Shane Davis finished his third season as a Leatherneck assistant and second as the pitching coach in 2014. He came to Western Illinois after two seasons as an assistant coach at Cleveland State.
Davis' third season at Western Illinois saw four Summit League 'Pitcher of the Week' honors, the most in program history. Aaron Michel (March 31, April 14), Tyler Willman (April 7) and John White (April 28) all received the honor during the 2014 campaign. In addition Willman was named First Team All-League, which marks the first time since 2006 that a pitcher received First Team All-Conference honors.
Nick Milligan and Tyler Owings each finished their junior campaigns with 4-1 records on the mound. The .800 win percentage for both is tied for 10th on the single season list (minimum five decisions). Additionally Owings recorded six saves during the season, which is the second most in a single season in program history.
Following the season Willman was selected in the 12th round of the 2014 MLB Draft by the San Francisco Giants, making him the highest selection for a right-handed pitcher since 1970.
In his second season, he aided in the continued development of the pitching staff as the team ERA dropped from 4.85 in 2012 to 4.51 in 2013. Davis assisted in the development of freshman Aaron Michel who was named a Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American and ended the 2013 season with a 1.23 ERA, the lowest season ERA in program history. Davis also assisted with the development of Brian Loconsole who notched a record nine saves in 2013 and was drafted in the 20th round of the 2013 MLB Draft by the Los Angeles Angles.
In his first season, Davis was the recruiting coordinator for the Purple & Gold. He assisted in the recruiting of several freshmen that provided immediate impact for the Leathernecks in 2012. Seth Fuller, Mark Garton, Vince Howard, Nick Milligan, Mason Pingel, Nick Smith and Brent Turner all saw extended playing time for the Leathernecks.
Davis assisted with Cleveland State's recruiting efforts, focusing primarily in the Midwest. He also helped with summer ball placement and worked to arrange the team's travel plans and future scheduling. Following Cleveland State's baseball program being dropped in May of this year, Davis served as an associate scout for the Texas Rangers prior to this appointment.
A member of the American Baseball Coaches Association, Davis organizes and works camps across the country, including hitting and pitching and catching clinics at Cleveland State. He has helped coach camps organized by the Air Force Academy, University of Maryland, Ohio University, Cangelosi Baseball and the Demarini Top 96 and 2SP sports.
Davis joined the Vikings after working as an assistant coach at the United States Air Force Academy where he was responsible for coaching the bullpen and catchers, while also assisting with the hitters. While at Air Force, the Falcon catchers ranked first or second in the Mountain West Conference in every defensive category.
Davis has also served as the co-head coach of the Stark County Terriers, an elite 18 and under summer league team that qualified for the ABCA Midland regional. He also coached the Varsity Shop Training Center Bullets, an 18 and under team based out of Detroit, during the summer of 2008.
In addition, he was an assistant coach at Eastern Michigan University during the 2008 season, serving as outfield coach, while assisting with hitters.
He also served as a student assistant coach at EMU working with the pitchers and catchers during the 2007 season.
During his time at EMU he was part of a coaching staff that went 36-12 in the Mid-American Conference, including a regular season championship and tournament runner-up finish in 2007 and a West Division title and a MAC tournament championship in 2008 with a berth in the Ann Arbor Regional.
Davis was a four-year letterwinner as a catcher for Eastern Michigan and earned his Bachelor's degree in secondary education in 2007.
