IOWA CITY, Iowa — Marty Sutherland has been named the interim hitting coach and recruiting coordinator for the University of Iowa baseball program, UI head coach Rick Heller announced Wednesday. Sutherland is a former player and coach under Heller at Northern Iowa.
“I’m excited to have Marty Sutherland back on my staff,” said Heller. “Marty played for me, and we worked together for nine years at UNI. His baseball knowledge and teaching ability is as good as it gets. Marty is a tireless worker and possesses outstanding evaluation skills. He is a perfect fit for our system and style of play.”
Sutherland served as an assistant coach for the Panthers from 2003-09, helping lead the team to 154 victories over six seasons. He coached 12 All-Missouri Valley Conference selections and an MVC Newcomer and Player of the Year honoree.
Sutherland also served as an assistant coach at Wartburg College during the 2002-03 season. Most recently, Sutherland was an assistant coach at Cascade (Iowa) High School and a hitting/fielding instructor at Bases Loaded Academy in Dubuque, Iowa.
Sutherland was an infielder at Northern Iowa during the 2001 and 2002 seasons, helping the team to its first back-to-back 30 win seasons in program history. He also played at Kirkwood Community College from 1998-2000.
During his two seasons in Cedar Falls, Sutherland batted .318 with 25 doubles and 29 stolen bases. He also finished his career with 64 RBIs.
In 2001, Sutherland was a second team All-MVC and second team All-Midwest region honoree after UNI won a school-record 35 games and claimed the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament title en route to the first NCAA Tournament berth in school history. Sutherland batted .349, and the Panthers finished 10th in the nation and led the MVC in hitting with a .333 batting average.
In 2002, UNI won 30 games and finished fourth in the Missouri Valley. The squad finished with a .327 batting average in conference games to lead the league.
Sutherland, a native of Cascade, Iowa, earned his associate’s degree from Kirkwood Community College in July, 2000, and his bachelor’s degree from Northern Iowa in Dec., 2002.
