Kyle Werman, a former George Mason assistant coach and standout player at Virginia, finished his second year as an assistant coach on Joe Raccuia’s staff at Radford.
Werman, whose primary on-field assignments are working with Radford hitters and coaching third base, assists in all aspects of the Highlander program, including recruiting, scouting and the team’s day-to-day operations. Werman also coordinates video coaching and scouting efforts for the program.
Over the past two seasons, Werman has assisted with a program that has won 60 games - the winningest stretch in program history, and has also coached four players that have earned All-Big South distinctions.
In Werman’s first season at RU, the first season of new collegiate baseball aluminum bat standards, the Highlanders didn’t miss a beat offensively. They ranked in the nation’s top 40 in doubles and stolen bases, and finished third in the conference in slugging percentage and second in triples. Several hitters had breakout seasons, including First Team All-Big South selections Matt Hillsinger and Matt Mack. Hillsinger had a nearly 20-point jump in batting average from 2010 to 2011, while Mack improved nearly 40 points at the plate and ranked sixth in the conference in on-base percentage. Werman was also part of the development of second-year player Ryan Burgess – Burgess was a second team all-conference selection that ranked in the league’s top 10 in conference-only batting average and slugging percentage.
The 2012 Highlanders continued with much of the same production - Radford ranked in the Big South's top four in runs, hits, batting average, on-base percentage and RBIs. Werman also helped coach a pair of MLB First Year Player Draft picks in Hillsinger and Jeff Kemp - it was the first time that Radford had multiple position players taken in the same draft class.
A former collegiate and professional player, Werman came to Radford after two years as the hitting coach under Bill Brown at George Mason. Werman was part of a Patriots team that advanced to NCAA Regional play in 2009, and his offensive coaching abilities helped four Mason position players become MLB Draft picks, including Scott Krieger, Chris Henderson and Justin Bour in 2009, and Ryan Soares in 2010.
In Werman's first season with the Patriots, he helped the team to their best batting average and slugging percentage in school history, and the second-best on-base percentage. The team also scored the second-most runs, had the second-most RBIs and had the third-most homers in school history, all while having one of its better seasons in terms of fewest strikeouts. Mason's first-ever first team All-America came on his watch as Henderson reached that milestone. Krieger was also named a second team All-America. In 2010, Werman’s guidance saw Soares put together a career offensive season. A first team All-America, all-region, and Wallace Award (shortstop of the year) finalist, Soares improved his batting average from .318 in 2009 to a Colonial Athletic Association-best .438, while his power numbers rose, including 13 homers and 71 RBIs. As a team, Mason hit .325 with Soares and Mark Hill (.414) both over the .400 mark.
Werman’s coaching resume includes a year at Virginia, where he was a volunteer assistant coach under Brian O’Connor, helping the Cavaliers advance to NCAA Regional play. He previously spent one year as an assistant coach at Oakton High School in Fairfax County.
As a player, Werman walked on at Virginia and became a four-year starter at second base for the Cavaliers. He played in 221 career games, second all-time at Virginia, while compiling a .278 batting average. Over his final two seasons, he put together a .988 fielding percentage. A team captain for the Cavaliers, he was named to the ACC All-Tournament Team in 2005 and the 2005 All-Corvallis (Ore.) Regional Team.
Following his collegiate playing career, Werman signed a free-agent contract with the New York Mets and spent the 2005 season with Kingsport of the Appalachian League. His professional career included two years with the Washington Wild Things of the independent Frontier League before making the transition from a player to a coach.
Werman holds a bachelor's degree from U.Va. in mechanical engineering and a master's degree in education.
