Wichita State Athletics

Brent Kemnitz is in his 10th year as Assistant Athletic Director for Outreach and Staff Development after serving the previous 38 years as pitching coach at Wichita State for the baseball program. His duties include fundraising, emceeing Shocker events, mentoring staff and serving as a motivational speaker.

Kemnitz and Associate AD Alex Johnson combined to lead the completion of the Phase 5 renovation project at Eck Stadium.
  
In Kemnitz’s 38 years as pitching coach, honors, accomplishments and awards for pitchers under his tutelage were commonplace. Twice WSU led all NCAA Division I teams in ERA. The Shockers’ 1982 team established an NCAA record with 46 complete games while leading the nation with a 2.53 ERA and the 1991 staff led the NCAA with a 2.91 ERA. In 2011, Kemnitz was honored as he was named one of the top three pitching coaches in the country in a poll done by College Baseball Insider. During his time, the Shockers made seven College World Series appearances and won the 1989 National Championship.
  
Nine Kemnitz-coached Shocker pitchers were selected in the first round of the amateur baseball draft including Kris Johnson by the Boston Red Sox in 2006, Mike Pelfrey by the New York Mets in 2005, Ben Christensen by the Chicago Cubs in 1999, Braden Looper by the Florida Marlins in 1996, Mike Drumright by the Detroit Tigers in 1995, Darren Dreifort by the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1993, Tyler Green by the Philadelphia Phillies in 1991, Bryan Oelkers by Minnesota in 1982, and Erik Sonberg by the Dodgers in 1983.
  
Dreifort was the first Shocker hurler to earn National Player-of-the-Year honors when he was bestowed the Smith Award by the Greater Houston Sports Association. He also earned the prestigious Golden Spikes Award. Oelkers was named National Pitcher-of-the-Year in 1982 after leading all Division I pitchers with 166 strikeouts.

The winningest pitching coach in DI history, Kemnitz coached 19 big leaguers, 21 All-Americans and 20 Freshman All-Americans in his 38-year coaching career at Wichita State. Wichita State retired Kemnitz's No. 24 number in the spring of 2025, as well as named the new pitching performance lab in his name.
  
He became a full-time assistant coach in the fall of 1981 after serving the previous three years as a graduate assistant. A native of Perry, Okla., Kemnitz compiled a 21-7 record at Phillips University (Enid, Okla.), helping the Haymakers to a 29-game winning streak and a No. 1 NAIA ranking in his junior season with an 8-0 record.
  
He was inducted into the Kansas Baseball Hall of Fame in 2003, the Perry High School Hall of Fame in 2016, the Wichita Sports Hall of Fame in 2017, Shocker Sports Hall of Fame in 2022 and the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame in 2023.
  
Kemnitz has two daughters, Mackenzie and Madison. Academically, Kemnitz earned a bachelor’s degree in physical education from Phillips in 1978, and a master’s degree in education with an emphasis in sports administration from WSU in the summer of 1980.