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Head Coach
Scott
Kelly
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Coach Kelly takes the helm for his first season as head coach of the
tradition rich Lassiter Baseball program after serving ten years as
an assistant to Hall of Fame coach, Mickey McMurtry. Coach Kelly
came on board as a coach just prior to the National Championship
season in 1999. The success of the program continued in the 2000s
as Coach Kelly has served his alma mater over the past decade. He
has been a part of two state championships (1999, 2006), three state
runners-up (2000, 2002, 2005), and five region championships (1999,
2003, 2005, 2006, 2008). Coach Kelly primarily worked with the
infielders and directed the baserunners since he came on staff.
Prior to Coach Kelly coming back to coach at Lassiter, he excelled
at both the junior college and Division II level. After completing
a successful playing career at Lassiter in 1993, he took his talents
to Gordon Junior College in Barnesville. He played middle infield
for legendary coach Tom Clark. After two years at Gordon, Scott
traveled across the state to play for Coach Skip Fite at Augusta
State University. It is worth noting that his high school days
where spent playing for two well-known and extremely successful
coaches in Georgia history-Jeff Guy and Mickey McMurtry.
Upon being hired full-time at Lassiter in 2001, he also joined the
Fastpitch staff. In 2002, he became the second head coach of the
Lassiter Fastpitch team. After winning region championships in
2002, 2006, 2007 and a state runners-up finish in 2002, the Lassiter
Fastpitch team reached pinnacle when they won the 2007 AAAAA State
Championship. They won another region championship in 2009 under
Coach Kelly’s leadership. The Fastpitch Trojans have won over 200
games since Coach Kelly took over in 2002.
Coach Kelly received his bachelor’s degree in health and physical
education from Kennesaw State after completing his playing days at
Augusta State. In 2008, he added a master’s degree in Educational
Leadership, also from KSU.
Scott’s wife, Courtney, also teaches in Cobb County, where she is a
special education teacher at Hayes Elementary in west Cobb. They
have two sons, Kade (7) and Rennen (5).
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Varsity Pitching Coach
Scott
Prather
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Scott Prather begins his first
year as the Trojans' pitching coach.
Scott's addition puts another Lassiter alum on the current
coaching staff. He was a very accomplished player during his
days as a Trojan as he was a pivotal player on the first ever
Lassiter team to make the state playoffs in 1994. Hi
senior year was very memorable as the Trojans made their first
appearance in the state championship series. He still
holds Lassiter pitching records for “Season Victories (13)” and
“Won/Loss Record (13-0)” and was part of two “No Hitters” during
his playing days at Lassiter. From Lassiter, Scott went on to a
successful career as a pitcher/outfielder at Georgia Tech from
1996-1998 earning various “All American” honors in 1997 and
1998. He was drafted in 1998 by the St. Louis Cardinals and
spent five years in their minor league system as a left-handed
pitcher. Scott is currently employed by Bryant Commercial Real
Estate Partners. He and his wife Tracy reside in the
Smyrna area with
their young son, Michael.
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Varsity
Assistant Coach
Josh
Mathews
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Josh
Mathews starts his sixth year as part of the Lassiter staff this
season after working for three years as an assistant coach at
Centennial. Josh has been a part of two state championships
(baseball in 2006 & softball in 2007) and six region championships
(baseball-'05, '06, '08 & softball-'06, '07, '09) in his five-plus
years at Lassiter. Coach Mathews is an energetic young coach and did a
great job coaching the JV Trojans by himself in 2005 and 2006 while
assisting Varsity in their play-off runs. He has also been
invaluable in assisting with the numerous administrative tasks that
are accomplished each season specifically maintaining the Lassiter
Baseball website. Josh grew up in Winder, GA where
he excelled for the Winder-Barrow Bulldoggs. He was named
to the Athens Banner-Herald All-Northeast Georgia team as a senior
infielder. His baseball career continued at Shorter College in Rome
where he received a Bachelors Degree in Education in 2001. Josh
played all the infield positions for Coach Ricci Lattanzi, helping
lead the Hawks to the GAC Conference
Championship in 1998 and a berth in the NAIA South Regionals. In
addition to his assistant coaching duties on the field, Josh is an
assistant coach for the Fastpitch softball team and teaches in the
Special Education Department. He also helps the athletic
director while serving as Lassiter's Athletic Coordinator. He
also coched football during his first two years at Lassiter. Josh completed a
masters degree in Educational Leadership from Jacksonville State
University in December 2007. Coach Mathews' wife, April, is also a
part of the Lassiter faculty, teaching in the science department.
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Varsity
Assistant Coach
Kyle Rustay
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Kyle Rustay begins his fourth year on staff. He will make the
switch from coaching pitchers to instructing the outfielders in
2010. Coach Rustay moved south to
Georgia in July of 2005 after coaching baseball for seven years at
East Jessamine High School in Nicholasville, Kentucky. His stint at
East Jessamine included a year as the varsity head coach. Coach
Rustay is a graduate of Jessamine County High School where he was a
four year letter winner in baseball and cross country. He
received his undergraduate degree from Transylvania University, then
went on to complete his masters degree from the University of Kentucky,
both located in Lexington. While at Transylvania, Kyle was a three
year starter in the outfield and graduated with a degree in Business
Administration. Immediately upon arriving in the Atlanta area in
Fall 2005, Coach Rustay taught Marketing as a supply teacher at
Lassiter, before finishing the year in a full-time position at North
Cobb High School. He served as an assistant baseball coach for the
Warriors, helping them make it to the State Playoffs where they lost
to eventual state champion, Lassiter, in the first round. In
addition to his duties in the baseball program, Coach Rustay also
serves as an assistant FastPitch coach for the Lady Trojans. He
teaches AP Economics in the Lassiter Business Department and Web
Page Design (Webmaster for Lassiter High School website). His work ethic, energy, and enthusiasm year round make
Coach Rustay a valuable member of the coaching staff at Lassiter
. Kyle's wife, Jeness, is an auditor for Ernst & Young, and they
live in the Vinings area. Kyle and Jeness welcomed the birth
of their first son, Emmett Carter, in early February.
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Varsity Assistant /
JV Head Coach
George Seaman
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George Seaman returns for his third season after a brief stint at
Kell. He returned to his familiar duties running the JV program.
Coach Seaman served as the JV coach from 1992-1995 and again in
2002. From 1996-1999, Coach Seaman worked as an assistant coach on
the varsity squad where he played a key role in the success of the
1999 State and National Championship team. The 1984 Sprayberry High
School alumnus graduated Summa Cum Laude from Kennesaw State
University in 1988. In 1999, he received a Masters degree in
Composition and Rhetoric, and he earned National Board Certification
in 2002. He works in the English department at Lassiter and teaches
honors in both British and American Literature. He also serves as
the assistant varsity boys basketball team in the winter as well as
the
head coach
of freshman football team. Coach Seaman’s wife, Kelly, teaches
fourth grade at Mountain View Elementary School. They have three
children: Carley; Tyler, a sophomore at Lassiter; and Kalie, an
eighth grader at Simpson.
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Varsity Assistant /
JV Assistant Coach
Kurt Rinehimer
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Kurt Rinehimer returns from a mathematical sabbatical as he begins
his second year as an assistant on Lassiter’s baseball staff. Coach
Rinehimer heralds from Scottsdale, AZ where he played for the
legendary coach, Jerry Dawson, of Chaparral High School. Coach
Dawson is a three time national coach of the year winning 8 state
championships. During Coach Rinehimer’s four years, he led the
Firebirds to state final and semi-final appearances while playing
third base and pitching. Coach Rinehimer was named to the All-City
team and Arizona All-Star team in baseball. Coach Rinehimer still
holds football records and was Chaparral’s High School student
athlete of the year. Coach Rinehimer went on to play four years at
the United States Naval Academy where he led the Midshipman to three
consecutive NCAA tournaments. Upon graduation with a Bachelors of
Science degree, Coach Rinehimer flew F-14s and F/A-18s for the US
Navy. During his time in the Navy, Coach Rinehimer logged over 1500
flight hours while deploying on two combat cruises with 40+ combat
missions. Kurt just finished his masters degree program in art of
teaching mathematics from Kennesaw State University. Coach
Rinehimer teaches in the Math Department. He and his wife Brennan
have three children, J.D., Jack and Kate.
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