Baseball Coaching Staff

Adam Smith joins the Cougar baseball program as the new full-time assistant coach for the 2008-09 season. Smith succeeds Jason Huisman who resigned to take the head coaching position at Trinity Christian College.

Concordia head baseball coach Spiro Lempesis welcomed Smith to the team, noting that, “I’ve known Adam for many years; he is a great individual with a passion for playing and teaching the game of baseball. He has played and coached in a college World Series, and I look forward to him bringing that passion and experience to Concordia to help us get to the next level.”

Smith, who will serve as hitting and infield coach, comes to Concordia from Carthage College in Kenosha, Wisconsin where he was an assistant in the Red Men’s program for seven years. He lettered for three seasons as a second baseman and leftfielder, earning both all-region and first-team All-CCIW honors in the 1998 and 1999 seasons. Smith was named Carthage’s team MVP in 1998 and was a major contributor to the team’s conference championship the following year.

Smith’s time as an assistant at Carthage resulted in six regional appearances. In addition, he was the third base coach for the Red Men’s two College World Series appearances in 2002 and 2006.

Smith has witnessed the growth of the Cougar program through the annual clashes between Concordia and Carthage, and he is excited about the opportunity to work with the Cougar players. “The program is definitely on the rise, and I greatly respect the job that Coach Lempesis has done. So many of the players are experienced hitters who work very hard, both in and out of season, and they are focused on adding to their successes. I think that I can help them reach their goals, and I am eager to begin working with them.”

Smith, a native of Schaumburg, Illinois and Schaumburg High School graduate, earned his bachelor’s degree in business administration from Carthage in 1998. He also has a teaching certificate in special education and taught for five years at Bullen Middle School and one year at Bradford High School, both in Kenosha. He and his wife Kelly have a 1 1/2 year old daughter Elle.

Current professional pitcher and former Concordia University Chicago pitcher Jim Paduch enters his fourth season as an assistant coach for the Cougars.

Paduch hurled the Cougars to a co-championship in the NIIC during the 2003 season, going 7-3 with a 2.33 earned run average and 66 strikeouts over 77 1/3 innings. He was named the conference Player of the Year and awarded third-team honors on the ABCA's Central All-Region team. In June of that year, he was picked in the 12th round, 351st overall, by the Cincinnati Reds, making him only the second collegiate player from the state of Illinois selected in that year's draft.

Paduch began his professional career with the Billings (Mont.) Mustangs and led his team to the Pioneer League championship, tossing a no-hitter in the clinching game of the title series. He pitched for the Potomac (Va.) Cannons in the 2004 season and spent most of 2005 and 2006 with the Sarasota (Fla.) Reds, Cincinnati's High A affiliate. In June of 2006, he received a brief call-up to the Reds' Triple-A affiliate in Louisville, Kentucky and threw four scoreless innings against Norfolk, a New York Mets' affiliate that included some former major league hitters on their roster.

Paduch earned his bachelor's degree in business management from Concordia in December of 2006.

Tim Ferraro enters his fourth season as the catchers' coach for the Cougars. Born and raised in St. Paul, Minnesota, Ferraro is a 1986 graduate of Cretin High School where he caught for the 1986 Minnesota State championship team. Following high school, Ferraro played four years at St. Mary's College in Winona, Minnesota, the first two seasons where he had the distinction of playing with Cougar head coach Spiro Lempesis. He served as team captain his senior year of 1990 for the nationally-ranked MIAC conference champions.

Ferraro and his wife Anne live in Oak Park with their three children - Olivia, Sofia and John Philip.

 

Matt Smith enters his third season with the Cougars and will work with the team's pitchers.

Smith made a smooth transition to coach after four successful years as the team's bullpen closer. The left-hander holds the record for most appearances out of the Cougar bullpen with 76. His career statistics include throwing 104 innings, recording 83 strikeouts and going 6-2 with eight career saves. Smith is ranked 12th all-time in relief appearances and 22nd for games pitched in NCAA Division III history. In addition to his many accomplishments as a player, Smith was a member of the 2006 conference tournament championship team. Smith was described by Coach Lempesis as "a tireless worker with a closer’s mentality – he’s not afraid to be in any situation. He has been a major contributor to the development of our program.”

A native of DesPlaines, Illinois, Smith played his high school ball at Notre Dame College Prep in Niles. He earned his bachelor's degree in business from Concordia in December 2007. Smith is currently working on his Master's degree in secondary education.

 

Grant Bellak will join the Cougar baseball staff beginning with the 2010 season. Bellak, a native of Big Rock, Illinois who prepped at Aurora Christian High School, played two seasons at Waubonsee Community College where he finished sixth in the NJCAA in stolen bases during his sophomore year of 2006.

Bellak played his final two collegiate season at Webster University in St. Louis, Missouri. During his time there, in which he batted .264 as an outfielder and designated hitter, the Gorloks went 36-6 in conference play and participated in two NCAA regionals. In Bellak's senior year of 2008, Webster came within six outs of going to the NCAA Division III World Series.

Bellak joined the Webster coaching staff in 2009 as a student assistant, helping coach the outfielders and hitters. His time with the Gorloks' staff included working with 2009 All-American outfielder Andrew Fuiten. Following the Gorloks' season, Bellak was hired as an assistant coach for the Dubois County Bombers of the Prospect League (formerly the Central Illinois Collegiate League). While coaching the Bombers, Bellak gained valuable experience coaching players from all levels of college, including players from the Pac-10, Mountain West Conference and Horizon League.

Bellak earned his B.A. in education from Webster in 2009.