STEPHENVILLE ? First-year Tarleton Baseball coach Bryan Conger made his first addition to his staff on Tuesday with the hiring of Nate Schlieman as the assistant baseball coach.  Schlieman will work with the catchers and will be the primary hitting coach and recruiting coordinator.  

Schlieman and Conger are reunited after spending the 2008 season together at Utah where Schlieman was a volunteer assistant coach and worked with the catchers.  He was the Utes assistant hitting coach as well.

“Nate is going to be an outstanding head coach someday and I am excited to get him while he is up and coming,” Conger said.  “He has a lot to offer to both the players and the community and I think that he will be a major piece of the puzzle in turning this program around.”

Prior to his stint in Utah, Schlieman served as the assistant hitting coach at Augsburg College in Minneapolis, Minn. from 2005-07 where he worked with the both the catchers and baserunners for the Auggies.

Before taking the position at Augsburg College, Schlieman went back to work for his high school at Burnsville High in Burnsville, Minn. where he was the assistant varsity baseball coach from 2004-05.  He worked with the catchers there and assisted with the hitters as well.

Already early in his coaching career, Schlieman has been very inspirational in the development of five different catchers being named to either an all-state or all-conference team.

Schlieman played his collegiate baseball at Utah and was a catcher for the Utes from 2003-04.  He was an all-academic player in all four semesters while playing with the Utes.  He graduated from Utah in 2004 with his bachelors degree in exercise and sports science.

“I am excited about this opportunity,” Schlieman said.  “I am delighted to be a part of a great baseball community and look forward to helping out this program in any way that I can.”