Kalamazoo College Baseball Coaching Staff

Matt Rix
Head Coach

Matt Rix was promoted to head baseball coach on Aug. 4, 2006. Rix, a 2000 graduate of Kalamazoo College, served as an assistant coach the previous two seasons.

Rix's 2010 team posted 14 wins, the third highest total in school history. Four Hornets set single season records while the team set records for hits, home runs and RBIs in a season. The team's .308 batting average is second best in school history.

Rix has posted 46 wins in his first four seasons at Kalamazoo College, the second highest four-year total in school history.

Rix led the Hornets to 12 wins in each of his first two seasons as head coach. Including his two years as assistant coach, the Hornets have posted double-digit wins during five of his six years on staff. Several players have earned All-MIAA honors during Rix's tenure. Senior Ryan Benjamin earned All-MIAA first-team honors in 2009. Two players earned All-MIAA honors in 2008 -- junior Ryan Benjamin earned first-team honors as catcher while sophomore Brandon Luczak earned second-team honors as Utility Player. Two players earned All-MIAA honors in 2007 -- senior Charlie Mackinnon earned first-team honors as DH/Utility Player and freshman Brandon Luczak earned second-team honors as a pitcher.

As an assistant coach in 2005, Rix was instrumental in helping guide the Hornets to 11 wins as he directed the offense and the pitching staff. The Hornets tied a school record for most hits in a season, had the school's second-highest batting average (.301), and produced the third-highest run total.

Rix followed up with a school-record 20 wins in his second season on staff. He helped guide the Hornets to school records for hits, runs, RBIs and complete games. The team went from 3-32 before his arrival to 20-20 during his second year on staff, marking the second-best turnaround in NCAA Division III over that span.

Rix was a four-year letter winner on the mound for the Hornets. He was team captain in 2000. In 1998 he earned team most valuable player and team most improved player honors. He also earned coaches honorable mention honors in 1998. Rix was on the Dean's List and the MIAA Academic Honor Roll all four years.

As a student at Kalamazoo College, Rix studied abroad in Bonn, Germany during the fall of his junior year. He also interned at a travel agency during his time in Bonn.

Rix, who holds a degree in philosophy and history from Kalamazoo, earned a law degree from Michigan State University College of Law in May of 2004. He passed the Michigan Bar exam and currently runs a solo practice.

Rix served as the head coach of the Kalamazoo Vipers Travel Baseball Club from 2002-05, leading the team to first-place finishes in the Kalamazoo Amateur Baseball Association (2002 and 2003) and the Southwest Michigan Men's League (2004 and 2005). The Kalamazoo Vipers compiled an overall record of 92-34 under Rix. In 2001 he served as head coach of the jayvee baseball team at Mattawan High School, leading the Wildcats to a 19-3 record and a first-place finish in the Kalamazoo Valley Association. He also assisted on the varsity team in their run as district champions and regional semifinalists.

Matt and his wife, Melissa, reside in Kalamazoo.

Jason Chapa
Assistant Coach

Jason Chapa enters his second season as an assistant coach at Kalamazoo College. Chapa assists in all areas of the program, but focuses on the outfielders and the hitters.

Chapa was an assistant for part of the 2010 season before accepting a temporary position with the Ripken Baseball Academy, a unique opportunity that allowed him to travel and teach baseball to young athletes.

Chapa attended Muskegon Community College where he played two years of college baseball on a team that set school records for most wins in as season (38), batting average, runs, homeruns, and pickoffs. Chapa graduated in 2005 with an associates degree in education.

Chapa completed his bachelor's degree at Western Michigan University in 2008 while majoring in science with an emphasis in physical education/health and a minor in coaching. During his three years at WMU he served as the President/Coach for the school's club baseball team.

In high school, Chapa played for West Ottawa and helped his team to a Division One state championship his senior year. The team also finished with a midwest ranking of #7 in the country.

In 2009, Chapa was head coach for the junior varsity team at West Ottawa High School. As coach he turned a class that went 5-16 as freshmen to 15-5 the next year and a second place finish in the OK-Red Conference.

From 2004 to 2009, Chapa was the head coach and instructor for the Grand Rapids Diamonds Baseball Academy. As coach he was in charge of the 18u summer travel squad as well as 16u fall team. During that time Chapa coached over 60 players who would go on to play college baseball. He led teams to multiple league championships, one AABC Regional appearance, one AABC District championship, two AABC District runner-ups, 10 tournament championships, and a third place finish in the 2004 USSSA World Series.

Chapa currently resides in Kalamazoo. His parents, Fernando and Susan Chapa, and sisters, Valerie and Ashley Chapa, reside in Holland, Mich.

Steve Wideen
Assistant Coach

Steve Wideen completed his fifth season as head coach of the Hornet baseball team in 2006. He stepped down as head coach in August of 2006 to work as an assistant coach while refocusing his efforts as Kalamazoo College's sports information director, a position he has held since 1998.

As head coach, Wideen guided the Hornets to an overall record of 20-20 in his final season (2006). The team was 3-32 just two seasons before, marking the second-best turnaround in NCAA Division III during that span. The team set school records for most wins, hits, runs, RBIs, and complete games.

In 2005, the baseball team finished 11-20, a 10-game improvement over the previous season and the 14th-best turnaround in NCAA Division III. The 11 wins were the fifth-highest total in school history. Charlie Mackinnon was selected to the All-MIAA First Team as a utility player (pitcher/first base), and was Kalamazoo's first All-MIAA player since 1999.

The baseball program began rebuilding in 2002 under Wideen, with seven incoming freshmen each of his first two recruiting years. Three-to-five freshmen started every game in 2003. The 2004 squad was also young, as 13 of the 19 players were freshmen or sophomores. The Hornets started freshmen pitchers in all conference games in 2004.

Wideen is a 1998 graduate of Cornerstone University where he earned a degree in business administration. He was a four-year starter at third base and pitcher while serving as co-captain for two years. He earned team most valuable player honors and was selected as the College's male athlete of the year following his senior season.

Wideen earned a master's degree in athletic administration from Western Michigan University in December of 2004.

Steve and his wife, Katie, reside in Kalamazoo.