Brock Nehls

Brock Nehls

Brock Nehls enters his third season as head baseball coach for the Owls. On July 5th, 2016, Nehls was hired, becoming the fifth baseball coach in William Woods Baseball program history.

Nehls, picked up his first collegiate win on February 11th, 2017 when they Owls defeated Baker University, 6-3. Under the guidance of Nehls, the Owls had three All-Conference and the first AMC Dual Position Player of the Year winner in Ryan Phillips. The Owls finished in fifth place in the AMC during his first season. The Owls made an AMC postseason run and finished in third place, one game away from qualifying for the NAIA Baseball National Championship.
During the Owls second season under Nehls, WWU went 31-24 on the season and 17-13 for a fifth-place finish in the AMC. WWU’s Taran Oulton was named First Team All-AMC, while Nolan Aherin was named Second Team All-AMC. Not only did the Owls succeed on the field but also in the classroom as 25 players earned Academic All-AMC honors. Ten players earned NAIA Scholar-Athlete honors, which was the most of any baseball team in the nation.

Prior to coming to William Woods, Nehls spent the last five seasons as an assistant coach at Dodge City Community College. During his time at Dodge City CC, Nehls oversaw the pitching staff and recruiting.
 
During the 2016 season, Dodge City CC finished the year with a 41-18 overall record and finished fourth in the West Division with a 19-13 in the Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference (KJCCC). This past season, the Congos finished with the sixth best ERA (5.29) in the KJCCC.

In 2015, Nehls' pitching staff led the Jayhawk Conference in team ERA (4.09) and strikeouts (441). Luke Crabb and Andrew Riddell were named Second-Team All-Jayhawk West, with Crabb leading the Jayhawk Conference in strikeouts.

The Conqs finished the 2015 season with a 42-20 record, which is the school record for wins in a season. They were the Region VI Champions and advanced to the JUCO World Series, where they finished seventh in the nation. 

Also in 2015, 14 Conqs signed letters of intent to move on to the next level, with five signing with NCAA Division I schools (VCU, University of Missouri, University of Tennessee and two at the University of Arkansas-Pine Bluff).

In 2014, the pitching staff had a team ERA of 5.13. Ten Conqs moved on to four-year schools after the season. Of those 10, Sam Brunner (University of Dayton), Jagger Harjo (Emporia State University), Giles Fox (Fort Hays State University) and Chase Wilson (Newman University) were members of the Dodge City CC pitching staff.

In 2013, the pitching staff had a 4.23 team ERA, the lowest in the Jayhawk-West for the season. Nehls had two pitchers receive postseason recognition, sophomore Ross Vance (West Virginia University) was named First-Team All-Jayhawk West and Second-Team All-Region VI, while freshman Clayton Brewster was named Honorable Mention All-Jayhawk West.

In 2012, Nehls had five pitchers receive postseason honors for Dodge City CC, Walker Rainwater was named First-Team All-Region VI, while Travis Leverett, Kyle Myers, Maverick Rork and Wyndam Williams all received Honorable Mention. 

Nehls was the pitching coach at Cloud County Community College in 2011, where he helped the staff break the school record for team ERA with a 3.75 ERA.

In 2009, Nehls was the pitching coach at Barton County Community College. He also was an assistant coach for the Emporia AAA Legion team that summer, and was the head coach for the Emporia Aeros fall baseball program. 

Nehls started his baseball career at Barton County. He was a starting pitcher for the Cougars from 2005-06. His sophomore year he led the Cougars in victories, ERA, and strikeouts. After Barton, Nehls transferred to Emporia State University (ESU). During his two years at ESU, he was a part of two MIAA Conference championship teams and won 17 games in his two years as a starter. During his senior year, Nehls helped the Hornets to a 50-10 record, and a MIAA conference record 35-game win streak. After ESU, Nehls played Independent Professional Baseball with the Evansville Otters and Harlingen Whitewings. 

Nehls graduated from Hays High School in Hays, Kansas, and received his bachelor's degree in Recreation from Emporia State University. He enjoys music, movies, basketball and golf.

Nehls and his wife, Ashley and two kids Kyndal and Hudson, reside in Fulton, Missouri.Â