DJ Eckert was name head assistant baseball coach in July of 2019.
Eckert comes to River Forest after spending two seasons as the pitching coach at Transylvania University in Lexington, Kentucky. While at Transylvania, Eckert helped lead the team to the HCAC conference tournament. Under his direction Transylvania saw two pitchers set school records for strikeouts per nine innings in back-to-back seasons. Eckert also assisted in pitch calling and scouting opponents.
Prior to his time in Lexington, Eckert spent four years at Division II Saint Joseph’s College. Eckert began his time at Saint Joseph’s playing two years under head coach Rick O’Dette at Saint Joseph’s College before a shoulder injury ended his playing career.
Eckert was part of a 2015 pitching staff that found itself ranked in the top-15 nationally as a team in ERA and WHIP, and the top seven in strikeouts per nine innings and K:BB ratio. While unable to play, Eckert continued with the Saint Joseph’s baseball program, working as an assistant coach and fulfilling roles in scouting and pitching instruction, and was voted a team leader by teammates. In Eckert’s senior year, the Pumas were ranked as high as #12 nationally in the Collegiate Baseball poll and made an appearance in the NCAA Division II tournament.
While at Saint Joseph’s College, Eckert coached two MLB draft picks in Brian Bayliss (Kansas City Royals) and Keegan Long (Arizona Diamondbacks).
Eckert spent two summers working as the pitching coach for the Indiana Braves baseball club. Players under Eckert have signed National Letters of Intent to schools in all levels of the NCAA, NJCAA, and NAIA.
Eckert received his BA in Sports Management from Saint Joseph’s in May of 2017.
