July 15, 2024
Schlechter has fond memories of NIACC
When Shawn Schlechter was wrapping up high school in Burnsville, Minn., in 2011, the teenager wasn't sure if college was going to be in the cards for him.
But Schlechter knew he loved the game of baseball and wanted that to be a part of his life.
Enter NIACC.
"As a teenager and young adult, I had plenty of growing up to do," said Schlechter, who is now the hitting coach for St. Paul Saints, the Triple A affiliate of the Minnesota Twins. "Finding out what I really wanted to do was a challenge and luckily I had a couple of friends that played at NIACC.
"They had nothing but great things to say about the place and I was very fortunate that an email was returned by Todd Rima and Travis Hergert. I went down for a visit and immediately when I got on campus in Mason City, I felt that my life had direction."
Schlechter was on the NIACC baseball roster in 2011 and missed the 2012 season due to rotator cuff and labrum surgery. He said his time at NIACC as a student-athlete was extremely beneficial.
"I'm sure there are people there that can tell you that I wasn't a great student," he said. "But I was excited to be part of a group and something that I was passionate about with the baseball program.
"As I went through that, I learned that school was important and people did want me to find ways to continue to structure my life. NIACC was a special place that had a lot of great people that were in my corner. I was lucky enough to find my way to Mason City and did a lot of growing up in that time period."
In 2013, Schlechter was a student assistant coach for the Trojans, who advanced to the NJCAA Division II World Series in Enid, Okla., for the first time in school history.
Schlechter said he's extremely grateful to Hergert, who was NIACC's head coach at the time, and hitting coach Pete Lauritson for the opportunity to join the Trojans' coaching staff.
"Travis is one of my biggest mentors and Pete is a great baseball mind and fantastic human and both gave so much to the program," Schlechter said. "They asked me to stick around and help out in just any way possible.
"They gave me a little bit of responsibility with the catchers and I got to stick around and learn some of the hitting stuff. I was a sponge and fell in love with being able to make connections as the coach to players. Those guys at the time were some of my great friends. That year was extremely fun and eye-opening to me. The best part of it was going to the World Series for the first time in school history and doing it with a bunch of guys that I was previously playing with, too. That experience was very eye-opening and something that I'll never forget."
Schlechter remained as a NIACC assistant with Hergert and Lauritson through the 2016 season as the Trojans made two more trips to the NJCAA Division II World Series in 2015 and 2016.
Lauritson, who is now an assistant coach at Kirkwood, left to be an assistant coach at the University of Iowa after the 2016 season.
Hergert promoted Schlechter to hitting coach, replacing Lauritson for the 2017 campaign.
"I'm going to be honest with you, I was a little overwhelmed," Schlechter said. "I was unsure if I was actually the right person for the job or if I was ready for it.
"That summer was a little chaotic but it was a huge growing experience for me. I'll never forget that opportunity that Travis gave me. There were a lot of growing pains and a lot of challenges, but I firmly believe that I wouldn't be where I'm at today without being given those responsibilities. I screwed some things up but I also learned from it."
Hergert, who is now the minor league pitching coordinator for the Philadelphia Phillies, had the utmost confidence in Schlechter to move into the head hitting coach role with the Trojans.
"He obviously had to fill some incredibly big shoes in one of the best, if not the best, hitting coach I've ever been around in Pete Lauritson," Hergert said. "We knew there would be some growing pains along the way but Shawn stepped in and didn't skip a beat.
"He took a lot of things he learned from Pete and took it into his style. That was the one thing I told him when he took the job that I wanted him to do it his way and it doesn't have to be the way Pete did it. I knew there would be a lot of influence with him being around Pete but he did it his way and his style and he grew into that along the way and did a tremendous job for us."
Schlechter served as the Trojans' hitting coach from 2017-2019.
After the 2019 season, Hergert, Schlechter and another assistant, Brett DeGagne, all left the Trojan program for professional baseball.
Hergert left for the Phillies' organization, Schlechter for the Twins' organization and DeGagne for the New York Yankees' organization.
"All three of us were moving on from something we were so in love with and had a passion for and a program that we all felt super loyal to," Schlechter recalled. "It was a whirlwind of events that happened.
"We were extremely fortunate to have someone there like Drew Sannes (who took over as the Trojans' head coach) who at the time must have felt as overwhelmed when I first got into it. To this day, you look at his path going through those challenges probably helped him as he's now in High A with the Texas Rangers and is part of a World Champion organization."
Hergert, who accumulated a record of 260-146-1 from 2013-19 as the Trojans' skipper, said he's extremely proud of Schlechter.
"It's so cool for him to be getting the opportunity that he's getting," Hergert said. "Obviously, the Twins do a really nice job of player development and for him to be at the highest minor league level is truly astonishing."
And Schlechter will never forget where his baseball journey started.
"NIACC was a very special place and is still a special place in my heart to this day," he said. "Not only on the baseball front but as a place that allowed me to grow as a human. There are still people on that campus today that I still think about helped me out with my life. No matter where this goes, NIACC will always be the foundation of what helped build my career."
