DUBUQUE, Iowa – The University of Dubuque Announces Dan Spain as the 18th coach in school history of the Spartans baseball team. Spain most recently guided the Clarke University Pride since 2012. The Spartans finished 2023 with one of the best records in school history with 29 wins and reached the A-R-C tournament championship.
Spain was named as the Head Baseball Coach of Clarke University in 2012 He established a foundation for what manifested into one of the winningest programs in the Midwest, and one of the top NAIA programs in the country.
"Coach Spain was highly recommended by numerous community members for his willingness to serve and connect with others," commented Nelson Edmonds, Vice President of Student Engagement and Intercollegiate Athletics. "His interactions with our campus community members during this process made it evident that he is committed to our Mission and to the development of our student athletes and our baseball program. We are excited to welcome both the Spain and Redman families to the Spartans Family."
Spain is a graduate of Maquoketa High School (2005), competed collegiately at Marshalltown Community College, Iowa Wesleyan and finished his playing career as well as his degree in kinesiology at Clarke University in 2010.
Athletic Success:
4x NAIA National Championship Opening Round Tournament (2016, 2017, 2018, 2019)
Highest National Ranking: #6
Highest Opening Round Seed: 1
Heart of America Athletic Conference Championship (2017)
Heart of America Athletic Conference North Division Championship (2017, 2018, 2022, 2023)
Heart of America Athletic Conference Tournament Championship (2018)
Heart of America Athletic Conference Tournament Runner-up (2017, 2019)
Heart of America Athletic Conference Coach of the Year (2017)
Average 30+ wins/season
NAIA All-Americans – Michael Lopez (2017) Andrew Redman (2015)
Heart of America Athletic Conference Pitcher of the Year – Michael Lopez (2017)
Midwest Collegiate Conference Player of the Year – Andrew Redman (2015)
4 NAIA National Player of the Week award winners
40 All-Conference players
19 Player of the Week Awards
7 Gold Glove Winners
12 Professional Contracts
Multiple Records (Individual, Season, Game, Career)
Winningest Coach in the history of Clarke Baseball
Academic Success:
12 Capital One Academic All-American
14 Capital One Academic All District
50 Academic All-Conference
24 NAIA Scholar Athletes
4x NAIA scholar team (4x 3.0+ Team GPA).
Spain, resides in his hometown of Delmar, Iowa with his wife Jessica and their three sons (Grady, Beau, and Cohen).
Joining Spain will be his former assistant at Clarke University, Andrew Redman. Redman has nearly 10 years of prior experience working for multiple college programs. As a graduate of Hempstead High School in Dubuque, Iowa, Redman was an all-conference selection his last three years. He was the Mississippi Valley Conference Player of the Year as a senior, and fashioned the lowest ERA in the state (0.41).
Redman continued his success on the mound in college. At Iowa Central, he compiled a 12-8 record over two years and was a two-time all-conference selection with an ERA of 2.05. At Clarke, he set multiple records on the mound and was a first-team MCC pitcher his junior year. As a redshirt senior, He went 6-2 with a 1.68 ERA but his batting is what brought him to a national spotlight. In his only collegiate year of hitting. He finished with a batting average of .425 with 62 hits, 9 HR's and 50 RBI's and earned MCC Player of the Year, Gold Glove (Pitching), 2nd Team Academic All-American, and Honorable Mention All-American honors.