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Steve Gust
Head Baseball Coach
The University of North Dakota ’01
stgust@dwu.edu
605-995-2853

Steve Gust didn’t need much of a learning curve in his first season as the head baseball coach at Dakota Wesleyan University. Gust’s rookie campaign exceeded all expectations and was one of the most successful seasons in Tiger baseball’s storied history.

Gust’s club captured the 2009 Great Plains Athletic Baseball Postseason Tournament Championship – the second in school history – and finished with the second-most wins in school history. The Tigers were 35-18 overall, 14-6 in the GPAC, and they earned an automatic bid to the 2009 NAIA Baseball National Championship Opening Round. Gust led DWU to a third-place finish in the GPAC’s regular season standings after the league’s coaches predicted the Tigers would finish 10th in the GPAC Preseason Baseball Coaches’ Poll.

The Tigers, under Gust’s direction, erased those low expectations from the season’s start. DWU won its first five games and 14 of its first 16. That hot start included a stretch of eight straight wins and an 8-2 record on the team’s Spring Break tournament in Clearwater, Fla. The eight wins is a new school record for victories on a spring trip.

Dakota Wesleyan continued its strong season through conference play, where it was in contention for the GPAC regular season title until the final weekend. DWU earned a signature win on April 15 when it rallied to defeat the NCAA Division I University of North Dakota 18-14 in Fargo, N.D.

The Tigers won the second GPAC Tournament title in DWU history with first- and second-round wins over Briar Cliff University and Hastings College. Following a loss to Mount Marty College, Dakota Wesleyan rallied to beat Briar Cliff and Hastings again, and it avenged its loss to the Lancers with a 9-8, 10-inning walk-off win in the championship game. That victory earned DWU a trip to the NAIA National Tournament, where the Tigers were eliminated with losses to William Penn University and Lindenwood University in the St. Charles, Mo., opening round.

Gust easily had the most successful first season of any of DWU’s 11 head baseball coaches with at least 11 more wins than any other first-year skipper in school history. In 2009, he coached seven All-GPAC selections, two GPAC Gold Glove winners, two GPAC Players-of-the-Week and three NAIA Scholar-Athletes. His team set school records for spring trip wins (eight), runs scored (396) and walks (244), and his players set two individual school records. Terry Lundeen stole a school-record 33 bases, and Phil Johnson tied a DWU pitching record with 10 wins.

Gust came to Dakota Wesleyan after four years as the head baseball coach at Northland Community and Technical College (East Grand Forks, Minn.), and leaves NCTC as one of the most successful baseball coaches in school history. His Pioneer teams went 92-75 over four seasons, and Gust earned Minnesota Community College Conference North Division Coach of the Year honors in 2005. NCTC qualified for the MCCC State Tournament all four seasons.

In his final season at NCTC, Gust led the Pioneers to a school record 27 wins and a second-place finish at the MCCC State Tournament. His squad also advanced to the NJCAA Region 13 Tournament in 2008, where they finished third. Gust also spent his summers coaching the East Grand Forks American Legion baseball team and amassed 466 total victories.

He spent one season as an assistant coach at the University of North Dakota. The Fighting Sioux finished that season 38-16 and qualified for the NCAA Regional Tournament. He has also coached high school baseball. At Sacred Heart High School (East Grand Forks, Minn.), Gust led the team to 132 wins and was named Coach of the Year three times.

Gust graduated from the University of North Dakota in 2001 with a bachelor’s degree in physical education and coaching. He grew up in East Grand Forks, Minn.

Gust lives in Mitchell, and he has a 5-year-old son, Tommy John.

Dion Parks Assistant Baseball Coach Hitting		Chris Dennis Assistant Baseball Coach Pitching