Brian Wede

Head Coach

"I hope the players I coach learn the importance of 'team' and how to be a good teammate. People who work well with others have a leg-up on the competition," says Head Coach Brian Wede.

Wede joined the Raider coaching staff in 2005 as an assistant with primary responsibility for the pitchers and began his stint as skipper in 2006-07. Said athletic director Barry Brandt, “Brian brings to this program great baseball knowledge, energy and a strong work ethic. He has been active in recruitment and has been a factor in the recent resurgence of baseball at NWC. We are excited he is serving as head coach and look forward to the continued improvement of the baseball program.”

Coach Wede took over a program that in 2006 finished with a 19-21 overall mark, 10-10 in the Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC), good for a seventh place finish and the first conference tournament berth since 2001. The Red Raiders went 1-2 in post-season play. In 2007, Wede's club finished 37-18 and won the Region III Championship. The 2007 Raiders set many school records, including wins in a season (37), runs scored (349), doubles(100), hit by pitch (61), total RBI (317), and hits (504). Northwestern featured the GPAC Player of the Year (Grant Wall) and GPAC Pitcher of the Year (Mihai Burlea). Burlea was named a NAIA All-American Honorable Mention in 2007 and Kent Wallinga was named a NAIA Scholar Athlete.

Northwestern offensively led the conference in games (55), team batting average (.330), runs (349), hits (504), doubles (100), home runs (34), slg% (.479), OB% (.411), and stolen base % (90%, 54/60). On the mound Northwestern was the conference leader in wins (37), era (3.76), complete games (22), shutouts (10), strike outs (393), WHIP (1.40), and was second in batting average against (.266). Defensively, Northwestern finished second in fielding percentage at 0.954 and double plays (31) and led the GPAC in caught stealing %, at 40.3%; 27 of 67 runners were thrown out.

Prior to becoming the head coach at Northwestern, Wede served as the head baseball coach at South O’Brien High School from 2001-06. In 2004, he led his team to the championship round of the state tournament. In his six-year tenure at South O’Brien, the Wolverines were 95-86. Wede was the Northwest Iowa Review Coach of the Year in 2004 and has coached 22 all-conference, nine district and three all-state players

Wede played collegiately at Mt. Mercy College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa and was a member of two Region VII Tournament qualifying teams. Mount Mercy, coached by Justin Schulte, averaged 42 wins a season during Wede's career. He and his wife, Nicole, have one son, Nikolai, and one daughter, Larkin.

Wede at Northwestern

Year	Conference	Overall
2007	14-8	37-18	NAIA Super Regionals