University of South Alabama Athletics

Bob Keller begins his sixth season as South Alabama pitching coach in 2017.

Keller helped USA capture its 16th Sun Belt Conference championship and 26th NCAA Regional appearance in 2016. Right-hander Kevin Hill became the league’s first-ever two-time SBC Pitcher of the Year recipient after earning the award in 2015 and ‘16, and also earned SBC Male Student-Athlete of the Year honors in addition to first-team All-America, first-team all-region and first-team all-SBC accolades. He led the SBC in strikeouts (126) and innings pitched (122.2), and tied for second in wins (8). Hill was selected in the 2016 MLB Draft by the Houston Astros.

The Jaguar pitching staff led the league in innings pitched (573.1) last season, ranked second in ERA (3.77) and wins (42), and finished fourth in strikeouts (418). 

In 2015 under Keller’s direction, the South Alabama pitching staff posted the program’s lowest team ERA since 1990 (2.80). The Jaguars led the Sun Belt Conference in ERA (3.22), strikeouts (474), runs allowed (221), earned runs allowed (188) and home runs allowed (22) last year, and ranked second in innings pitched (526), wins (37) and fewest hits allowed (472) en route to the program’s 15th SBC championship. Keller was voted as the Large College Division-Division I Assistant Coach of the Year for 2015 by the Alabama Baseball Coaches Association.

Jaguar right-hander Kevin Hill was named the 2015 SBC Pitcher of the Year, and was a second-team All-America selection by Collegiate Baseball and received third-team All-America honors from the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association and the American Baseball Coaches Association/Rawlings. Hill was also voted first-team all-South Central Region by the ABCA/Rawlings, and also received first-team all-SBC honors. Right-hander Ben Taylor also earned first-team all-SBC recognition, and was selected in the seventh round of the 2015 MLB Draft by the Boston Red Sox.

Keller helped lead South Alabama to its 14th Sun Belt Conference championship and 25th NCAA Regional appearance by helping the USA pitching staff post its lowest team ERA (4.19) since 2001 in his second season with the program in 2013. The Jags recorded 511 strikeouts – the most by a USA staff since the 2005 staff struck out 521 batters.

Under Keller, Kyle Bartsch became South Alabama’s all-time saves leader and tied the single-season record with 12. Both Bartsch and right-hander Matt Bell were named second-team all-Sun Belt Conference in 2013.

That season, the South Alabama pitching staff led the Sun Belt in saves (22), and ranked second in ERA (4.19), innings pitched (560.1) and strikeouts (511). Bartsch and right-handed reliever Dylan Stamey were both selected in the 2013 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft, becoming the first Jaguar pitchers to be drafted under Keller.

In his first season with the program in 2012, Keller helped right-hander Jarron Cito earn second-team all-Sun Belt Conference honors, marking the first time a Jaguar pitcher has been named all-conference since P.J. Walters in 2006. The USA pitching staff increased its strikeout total by 70 (435) in 2012 – the highest team total since 2008 (427). South Alabama’s 13 team saves were the most by a Jaguar staff since 2003 (15).

In 2014, Keller helped southpaw Locke St. John reach the professional ranks when he was drafted by 
the Detroit Tigers in the MLB First-Year Player Draft. 

Keller enters his 23rd year of Division I coaching this season, and has participated in six NCAA Regional Tournaments and two Super Regionals. He has worked with 31 pitchers who have moved on to professional baseball.

Prior to arriving at South Alabama, Keller served as pitching coach at Dallas Baptist where he helped lead the Patriots to a 42-20 record and NCAA Super Regional in 2011.  DBU won the Fort Worth Regional in Fort Worth, Texas, in 2011, advancing to a Super Regional against California in Santa Clara, Calif.

Patriot right-handers Brandon Williamson and Chris Haney were each selected in the 20th round of the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft. Williamson was taken by the Milwaukee Brewers after leading DBU in wins (10), strikeouts (71) and innings pitched (123). Haney was selected by the San Diego Padres after going 4-2 with 15 saves and a 2.17 ERA. His 15 saves tied for 10th nationally. He led the Patriots in appearances (32), and struck out 42 batters against just 13 walks. Two additional Patriot pitchers under Keller’s tutelage were signed by the Oakland Athletics in 2012.

Prior to joining the DBU staff, Keller spent six seasons as the pitching coach at Michigan. In his time at Michigan, Keller had 18 pitchers earn all-Big Ten honors, and also had 16 pitchers go on to professional baseball – 10 of which were selected in the first 10 rounds of the draft. Keller saw four of those pitchers drafted in 2005, including Clayton Richard of the San Diego Padres, and three inside the first 10 rounds of the 2010 draft in his final year at Michigan. 

Keller’s pitching staff finished in the top two of the Big Ten in overall team ERA three of his last four seasons. His staff led the Big Ten in wins and saves, and was second in strikeouts and third in overall team ERA (5.22) in 2010. In 2009, the Wolverines finished first with a 4.84 team ERA, while in 2008, his staff helped guide the Wolverines to the most wins in Big Ten history with a team ERA of 4.19. In 2006, All-Americans Chris Fetter, drafted by the San Diego Padres in 2009, and Zach Putnam, drafted by the Cleveland Indians in 2008 and now with the Colorado Rockies, led Keller’s staff to a 2.91 ERA in the Big Ten. In 2010, Keller had three Michigan pitchers drafted in the first ten rounds.

Before his stint at Michigan, Keller spent three seasons as the pitching coach at Birmingham-Southern, under current University of Alabama Birmingham head coach, Brian Shoop. Under Keller’s direction, the Panther pitching staff posted the best team ERA in the Big South Conference, and he worked with six pitchers taken in the draft. Keller’s staff played an instrumental role in the Panther’s 2004 season, in which they posted an impressive 47-18 record, won the Big South regular season title, and ranked 29th in the NCAA with a 3.82 ERA.

From 1995-2001, Keller served as an assistant coach at Georgia State, spending three seasons as the recruiting coordinator under head coach Mike Hurst. 

Keller had an outstanding career as both a pitcher and outfielder at Biola University. A two-time NCCAA All-American, Keller held school records for RBI and doubles, and ranked second in hits and home runs upon graduation in 1992. In his first career start as a freshman, Keller threw a complete game victory against Texas Tech University. Keller earned his Bachelor of Science in Physical Education while at Biola, and a Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology while at Georgia State. He and his wife, Jeannie, have two sons, Charles and Brady.