – Associate Head Coach
Ben Wolgamot has been named associate head coach. Leading Troy's offensive game plan the past three seasons, Wolgamot has guided the Trojans to elite offensive status each of the past two seasons. This past season, Troy ranked eighth nationally in on-base percentage, 14th in runs scored and third in walks, while Kole Myers ranked fourth nationally in walks and 13th in runs scored and Brooks Bryan was fifth in RBIs.
Adam Godwin – Outfield / Base Running Coordinator
Adam Godwin has been named outfield and base running coordinator. Godwin, who led the NCAA and set Troy's single-season record with 84 stolen bases in 2005 and holds Troy's career stolen base record with 112, has spearheaded Troy's base running game during his tenure with the Trojans, which helped Myers rank seventh nationally last season with 34 stolen bases, an increase in 13 from the previous season.
Joe Bialkoski – Director of Player Development / Analytics / Operations
Joe Bialkoski enters his fourth season with the program and adds the role of director of operations to his role as director of player development and analytics. Bialkoski joined the Troy staff following four years at Virginia, where he served as a baseball operations assistant. The Cavaliers advanced to the College World Series in 2021 for the first time since 2015.
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