MANKATO — There’s no doubt about Travis Miller’s loyalty to his alma mater. Now after a 15-year stint as an assistant coach, the 45-year-old award-winning teacher at Eagle Lake Elementary will replace Micah Degner as the head coach of the Mankato East baseball team.
Degner, who took a teaching and coaching job at Minnesota Valley Lutheran in New Ulm, compiled an impressive 105-45 record in seven seasons at the Cougars’ helm, including a pair of Section 2AAA titles the past two years and a second-place finish at this year’s Class AAA state tournament.
Miller, who is also involved with Cougars’ girls basketball program, began his stint at East as the freshman coach under head coach Dan Quame before heading the junior varsity program under head coach Cory Smith. The 1998 East graduate now will look to guide a solid program he’s help develop under Degner.
“This is very special in that I get to give back something that was very special to me,” Miller said. “With this program you don’t really need to fix what is not broken. This is a very solid collaboration we’ve developed over the years. Micah and the other coaches always took in everyone’s account making it truly a team effort approach amongst the entire coaching staff. We were lucky to have that continuity to route.
“It’s pretty much a well-oiled machine after the last two years. We’re just going to continue what we’re doing with a few tweaks here and there … We’ve always prided ourselves in hustling and being tough outs at the plate every at bat. Defensively, we want solid defense to go along with solid pitching. … We want to do the little things right.”
Degner indicated his approval of Miller being named coach.
“I am super excited for Travis because he’s very deserving,” he said. “He’s been there as long as any of us have and turnaround we’ve had the past few years is really a testament to him and the work he’s put in. He’s shared a lot of the varsity head coaching duties already as far as all the game day prep and scouting opponents. Social media and communication were things I just sat back and watched him do. … Travis always shows up and puts in the work despite having a busy family life as well.”