The 2012 UNCG baseball season will be the 22nd season for coach Mike Gaski. He has been the only head coach for the university since the baseball program's inception in 1991.  

During his tenure, Gaski has coached over 25 players who have been either drafted or signed to the majors including: Jarett Miller (2011), Blake Hassebrock (2008-10), Rob Gilliam (2007-09, Ricky Orton (2007-08), Matt Gaski (2007-08), Ryan Falcon (2003-07), Guy Welsh (2006-07), Jermaine Mitchell (2006), Chris Mason (2003-05), Taft Cable (1999-01), Brian Moehler (1991-93), Jarrett Santos (2003-04) and Jay Metzger (2001-04). Under Gaski, UNCG has had at least one pitcher drafted in 13 of the past 15 seasons.

He also has had on his squads four All-Americans, five Freshman All-Americans, three Freshman All-American honorable mentions, and two Academic All-Americans. 

He has guided the program to NCAA Tournament appearances and league championships in two different Division I conferences - the Big South and Southern. Gaski has also led the Spartans into the top 30 of several national polls over his 21 seasons.

In 2006, Gaski guided the Spartans to the program's first-ever win over a No. 1-ranked team when UNCG knocked off North Carolina, the eventual national runner-up.

In 2007, Gaski was presented with his 500th win as a head coach - all of them coming with the Spartans. UNCG topped Army, 13-5, at UNCG Baseball Stadium on March 3 to present Gaski with his milestone win.

In 1998, UNCG's first season in the Southern Conference, the Spartans posted a then-record 22 league wins en route to the conference title. After posting a 40-18 overall record, the team narrowly missed its third NCAA trip in five years.

In 20 seasons of Division I play, Gaski's teams have an impressive 623-480-1 record, which includes victories over many established programs. During his tenure at UNCG, he has won four Conference Coach of the Year awards. Overall, Gaski has tallied a 632-513-1 record in his career.

In 1994, the Spartans posted 39 wins, and captured their first Big South Conference title. UNCG also made its first-ever trip to the NCAA Tournament. In 1997, the Spartans recorded a school-record 45 wins on the way to the Big South Conference regular-season and tournament titles and a No. 28 final national ranking.

Gaski began coaching at the collegiate level in 1979 as an assistant at Cleveland State and spent one season with the Vikings.

After his tenure with Cleveland State, Gaski headed to Ohio State in 1980. There, he coached the pitchers and catchers. Gaski helped the Buckeyes to back-to-back record-setting seasons and their first NCAA appearance in more than 15 years.

From Ohio State, Gaski went to Florida Southern to assume the position of assistant head coach with the Moccasins. During his four-year stint (1983-87), the team made four consecutive NCAA appearances, finished second in the nation in 1984 and claimed the Division II National Championship in 1985.

Gaski left collegiate coaching in 1988 to assume the position of Executive Director of the Spanish Olympic Program in preparation for the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona, Spain. As the principal administrator for Olympic baseball preparation, Gaski's responsibilities included the development of a national baseball program and the preparation of the Olympic venues for the Games.

Upon his return to the United States and UNCG, Gaski was immediately enlisted by USA Baseball to serve as a consultant on international affairs and Olympic preparation.

He was elected to his first term as President of USA Baseball on January 7, 2001 and was re-elected to the position on January 10, 2005.

In March of 2001, Gaski was elected by the International Baseball Federation to serve on the technical committee that oversees all international competition, including the World Championships and the Athens Olympic Games in 2004.  In February 2006, Gaski was elected technical commissioner by the International Baseball Federation's Executive Committee in preparation for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.       

Previously, he was vice president for the organization's Board of Directors and represented the U.S. in a variety of international congresses. In 1991, he became the team leader of the U.S. squad in the Pan American Games in Cuba and joined the 1992 USA Olympic Baseball coaching staff in a similar role.

In 1993, Gaski was elected treasurer of the Pan American Baseball Confederation that governs international baseball throughout the Americas.

Gaski returned to the Olympics in 1996, serving this time on the USOC International Games Prep Committee for the Atlanta Games. In 1998, Gaski joined Team USA as an assistant coach as the National Team prepared for the IBA World Championships.

Though Gaski's administrative skills place him in high demand throughout the United States and abroad, he continues to serve on the Board of Directors and Advisory Board of numerous statewide and local organizations including the North Carolina Amateur Sports Association. He conducts UNCG's popular baseball camp and appears as a lecturer and clinician throughout the nation. Gaski just completed his term as a member of the NCAA Baseball Division I Selection Committee and served on several advisory groups. Most recently, he was asked to serve on the NCAA Baseball Academic Enhancement Working Group, a committee charged with addressing the concerns surrounding academic performance by baseball student-athletes and their correlation to the NCAA's new APR standards. He currently serves as the amateur baseball advisor on the MLB Rules Committee.

Gaski earned a bachelor's degree in English from Detroit in 1973, a Master of Fine Arts in creative writing from UNCG in 1977 and a Master of Arts in English from Ohio State in 1982.

Gaski has two sons. Matt was a senior infielder for UNCG for the 2007 and 2008 seasons after spending his first two years at Florida, who was the national runner up in 2005.  After the 2008 season, he was drafted by the San Diego Padres and is currently working as a scout in the Florida Marlins organization. His younger son, Nick, graduated in the spring of 2009 from the University of North Carolina with a degree in history and Chinese. He spent the summer of 2008 working for Major League Baseball as an intern in their Beijing office.

Jamie Athas enters his fifth year as assistant baseball coach at UNC Greensboro for the 2012 season.  He works primarily with the hitters and infielders and is also in charge of recruiting.

In 2008 under Athas, the Spartans enjoyed success on the diamond, especially offensively.  Two players in particular, Matt Gaski and Ricky Orton, were drafted in the 2008 MLB First-Year Player Draft.  Both Gaski and Orton had career years for the Spartans and were a huge part of their success.   Gaski raised his batting average from .291 in 2007 to .327 in 2008.  Orton also raised his batting average from .330 in 2007 to .359 with 15 home runs in 2008.

UNCG enjoyed success as a team offensively, as well.  The Spartans broke their own school records in doubles (131) and home runs (66).  The team also finished second in batting average (.304), hits (642) and RBI (412).

Prior to coming to UNCG, Athas was as an assistant coach at Kent State for one season.  He worked primarily with the infielders and helped with hitting.  Kent State turned 64 double plays that year, which was 12th best in the nation.  While at Kent State, Athas helped the Golden Flashes to a 33-24 mark overall and a 19-8 record in MAC play.   In 2007, Kent State won the MAC Championship and went to Columbia, Mo., for the NCAA Regional.    

Athas spent five seasons as a middle infielder in the San Francisco organization, including two years with the Fresno Grizzlies, before spending the 2006 campaign with the Carolina Mudcats, the Class-AA affiliate of the Florida Marlins. He was on the Giants' 40-man roster during the 2004 and 2005 seasons.

A seventh-round pick of the Giants in 2001, Athas played two seasons for Wake Forest. He transferred from Providence after the 1999 season when the university folded the program. He was a Freshman All-American for the Friars, hitting .325 with 42 RBI and 56 runs scored. In 2000, his first season at Wake Forest, Athas was named to the NCAA Regional All-Tournament team and finished the season with a .312 batting average and 30 RBI. His best season in the minors came in 2003 when he hit .275 for Class-AA Norwich.

Athas earned a bachelor's degree from Arizona State in 2006.  He and his wife, Jamie, reside in Whitsett.  They have one daughter, Callie, and a son, Micah.

UNCG alumnus Jarrett Santos enters his second year on the Spartans' staff after spending the previous six seasons playing in the Florida Marlins' minor league organization. Santos handles the pitching coach duties for the Spartans.

In his first year back in 2011, the Spartan pitching staff excelled under Santos. Following the season, reliever Jarett Miller was selected in the 21^st round of the MLB First-Year Player Draft by the Atlanta Braves and quickly earned a promotion from the rookie league to Single-A. Warren Slack also had a great season as he went 7-2 en route to earning First-Team All-SoCon honors and earned a free agent contract from the San Diego Padres.

Following his two-year career at UNCG, Santos was drafted by the Marlins in the 34^th round of the 2004 MLB First-Year Player Draft. Although he was used primarily as a reliever in his six seasons, Santos made 35 career starts, posting a career win-loss line of 37-29 with a 3.37 ERA. After spending the first four years of his career floating between Single-A and Double-A, he began to rise through the ranks in 2008.

He began the year in high-A ball where he posted a 2.82 ERA in 13 games before being called up by the Carolina Mudcats, then the Double-A affiliate of the Florida Marlins. There, he went 5-1 with a 3.14 ERA in 29 appearances throughout the season. For his efforts, he was promoted to Triple-A Albuquerque for his final four games of the year.

In 2009, he split time between Double-A Jacksonville and Triple-A New Orleans. In 17 appearances for Jacksonville, Santos went 5-3 with a 3.11 ERA, while striking out 31 and walking just 11. Overall, he made 40 appearances and 15 starts in 2009 with a 3.85 ERA.

He finished his professional career in 2010 with the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs of the independent Atlantic League of Professional Baseball. He went 5-2 with a 2.82 ERA, while striking out 50 batters and yielding just 15 walks in 13 starts before retiring to take his current position at UNCG.

While at UNCG from 2003-04, Santos was a First-Team All-SoCon performer as a junior and earned second-team honors as a senior. In his first season, Santos led the team in wins (11), strikeouts (106) and innings pitched (101). He also set a new single-season mark in appearances with 41, a record that still stands today. As a senior, Santos went 9-3 out of the bullpen with a 3.92 ERA in 34 appearances.

Santos still finds his name in numerous places amongst the UNCG record books. He is still fourth all-time in school history in career winning percentage at .714 after posting a 20-8 record in his two seasons. He is also fifth all-time in career ERA (3.58) and wins (20). He notched eight saves in his career, which ranks eighth all-time, as well.

Between his junior and senior seasonS, Santos played for the Brewster Whitecaps of the prestigious Cape Cod League. There, he posted a 1.42 ERA while recording 11 saves and was named to the CCBL all-league pitching staff. Prior to coming to UNCG, Santos played two seasons at Reedley Junior College, where he was named all-conference and earned team MVP honors both seasons.

Former The Citadel standout pitcher Wes Wrenn joins the Spartans in 2012 as the team’s volunteer assistant coach.

Wrenn joins the Spartans after playing two seasons in the New York Mets organization. He began his professional career after being drafted in the 35^th round of the MLB First Year Player Draft in 2009. He appeared in 13 games that season with the Brooklyn Cyclones, the short-season A affiliate of the Mets, and posted a 2-1 record with one save.

In his second season, Wrenn went 5-5 for the Cyclones in 20 appearances as he struck out 46 batters and gave up just 12 walks. He also made two starts for the St. Lucie Mets, the High-A affiliate of the Mets, and went 1-0 with a 1.80 ERA in those games.

Wrenn played four seasons at The Citadel and was named the 2009 Southern Conference Pitcher of the Year as a senior. He went 9-3 that season with a 3.62 ERA as he helped lead the Bulldogs to a third-place finish in the SoCon.

He left The Citadel as the leader in career games started (59) and innings pitched (391.0). He was also tied for third in school history in career wins (26). Following his senior year, he was named first-team All-SoCon by the coaches and the media and earned All-America Honorable Mention accolades from Ping! Baseball.

Wrenn graduated in 2009 from The Citadel with a degree in business administration.

Dustin Ijames begins his fifth year overall at UNCG in 2012 and his second as Director of Administration and Facilities.

Ijames attended nearby Glenn High School in Kernersville, NC, where he was part of four conference championship teams. Ijames was a three-year starter for the Bobcats, collecting all-conference and all-county honors on multiple occasions. Ijames was also a member of the victorious 2001 West squad in the annual North Carolina East-West All-Star baseball game. 

Ijames began his collegiate playing career as a shortstop at Methodist College in Fayetteville, NC. After a knee injury sidelined him during his freshman season in 2002, Ijames enjoyed a solid 2003 redshirt freshman campaign for the Monarchs, batting .311 with 27 RBI.  

In 2004, Ijames transferred to North Carolina A&T in Greensboro, NC, where he saw time as both an infielder and outfielder. In 2005, Ijames enjoyed his best season as an Aggie, helping North Carolina A&T to a record-setting 27-win season and the school's first MEAC baseball regular-season and tournament championships. North Carolina A&T's MEAC tournament championship also earned the school its first ever NCAA Regional appearance, in Clemson, SC.  

Off the field, Ijames was honored as a 2005 COSIDA Academic All-American for his efforts in the classroom. In his final season as an Aggie in 2006, Ijames excelled both on and off the field and was rewarded by being selected as the school's 2006 Male Academic Athlete of the Year.  

Ijames graduated from North Carolina A&T in 2006 with a B.S. in business management and earned his master's degree in sports studies in 2008 from High Point University.

Prior to coaching at UNCG, Ijames was an assistant baseball coach at his Glenn and led the Bobcats to the Piedmont Triad 3-A Conference title and a state quarterfinal playoff appearance. Ijames is in his seventh overall year of coaching with experience in: high school, travel, collegiate summer league and college baseball and has coached eight MLB draft picks during his career.