STEVENS POINT, Wis. – Former Pointers second baseman Nat Richter returns to UW-Stevens Point as the head baseball coach, UWSP athletic director Brad Duckworth announced today (Dec. 10). Richter becomes the 15th coach in program history and just the third since his playing days under Pat Bloom in 2004.
"We are excited to welcome back another successful alumni to head up our baseball program," Duckworth stated. "He has World Series success here as a player and his enthusiasm for the direction of the Pointers program is evident. We are committed to competing for WIAC championships, performing great in the classroom and having a significant impact on the community. Nat's passion for Pointers baseball is unparalleled and I know he will work tirelessly to ensure our student-athletes have the best experiences possible."
Richter comes back to UWSP after most recently spending a season as an assistant coach at UW-Oshkosh. There he helped the Titans knock off a pair of ranked opponent in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season. He also served as head coach of the Impact Sports Academy 17U Royal Team that went 20-10-1.
Prior to arriving in Oshkosh, Richter spent five years as an assistant coach at DII Northwood University of the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference in Midland, Mich. There, he helped the Timberwolves to their first-ever back-to-back regular season and tournament championships in 2017 and 2018. All five seasons he was at NU were winning seasons, racking up a 170-97 record, the first stretch of five-straight winning seasons in the 52-year history of the program.
While with the Timberwolves, Richter helped NU rewrite the record books. The team won a school record 46 games in 2017. In 2015, he led NU to 20 conference wins, the most in school history and the Timberwolves' .625 conference win percentage, the best in program history. In addition to the league titles, Richter led NU to 84 wins over the 2017 and 2018 seasons, obliterating the previous two-year win total of 55 prior to his arrival.
Following Richter's playing days, he spent eight seasons as an assistant coach at St. Norbert College. During his time at SNC, he helped the Green Knights compile a 192-105 record (.646) while racking up six of the seven winningest seasons in program history. SNC made NCAA Division III Tournament appearances in 2009, 2012 and 2014 and won the Midwest Conference North Division title five times while Richter was there. He coached 52 all-conference players, five Conference Players of the Year and one MLB draft pick while at SNC.
Richter also spent a season as an assistant coach with the Green Bay Bullfrogs in 2012, a team that featured 15 future MLB draft picks. In 2011, he was the head coach of the Manitowoc Bandits and led the team to the Northeast Wisconsin League title.
Richter played for the Pointers from 2002 through 2006, culminating in a run to a fifth-place finish in the College World Series his final season. While at UWSP, he led the Pointers to a 161-69-1 record and three NCAA Tournament appearances. As a three-year starter at second base, Richter batted .295 with 15 home runs and a .951 fielding percentage in his career. He was teammates with MLB All-Star Jordan Zimmermann in 2006.
A graduate of UWSP, Richter earned his bachelor's degree in 2006. He completed his master's degree at St. Norbert in 2014.
Richter takes over for Jeremy Jirschele, who led the Pointers to 82 wins over his five seasons as head coach. Jirschele spent nine seasons on the UWSP baseball coaching staff and helped the Pointers to three NCAA Tournament appearances. Donor funding elevated the head baseball coaching position back to full-time status and Jirschele made a family decision to pursue other opportunities.