HEAD COACH 

 
MICKEY McMURTRY

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.

Varsity Assistant Coach 
Rick Kneisel

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.

Varsity Assistant Coach 
Scott Kelly

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.

Varsity Assistant Coach 
Jeremy Morris

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.

Varsity Assistant Coach
Josh Mathews

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.

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.

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.

JV/Varsity Assistant Coach

Kurt Rinehimer

Director of Facilities

Paul Bremer

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.