Brentwood, TN – The Ohio Valley Conference named 13 Austin Peay State University (APSU) baseball team members, along with head coach Gary McClure, to its 75th Anniversary Baseball Team Wednesday.
To celebrate the league’s accomplishments, a committee working with current and former schools captured the “best-of-the-best” in each sport and marked the top athletes in league history with 75th Anniversary Teams across all OVC sports. The OVC compiled a similar listing during the 40th and 50th anniversaries of the league.
The following list of 13 Governors alumni, were among the 113 baseball players recognized by the league. McClure was one of five coaches the league recognized.
Greg Bachman (3B, 2008-12)
A 2019 APSU Athletics Hall of Fame Inductee, Bachman was twice a Second Team All-OVC selection at third base only because the OVC Player of the Year in each season played third base as well.
Pieced together the greatest postseason of any baseball player in Governors history during the 2012 season, gathering 21 hits that translated to a batting average (.539) and earned OVC Tournament “MVP” honors and named to the NCAA Tournament’s Eugene All-Region Team.
Jeremy Dobbs (P, 2009-11)
The 2011 OVC Pitcher of the Year, Dobbs led the league that season with nine victories, posting a 9-3 record, including a 4-1 mark in conference play as the Govs No. 1 starter.
In just three seasons, he finished with 13 victories over 49 appearances and capped his career with a 3.59 ERA as a junior before being drafted by the Seattle Mariners in the 2011 MLB Draft.
Shane Dortch (P, 1992-94)
A 1994 OVC Pitcher of the Year honoree, Dortch finished his best season with nine wins and a 3.08 ERA while leading the Govs to the OVC regular-season title. He opened that season’s tournament with a complete game – one of seven he would throw that season – but it wasn’t a standard “CG” it was a 12-inning battle that the APSU Govs won 2-1 over rival Murray State that helped him earn OVC All-Tournament honors as well.
A.J. Ellis (C, 2000-03)
At the time of his graduation in 2003, Ellis was one of only five OVC baseball players to earn First Team All-OVC honors four times during their career – at utility, first base, and twice at catcher. He led the APSU Govs with 263 career hits at the conclusion of his career – 17 more than any Govs hitter prior to him – and was only surpassed nine seasons later by Greg Bachman.
Drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2003, he went on to play 11 Major League seasons, tied for most by a Governors alumnus with Shawn Kelley.
Jordan Hankins (2B, 2011-13)
Named All-OVC in each of his three seasons, including twice as a First Team honoree, Hankins also is the only Governors player named to an NCAA All-Region team twice in their career. As a freshman, he hit an eventual game-winning home run against Georgia Tech in the opening game of the 2011 Atlanta Region.
Then the next season, Hankins hit a home run to give the APSU Govs a lead against host Oregon in the 2012 Eugene Regional. He finished his career with a .346 batting average that was seventh-best in program history and his 236 hits – in just three seasons – was 10th most in program history.
Rowdy Hardy (P, 2004-06)
The only Austin Peay State University pitcher with back-to-back 10 wins seasons and the owner of a program-record 32 victories in three seasons, Hardy was the 2004 OVC Rookie of the Year and then the 2005 OVC Pitcher of the Year.
The next season, he mustered another 11 wins while lowering his ERA to 2.63. In his final season, Hardy notched just nine wins but his ERA fell to 2.58 – while only earning Second Team All-OVC honors that season. In addition to owning the Govs’ wins record, Hardy ranks seventh all-time in career ERA (2.71) and was the first Govs pitcher to record 250 career strikeouts, finishing with 255 Ks.
Reed Harper (SS, 2010-13)
A walk-on who went on to play in all 237 games of his APSU career, Harper also was a two-time First Team All-OVC honoree, a two-time OVC All-Tournament selection, and the 2013 OVC Tournament “MVP.” In that 2013 OVC Championship run, Harper hit .462 and drove in seven runs while playing errorless defense at shortstop.
He finished his career as the program leader in hits (286) and at-bats (904) – both marks that still stand at APSU.
Shawn Kelley (P, 2003-07)
One of only two APSU athletes to finish their careers with four OVC Championship rings, Kelley finished his career with 26 victories and a 3.09 ERA. Arguably, Kelley enjoyed the greatest season ever for an APSU hurler as a senior, finishing the season 11-3 overall with a 7-1 OVC record.
It was a season that saw the APSU Govs roll to OVC regular-season and tourney titles. He completed eight of those starts, tying the APSU mark for single-season complete games while tossing a pair of shutouts in compiling a 2.40 ERA. In 127.2 innings pitched (an OVC record, as are his 390.1 career innings), Kelley permitted an almost unfathomable 11 walks while fanning 82.
He went on to toss 10 innings in an NCAA Regional appearance against No. 1 national seed Vanderbilt to cap his impressive career. Kelley was the 2007 OVC Pitcher of the Year.
Nate Manning (3B, 1993-96)
Mr. 100 hits… Manning’s 1996 season put several offensive marks in the APSU Govs’ record book that will require a lengthy postseason run to be bested. The only player to record 100 hits in a season, he also set Austin Peay State University records for home runs (19), RBIs (81), runs scored (70), total bases (191), and extra-base hits (49).
The home run record would ultimately fall – but not until Parker Phillips’ 25-homer season in 2019. Unsurprisingly, Manning was the 1996 OVC Player of the Year and the 1996 OVC Tournament “MVP” while leading the Govs to their first Division I NCAA Baseball Tournament appearance.
Parker Phillips (1B, 2017-19)
A two-time All-OVC honoree, including First Team All-OVC honors in 2019, Phillips ended his career with an astonishing 25-homer campaign that broke the record set by Nate Manning in 1996. But Phillips put the record book on notice the prior season by tying the home run record.
He became the first Governors’ hitter to record 40 – and then 50 – homers in a career and finished his three-year run in the red and white with 56 home runs – 19 more than any other Governor to date. Philips also is the only Governor to hit 10-plus home runs in three separate seasons.
Alex Robles (UTIL/RHP, 2014-17)
The first OVC player to earn All-OVC honors five times during their career, Robles has claimed to be one of the best two-way players in Austin Peay State University history – and quite possibly the best two-way man to wear the red and white.
Robles finished his career batting .336 (14th all-time) with 268 hits (3rd all-time), 164 RBI (8th all-time), a 3.91 ERA (25th all-time), 28 victories (2nd all-time), and 295 strikeouts (2nd all-time).
Tyler Rogers (P, 2012-13)
The greatest closer in program history, Rogers capped his two-year APSU career by recording 23 saves as a senior and becoming the first relief pitcher to earn OVC Pitcher of the Year accolades in 2013. He had a hand in 30 of the Govs 44 victories in 2013, recording seven victories along with his 23 saves.
Rogers finished his career with 35 saves, 15 more than any other Governor, and a 1.98 ERA that remains the career record for Governors pitchers. He also has three saves in NCAA Tournament action, a mark that remains the Govs’ postseason record.
Greg Tubbs (IF, 1981-84)
In three seasons with the Governors, Tubbs gained a reputation as a professional hitter. He was the Govs leading hitter in both 1982 (.362) and 1984 (.347) to finish his career with a .362 batting average, which is the third-best mark in program history.
Tubbs also ranks in the Govs’ top 10 in both slugging percentage (7th, .587) and on-base percentage (4th, .461), while also stealing 34 bases during the 1982 season. He earned First-Team All-OVC South Division honors in 1982.
Gary McClure, APSU Head Coach
A five-time OVC Coach of the Year honoree, McClure was the architect of nine Austin Peay State University OVC Championship seasons (13 total championships – seven regular season and six tournament) and led the Govs to six NCAA tournament appearances.
In 11 seasons from 2003 to 2013, Austin Peay State University won an OVC regular season or tournament title seven times. He finished his 28-year career with 847 career wins and became the Ohio Valley Conference’s all-time wins leader, surpassing the record previously held by legendary Murray State head coach Johnny Reagan (776 wins, 1958-93).
McClure also became the first head coach to record 300 career Ohio Valley Conference victories, reaching the milestone during the 2012 season, and he finished his career with 363 OVC wins.
