COACHING STAFF
Roland Fanning
Head Coach
Roland Fanning, an Oklahoma State baseball staff member for the past three seasons, has been named Austin Peay State University's 12th head baseball coach, Vice President and Director of Athletics Gerald Harrison announced May 30, 2022.
Fanning brings 15 seasons as an assistant coach, including eight combined seasons at Oklahoma State and Kentucky, to Austin Peay. While he was on the Cowboys and Wildcats staffs those programs posted three 40-plus win campaigns, with this season's OSU squad a win away from another 40-win season.
He also has developed top-caliber athletes, with two conference player of the year award winners and 21 All-American Selections. He has seen 56 athletes selected in the MLB Draft, with three chosen in the first round and seven reaching the major leagues. And yet, the athletes Fanning has coached also have excelled off the field. Over 300 athletes have earned academic honors during Fanning's coaching career.
The Coalgate, Oklahoma native is completing his third season in his second turn as an Oklahoma State baseball staff member. In his current tenure, he is the Cowboys' Director of Player Development. In 2021, the Cowboys posted 36 wins and appeared in the NCAA Baseball Tournament at the Tuscon Regional. OSU has 39 wins this season and is positioned to receive an at-large bid in this season's NCAA Tournament.
Oklahoma State is led by starting pitcher Justin Campbell, who was named a semifinalist for the Golden Spikes Award, Tuesday. Campbell was one of five Cowboys to earn First Team All-Big 12 honors, Tuesday. Last season, three Oklahoma State baseball student-athletes were named to All-American squads and two were named Freshman All-America.
Off the field, Oklahoma State received the American Baseball Coaches Association's Team Academic Excellence award in both 2021 and 2022.
Before rejoining the Oklahoma State staff, Fanning was an assistant coach at Kentucky for three seasons (2017-19) and served as the Wildcats recruiting coordinator. He helped lead UK to its first NCAA Super Regional appearance in 2017 to cap a 43-win season in Lexington. In his three seasons in Lexington, Fanning was on a staff that amassed a program-record 103 wins over three years
Fanning also was responsible for the Wildcats' Top 20 recruiting classes in both 2017 and 2018. He also helped develop a program-record 13 players selected in the 2018 MLB Draft and saw two UK athletes selected in the First Round of the MLB Draft in 2017 (Evan White) and 2019 (Zack Thompson).
Keirce Kimbel
Pitching Coach
Austin Peay State University head baseball coach Roland Fanning's coaching staff will have a Governors alumnus as a member with Keirce Kimbel joining the staff as an assistant coach in July 2022. He will serve as the program's hitting coach and recruiting coordinator.
Kimbel, a Franklin, Tennessee native, returns to Clarksville after completing his third season at Evansville. He was the Purple Aces pitching coach in 2022 and helped lead the team to a 32-24 record – the program's first 30-win season since 2014 – and a second-place finish in the Missouri Valley Conference regular-season race. Kimbel helped coach Nick Smith to MVC Pitcher of the Year accolades and the Purple Aces, who hit a program-record 77 home runs, saw seven players selected to the 2022 All-MVC teams.
The previous season Kimbel was Evansville's hitting coach in a 28-27 campaign after beginning his Evansville career as the volunteer assistant coach in the COVID-19 shortened 2020 season.
Kimbel began his coaching career at Kentucky where he was a graduate assistant for the 2018 and 2019 seasons where served alongside Fanning, who was a Wildcats assistant coach for three seasons (2017-19).
Governors fans will remember Kimbel for his two seasons as a pitcher during the 2015 and 2016 seasons and returning to serve as the operations assistant in 2017. He made 30 career appearances in the red and white. He joined the Governors after beginning his career at Columbia State Community College where he made 39 appearances over two seasons. Kimbel earned his bachelor's degree in agriculture business in 2016 at Austin Peay. He completed his master's degree in sports leadership in 2019 at Kentucky.
Jon Littell
Hitting/Outfield Coach
Austin Peay State University head baseball coach Roland Fanning brings a piece of Oklahoma State's baseball program with him as Jon Littell, a Cowboys graduate manager last season, joins the Governors' staff as a volunteer assistant coach and camp director in June 2022.
In his two seasons on the Oklahoma State staff, Littell worked with Major League Baseball veteran Robin Ventura. He also assisted with film reviews, scouting reports, and team travel. His stint in Stillwater followed a COVID-shortened season as a volunteer assistant at Division II Central Oklahoma where the Bronchos posted a 17-3 record prior to the season's stoppage.
A Stillwater native, Littell played four seasons as an outfielder at Oklahoma State. He batted .257 with 13 home runs and 108 RBI over 193 games for the Cowboys. He was a Second Team All-Big 12 pick as a senior, finishing the season with a .266 batting average, seven home runs, and 42 RBI. Littell also was a three-time Academic All-Big 12 selection during his career.
OSU made four NCAA Tournament appearances during Littell's career, reaching the College World Series during the 2016 season. Littell was named to the Clemson All Region Team during that 2016 run after going 8-for-13 (.615) at the plate with a double and three RBI.
Following his OSU playing career, Littell was drafted in 37th round of the 2018 draft by the Los Angeles Dodgers. He played two seasons in the Dodgers organization and was selected to the Pioneer League All-Star Team in 2019, where he hit the go-ahead three-run home run in a Pioneer League victory against the Northwest League. Prior to joining Oklahoma State, he was drafted by the Washington Nationals in the 39th round of the 2014 MLB Draft.
Nolan Fanning
Assistant Coach
Austin Peay State University head baseball coach Roland Fanning announced the addition of assistant coach Nolan Fanning, who was a part of Oral Roberts' run to the 2023 NCAA College World Series, to the Governors' baseball coaching staff.
Nolan Fanning, the brother of head coach Roland Fanning , spent the past two seasons as an assistant coach and director of baseball operations at Oral Roberts. Fanning oversaw all aspects of baseball operations and helped lead the Eagles to back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances.
Fanning's first season in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Oral Roberts won a program-record 52 games and the 2023 Summit League Championship before sweeping the Stillwater Regional and beating Oregon in the Eugene Super Regional. The Eagles won their first game at the College World Series in Omaha, defeating No. 8 TCU, 6-5, before falling to No. 2 Florida and then TCU in an elimination game. In his second year at Oral Roberts, Fanning helped the Eagles win their 22nd – and third-straight – Summit League Championship before advancing to the Norman Regional.
Before his time at Oral Roberts, Fanning was an assistant coach at Midland College, where he coached catchers and the offense. During his time at Midland, Fanning led the Chaps to a 69-36 over two seasons while helping Tyler Wulfert earn First Team All-America honors. In addition, pitcher Luke Young was drafted in the 11th round of the 2022 MLB Draft by the Washington Nationals. Fanning began his coaching career at Northern Oklahoma College Enid, where he helped the Jets win the 2019 NJCAA Division II National Championship.
A native of Colgate, Oklahoma, Fanning earned his bachelor's degree in recreation from Southeastern Oklahoma in 2016 before earning a master's degree in secondary education with an emphasis in sports administration from East Central University in 2018. Fanning and his wife, Macee, have a son, Kessler.
John Bakke
Director of Pitching Performance
Harrison Brown
Graduate Assistant
Justin Olson
Graduate Assistant
Cody Schultz
Graduate Assistant
