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2008 AAAAA State Playoffs
Bracket
Trojan Baseball
Summer Camp
June 9th-13th
Brochure
Critical Dates
Players
Calendar
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HEAD
COACH
MICKEY McMURTRY



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Coach
Mickey McMurtry is currently entering the homestretch of his
twenty-third year at Lassiter while opening his seventeenth season
as head coach of the Trojans. The Clinton, Mississippi native, was
an all-state quarterback and a four year letter winner at third base
for Clinton High School during the early 1970's. He received a BS
degree in 1978 from Mississippi College, in his hometown, while
playing both football and baseball. He holds a Masters Degree from
Auburn University where he worked as a football Graduate Assistant
for the Tigers under Coach Pat Dye in 1984 and 1985. McMurtry
coached football, baseball and tennis for six years at three
Mississippi high schools before his stint at Auburn. Highlights of
his baseball coaching career include serving as an assistant on the
1978 Mississippi state championship team while at Clinton HS and
leading Olive Branch HS, in the Memphis suburbs, to a 12-9 record
as head coach in 1980. McMurtry resumed his baseball coaching
career by serving as an assistant at Lassiter for three years prior
to assuming the position of head coach in 1992.
Lassiter Baseball has gained a reputation for being one of the top
high school programs in Georgia and the Southeastern United States
under the leadership of McMurtry. National prominence was also
achieved in 1999 as the Trojans were crowned National Champions in
the polls of several baseball publications, including Baseball
America and Collegiate Baseball. Seven state final appearances and
two state championships since 1995 have led to Coach McMurtry being
chosen the recipient of a number of local, state and national "Coach
of the Year" awards. Included in this recognition were the Georgia
Dugout Club, American Baseball Coaches Association and the National
High School Baseball Coaches Association "Coach of the Year" awards
following the 1999 season. The Trojans have accumulated an
impressive 394-137 mark in his sixteen year tenure, including a
70-22 mark in state playoff competition. Coach McMurtry was
recently (January 19, 2008) inducted to the Georgia Dugout Club Hall
of Fame, honoring his success and serving as a tribute to the
multitude of great players and coaches who have played for and
coached with him during his tenure at Lassiter.
In
addition to his baseball duties at Lassiter, McMurtry teaches
American Government. Coach Mick is married, and he and his wife
Eileen have three children: Erin, Megan and Peter.
Coach
Mick's black lab, Jackson, died in his sleep on January 15, 2006,
right around his fifteenth birthday. He was a great dog and loved
everything about the ballpark. He will be missed. Cooper, a black
lab puppy, full of energy and mischief, picked up right where
Jackson left it since his addition in August of ’06.
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Varsity Assistant Coach
Rick
Kneisel

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Coach Kneisel enters his tenth year as a member of the Lassiter
Trojan baseball staff. Prior to that, he taught twenty years in the
DeKalb School System and was head coach for twelve years at Dunwoody
High School. In that time, he amassed a record of 225 wins, 109
losses, and two ties. His teams were crowned 7-AAAA champions five
times and were state runner-up in 1990. A graduate of Ohio
University and a teammate of “Hall of Famer” Mike Schmidt, Coach
Kneisel has been awarded Coach of the Year honors from the Atlanta
Dugout Club, the Georgia Athletic Coaches Association, the Braves
400 club, and the Dekalb newspapers. He stepped down from the head
baseball job in 1994 to take on the department head job in science.
Besides assisting in the varsity baseball program, he is also an
assistant fast pitch softball coach.
2004-2005 Teacher of the Year at Lassiter and a former Teacher of
the Year at Dunwoody High School, Coach Kneisel teaches biology,
zoology and oceanography. He is married Dr. Nydia (Cookie) Hanna, a
professor at Georgia State University. Together they have five
children… Brett, Jennie, Katie, Kelly and Michelle. |
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Varsity Assistant Coach
Scott
Kelly

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Scott Kelly begins his tenth year as an assistant on the Lassiter
Baseball staff while completing his seventh as a faculty member in
the Health and Physical Education Department, which he currently
leads as Department Chair. He has rightfully earned a reputation as
one of the brightest young coaches in the area. 1999 marked Scott’s
return to the Lassiter program where he served as the community
coach, until being hired full time in the Fall of 2001. Scott was an
accomplished infielder for the Trojans in the early 90’s. His
playing career continued with successful stops at Gordon Junior
College and Augusta State. Coach Kelly also serves Lassiter as the
Head Coach of Fast pitch Softball, where his leadership has landed
the Lady Trojans in the State Tournament in his five of six years
at the helm, including the school’s first State FastPitch
Championship this past fall. This championship and the school
record mark of 32-7 led to his being named Georgia FastPitch Coach
of the Year. Scott’s wife, Courtney, is a Special Education teacher
at Hayes Elementary in West Cobb. Scott and Courtney have two sons,
Kade and Rennen. |
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Varsity Assistant Coach
Jeremy Morris

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Jeremy Morris, a Greenville, Kentucky native and a graduate of Berry
College, returns for his seventh year with the Trojans. Coach
Morris will continue working part time with the pitching staff in
addition to taking on added responsibilities with Trojan
infielders. Coach Morris was instrumental in developing the
pitching staff that led the team to two straight championship series
appearances, including the 2006 title. Jeremy was a standout in
both baseball and basketball at Muhlenberg South High School in
Western Kentucky. A four year letter winner in baseball, his career
culminated with his being named as pitcher on the 1997 Kentucky All
State team and being selected in the 13th round of the amateur draft
by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. An elbow injury, while pitching in his
initial season for Clearwater (the Florida Rookie League),
prematurely ended his professional career and led to his signing to
play basketball at Berry College, where he earned a history degree
in 2001. While student teaching at Rome High School in 2001, Morris
worked with the pitchers as an assistant coach in the baseball
program. Jeremy teaches World History and American History in the
Social Studies Department. Coach Morris was named Head Coach of the
boys basketball team this past year and in his first year has
achieved a great deal of success with a winning season and a berth
in the region tournament. He also serves as an assistant coach in
the football program. Bigger news than his basketball promotion
this past summer was his marriage to Coach Amy D’Anna, our girl’s
soccer coach. |
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Varsity
Assistant Coach
Josh
Mathews

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Josh
Mathews starts his fourth year as part of the Lassiter staff this
season after working for three years assisting Billy Bryan at
Centennial. Coach Mathews is an energetic young coach and did a
great job coaching the JV Trojans by himself in 2005 and 2006 and
assisting Varsity in their play-off run. He has also been invaluable
in assisting with the numerous administrative tasks that are
accomplished each season. Josh grew up in Winder, GA where he
excelled for the Winder-Barrow High School 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 Georgia-Alabama-Carolina 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 Fast pitch softball team and teaches in the
Special Education Department. Coach Mathews' wife, April, is also a
part of the Lassiter faculty, teaching in the science department. |
JV Head Coach /
Varsity Assistant Coach
George Seaman

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George
Seaman returns for his second 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 Language Arts department at Lassiter and
teaches honors in both British and American Literature. He also
serves as the head slow pitch softball coach in the fall and assists
the boys basketball team in the winter. Coach Seaman’s wife, Kelly,
teaches fourth grade at Mountain View Elementary School. They have
three children: Carley, a sophomore in college, Tyler, a seventh
grader at Simpson Middle School, and Kalie, a fifth grader at Rocky
Mount.
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Varsity
Assistant Coach
Kyle Rustay
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Kyle Rustay begins his second year on staff, bringing a decided
bluegrass flavor to Lassiter Baseball, joining Coach Morris as the
second Kentucky native on staff. 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 is also a
graduate of Transylvania University and 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 Web Page Design and AP Economics in the Lassiter Business
Department. His work ethic, energy, and enthusiasm year round make
Coach Rustay a valuable addition to the coaching staff at Lassiter
. Kyle's wife, Jeness, is an auditor for Ernst & Young, and they
live in the Vinings area. |
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JV/Varsity Assistant
Coach
Kurt Rinehimer
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Kurt Rinehimer brings a
southwestern "small-ball" flavor as he begins his first year as an
assistant on the Lassiter Baseball staff. Coach Rinehimer
heralds from Scottsdale, Arizona where he played for the legendary
coach, Jerry Dawson, at Chaparral High School. Coach Dawson is
a two-time national coach of the year and winner of four straight
state championships. During Coach Rinehimer's four
years, he led the Firebirds to state final and semi-final
appearances as a pitcher and third baseman. Coach Rinehimer
was named to the All-City team, Arizona All-State team, and was
Chaparral High School Athlete of the Year. He went on to play
four years at the United States Naval Academy, where he led the
Midshipmen to three consecutive NCAA tournament appearances.
Upon graduation with Bachelors of Science degree, Coach Rinehimer
flew F-14s and F/A-18s for the US Navy. Coach Rinehimer
teaches in the Math Department at Lassiter. He and his wife,
Brennan, have three children, J.D., Jack, and Kate. |
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Director of Facilities
Paul Bremer
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Paul has overseen and maintained the buildings and grounds in and
around the Lassiter Baseball Complex for the past thirteen years.
He received his degree from Vanderbilt University where he played
football. Besides taking care of the field and surrounding
facilities, Paul enjoys playing golf and being with his family.
Paul and his wife, Lawanna have a daughter, Sunny, who is a Lassiter
graduate. Paul joined the program in the mid 90’s when Sunny was a
Lassiter Baseball Manager. |
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COACHES

Mickey McMurtry
Varsity Head
Coach

Scott Kelly
Varsity Assistant
Coach

Rick Kneisel
Varsity Assistant
Coach

Jeremy Morris
Varsity Assistant
Coach

George Seaman
JV Head
Coach
Varsity Assistant
Coach

Josh Mathews
Varsity Assistant
Coach

Kyle Rustay
Varsity Assistant
Coach

Kurt Rinehimer
Varsity Assistant
Coach
JV Assistant
Coach

Paul Bremer
Director of
Facilities
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