Miller, Frederic added to Tennessee Tech baseball staff
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee Tech head baseball coach Steve Smith announced multiple additions to the Golden Eagle staff Wednesday with the hiring of Todd Miller as assistant coach and Drew Frederic as volunteer assistant coach.
By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee Tech head baseball coach Steve Smith announced multiple additions to the Golden Eagle staff Wednesday with the hiring of Todd Miller as assistant coach and Drew Frederic as volunteer assistant coach.
Miller, who comes to Tech from Tusculum University, will serve as the Golden Eagles' recruiting coordinator and concentrate his coaching efforts on working with the hitters and infielders.
"My family and I are very excited to be a part of the Tennessee Tech family," Miller expressed. "We are thankful to Steve Smith for giving me this opportunity. I'm looking forward to working with our student-athletes and helping the Tennessee Tech baseball program continue to excel both on and off the field."
A coaching veteran of 15 years, Miller arrives in Cookeville after spending the past three years as an assistant coach and the recruiting coordinator at Tusculum. In addition to his duties in recruiting, he also oversaw the Pioneer hitters and infielders, served as the team's third-base coach, and worked on base running, nutrition, strength and conditioning, and player development.
"Todd Miller is a veteran coach with a great track record for developing hitters," Smith said of the program's new assistant. "His personal story of perseverance and faith is very compelling. I'm excited to introduce him to our team and University."
Arriving in Greeneville, Tenn. in July 2018, Miller used his three years with the program to help develop one MLB Draft pick, one MLB free-agent signee, and three All-Americans. The 2019 squad achieved a 30-21 record to finish in third in the South Atlantic Conference. Bringing in a top-20 ranked recruiting class by Perfect Game in 2020 had Tusculum poised to break through, ranking first in the nation in sacrifice flies, second in base on balls, fourth in stolen bases, fifth in runs, and in the top-20 in hit-by-pitches, hits, on-base percentage, and doubles before COVID-19 brought the season to a crashing halt.
Picking up where they left off, the 2021 Pioneers turned in a solid campaign, finishing 30-11 and second in a loaded South Atlantic Conference, which included eventual NCAA Division II National Champion Wingate University, with a 25-7 mark in league play. The team ranked as high as No. 7 nationally during the year and finished in third in the country in hit-by-pitches, fifth in base on balls, sixth in on-base percentage, eighth in runs per game, and in the top-15 in sacrifice flies, runs scored, and stolen bases.
Prior to his time at Tusculum, Miller had already established a tremendous amount of success at the NCAA Division II level, serving on coaching staffs at Belmont Abbey College and Catawba College. In his three stints in DII baseball, his teams amassed a combined 373-182-1 record while capturing three conference championships, one league tournament title, and five trips to the NCAA Tournament.
Miller transitioned to Tusculum after four seasons at Belmont Abbey, where he helped the Crusaders to a 141-72 record for the most successful four-year run in school history. He assisted with all aspects of the program working with the hitters, pitchers, base runners, served as head coach of the developmental team, and was the player development coordinator.
In 2018, he helped the Crusaders to one of the best campaigns in program history as Belmont Abbey went 40-14, earned a No. 2 national ranking, and advanced to the championship game of the NCAA Southeast Regional. The 2018 club included six All-Conference performers, three All-Region standouts, and 2018 Conference Carolinas Player of the Year Luke Cureton. He also mentored All-Region second baseman Matt McGarry, who was drafted in the 34th round by the New York Yankees, along with Google Cloud Academic All-America® First Team selection Thomas Yoder.
The 2017 squad finished 37-17, led by 2017 Conference Player of the Year Nick Beinlich, who was also a consensus All-American. In 2016, the Crusaders earned an at-large berth to the NCAA Tournament.
From 2011-2014, Miller served on the coaching staff with the Catawba Indians where his teams posted a 161-67 overall record – including three SAC Championships in 2011, 2013, and 2014 – and three trips to the NCAA Tournament. The 2012 club finished fourth in the nation, won the Southeast Region title, and advanced to the DII College World Series for the first time in program history. Miller also mentored six MLB draft picks and one National Pitcher of the Year while at the Salisbury, N.C. institution.
Miller began coaching as a graduate assistant at Bluffton University in the fall of 2006. He earned the 2010 NCAA Award of Inspiration for his work with the 2007 Bluffton squad, serving as the interim head coach during a trying campaign filled with unprecedented circumstances and challenges. He served at Bluffton through August 2008, completing his master's degree in business administration.
A two-sport athlete, Miller played baseball and football at Hanover College and graduated in 2006 with a bachelor's degree in communications. He was a three-time All-Conference selection in baseball, where he was team Most Valuable Player and captain. Miller also earned All-Conference honors in football at Hanover. Following his graduate assistant position at Bluffton, he returned to his alma mater as an assistant coach from August 2008 through August 2010.
During his collegiate coaching career, Miller also served as the head coach of the Lids Indiana Bulls – a group of 8U through 17U players from the state of Indiana – from 2009 through 2011. Additionally, he served as an assistant coach for the Coastal Plain League's High Point-Thomasville HiToms – a collegiate summer baseball team – during the 2012 season and as an instructor at Duke University baseball camps for nearly a decade.
A native of Franklin, Ind., Miller starred in baseball, basketball, and football at Franklin Community High School. He and his wife Leigh, are the proud parents of one daughter (Madeline) and two sons (Brooks and Boone).
A six-year member of the Troy baseball team, Frederic will step into his first coaching role after graduating this past spring. The former Trojan will take on duties as Tech's camp director and work with the Golden Eagle outfielders.
"I cannot be more thankful to Coach Smith and [assistant] Coach [Blake] Beck for giving me an opportunity to start my coaching career at a place like Tennessee Tech," Frederic explained. "It's such a great feeling and I am really excited to start learning. I just finished playing and don't know much yet, so just being on the other side of the fence will be a great experience."
Frederic stamped his name into the record books as one of the best to put on the Trojan uniform, closing out his career as the program's all-time leader in runs, hits, doubles, at-bats, and games played. He also ranked in the top-10 in program history in triples, home runs, total bases, walks, sacrifice flies, and stolen bases.
"I'm really excited to have Drew join our Tech Baseball family," Smith expressed. "He's a bright, young coach who played the game at the highest level under outstanding teachers of the game."
After sitting out the 2016 season as a redshirt, Frederic immediately moved into a starting role for Troy, making 242 starts over 243 games the rest of his career. A third baseman each of his first two seasons, he collected All-Sun Belt Conference First Team honors in 2018 after a breakthrough campaign.
As a sophomore, he hit .331 in 63 games, racking up career-highs of 63 runs, 80 hits, 20 doubles, and 54 RBI. His team went on to win a whopping 42 games on the year, collecting an at-large berth to the 2018 NCAA Tournament and No. 3 seed in the Athens Regional.
Making the transition to shortstop in 2019, the Niceville, Fla. Native still performed at an elite level, claiming All-Sun Belt Second Team accolades after smashing a career-high 11 home runs and scoring 59 more runs. Prior to the 2020 season ending prematurely due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Frederic was off to a torrid start, batting .409 with 18 runs and 13 RBI in just 17 games.
Earning a sixth year of eligibility, he made his final season as a Trojan count, collecting All-Sun Belt First Team honors at shortstop while starting all 53 games. For his career, he hit .310 with over 200 runs scored, nearly 300 hits, 58 doubles, 30 home runs, and just shy of 150 RBI.
Frederic earned his bachelor's degree from Troy in financial economics in 2020 and collected his master's in business administration and management in 2021.
Photos courtesy of Tusculum Athletics / Troy Athletics
