Coaching Staff
Coach Bernard is the owner and founder of the Wolves, as well as the head coach for the 10u & 18u team. He is from Los Angeles, California. He founded the Wolves in 2012 with a passion to coach, mentor and help baseball players of all ages. Zev knew at a young age that he wanted to coach. In 2003 at the age of 16 he started a small business in Los Angeles, giving baseball lessons in parks and on school playgrounds. He ran this business for two years while he attended Montclair Prep High School in Los Angeles. In 2003 and 2004, his junior and senior seasons, Bernard was a first team All- Olympic League catcher and was named as team captain. Along with playing baseball at Montclair Prep, he was a member of the Atlanta Braves scout team in 2003 and 2004.
After High School Zev was recruited to play baseball at Glendale Community College in Glendale, CA. At GLENDALE Community College, Zev won the leadership award and led the team in batting average. During his time at Glendale CC Zev ran summer baseball camps for the Los Angeles Department of Parks and Recreation.
Spading University recruited Zev to finish out his collegiate years in Louisville, KY. At Spalding he was the starting catcher for two seasons and started 78 out of 80 games. During his senior season he graduated with a bachelor’s degree in communications.
After his college playing career was over, Zev became an assistant coach at Spalding. He coached there for the next 3 years, working with catchers, hitters and assisting with recruiting. He was part of the team in 2012 that won the USCAA National Championship. While coaching at Spalding he also worked at Champions’ Baseball academy. His duties at Champions’ included hitting and fielding instructor, as well as camp director and facility manager.
While coaching at Spalding and working at Champions’, he earned a Masters Degree in Business Communication and set his sights on starting the Wolves.
Coach Jones is the Vice President of the Wolves and in his fourth year with the program. Coach plays a large roll in our camps and clinics, as well as assisting in facility management and the overall direction of the Wolves. Coach Jones is in his fourth year with the Wolves. For the 2021 season he is the head Coach of the 16U Navy team and head coach of the 13u division. Coach Jones assists in running our baseball camps and clinics. He also is a varsity baseball coach at Collins high school in Shelbyville, KY. His duties for Collins include working with hitters and infielders. He was born in Waddy, Ky and played high school baseball at Shelby County High School from 1996-2000. His senior year he earned All-state honors.
After high school Jones signed with Division-1 University of Tennessee-Martin. He is UT Martin’s only Division-1 All-American in baseball, earning that title in 2004. The infielder earned All-Ohio Valley Conference first team accolades as a senior in 2004, leading the team in batting average (.425), hits (96, the highest single-season total in UT Martin history), runs scored (55), slugging percentage (.588) and stolen bases (18). Jones ranked 9th in the nation in batting average in 2004 hitting .425, the highest ever for a Tennessee-Martin player. He recorded 32 multiple-hit outings, scoring 55 runs and driving in 33 more in the process. Jones also had 13 doubles and six home runs, posting on-base and slugging percentages of .472 and .588, respectively. He set new Tennessee-Martin career records for most games played (191), most at-bats (651) and most hits (218), while also establishing new single-season marks for most hits, at-bats (226) and total bases (133). Jones was inducted into the Tennessee-Martin Hall of Fame in 2017.
He went on to have a short stint in professional baseball from 2004-2005 with the Cincinnati Reds organization.
Bryant received a Bachelors Degree in Marketing in 2005 from UTM. In his free time he enjoys fishing, golfing, spending time with family/friends and reading.
Coach Penland joined the Wolves coaching staff in 2014. Since then he has taken a team through our program and as served as a pitching instructor for the organization. Currently, his role is the Director of Baseball Operations. He oversees the overall development of players, as well as scheduling and planning workouts and practices. His duties also include the overall vision and direction of the program, and office management.
Justin is from Louisville, KY and played baseball at Butler High School. With the Bears he was a four-year starting pitcher and was a dominant force on the mound. Justin was a leader on and off the field and team captain.
He was recruited by Spalding University and was a pitcher at the school from 2006-2009. He received All-Conference honors in 2006 and 2009 and was an Academic All-American in 2009. After graduation in 2009 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Business, he went on to coach at Desales High School and Butler High School.
He resides in Louisville with his wife Jenny and sons Ace and Knox.
Coach Baker is entering his fifth season as a member of the Wolves Baseball coaching staff. This season he is the head coach of the 15U Navy team and is head coach of the 11u team. Jared is currently employed as the Athletic Director at Western High School where he has built a competitive athletic program the past three years.
Prior to working at Western High School, Baker has been the head baseball coach at Atherton High School, Western High School and Moore High School. During his time as a head coach at Atherton High School, the team won their first district championship in over 25 years and Baker was named 7th Region Coach of the Year (2013). In his three years at Atherton he finished with a record of 54-49 with numerous players being named All-District, All-Region and many of them continuing to play baseball at the collegiate level.
During Baker’s tenure at Moore High School, the Mustangs improved their win total each year. During his fourth season, Baker led Moore High School to their first Regional Tournament Appearance in over 30 years.
Baker received his Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Louisville in Sports Administration in 2010 and later received his Master’s Degree in Special Education at Georgetown College. He currently resides in Louisville with his wife Katie and daughter Sloane.
Coach Collins is entering his sixth year as a Coach for the Wolves. This season he is the Wolves 13U assistant coach and serves in an advisory role for the organization. Michael was born and raised in Southern, Kentucky and graduated from Logan County High School in 1999. After High School he continued his baseball career and walked on at Western Kentucky University.
After a short stint in the college, Michael decided to pursue his passion in business. Michael has owned his own business since 2002 and it has allowed him to chase his 2nd passion of coaching baseball.
Michael is extremely excited about the opportunity to continue building the Wolves baseball program. He has high expectations for his athletes both in life and on the field. He and his beautiful wife Karen have been married for 15 years and have two incredible children, Xander (14) and Caleb (11).
Coach Gangler was the first addition to Wolves coaching staff in 2012. He has been a head coach of three separate Wolves teams over his 7 years with us. He holds the record for most tournament championships as a coach, (Just ask him about it). Anthony has retired from being a head coach and in the 2020 season will act as a roving pitching and hitting instructor for the organization.
Anthony grew up in Sandusky, Michigan and went to Sandusky High School. During his high school career, he was a three-time First Team All-State player and Two-time First Team All-State pitcher.
After high school he went on to play at St. Clair County Community College in Michigan as a starting pitcher and closer for two years. He was then recruited and picked up by Spalding University in 2005. He was a relief pitcher his junior season, and in his senior year he won a starting pitcher role. Also, in his senior season he played center field and hit in the leadoff spot. Anthony received All-American honors as a Center fielder in his final season.
After his playing career was over he became an assistant pitching and outfield coach at Spalding University. During this time he completed his Bachelor’s Degree in Business. Coach Gangler believes that wins are not as important as the development of young players and seeing them progress to the college level.
Coach Patton, or Coach P as we call him is in his third year with the Wolves. He serves as the pitching coach and assistant coach for the 16U division. Ryan is from Louisville, KY and played his college ball at Spalding University. During his time at Spalding he was a two time All-Conference pitcher and two time NAIA World Series participant. He also was recognized as an All- American honorable mention and a 2nd team All-Regional pitcher.
Coach Gross, or AKA 'The Coach that always wears purple' is our roving pitching instructor. Jim was born and raised in Fern Creek, KY. He played high school baseball at Fern Creek and was recruited in the first recruiting class of the Spalding University baseball program. At Spalding, he was a 4 year Letterman from 1999-2003. While also at Spalding, he participated in the NAIA College World Series in 2002-2003.
In 2004 he was an assistant baseball coach at Waggener High School. From 2005-2012 he became an assistant coach at his alma mater, Fern Creek High School. In 2013 he took over the program as the head coach and led the Tigers until 2017. During his time at Fern Creek, Coach Gross was responsible for dozens of players furthering their baseball careers and educations with college commitments.
In 2018, Coach Gross parted with Fern Creek and became the head coach at Southern High School. In his short time at Southern, he is responsible for 10 players receiving college offers and 5 of those players confirming commitments.
Coach Rodriguez is from Ciego de Avila, Cuba and joined the Wolves coaching staff in 2019. Currently, he is our defensive specialist coach and works with Wolves teams of all ages. In addition to coaching with the Wolves, he also coaches at Southern High School, working with varsity infielders and hitters.
William has over 30 years of experience playing and coaching baseball in Cuba and Ecuador. He also has a long background in physical and personal training.
From 2018-2019 he was a Personal Trainer at Fit Up Gym in Quito, Ecuador. He Co-founded ‘Angeles de Quito’ a baseball school in Ecuador from 2014-2019 where he was the head coach of several different teams and also trained players at practices and workouts. Between 2011-2013 he was a manager of several different baseball teams of all ages in Ciego De Ávila, Cuba. Coach Rodriguez also worked as a Sport Training Professor at the Sports University of Ciego de Avila, Cuba 2009-2011. During this time he also was the head coach of University Team, that finished 2nd place nationally.
Coach Rodriguez was educated at the Sports University of Ciego de Avila in Cuba. Here, in 2009 he received a Bachelor’s Degree in Physical Culture and Sports. In 2012, he earned a Master of Science in Higher Education.
Coach Baker is the first former Wolves player to join our coaching staff and is our 15U white head coach. He was part of our first class of Wolves in 2012 and played for Coach Bernard and Coach Gangler. Coach Baker also helps with 12 and under hitting clinics.
Walter started playing sports at an early age and quickly fell in love with baseball. He graduated from Fern Creek High School where he played Varsity Baseball for four years. He received Player of the Year several times and was also selected to play for the Derby City Classic All Tournament Team.
After High School Walter attended Illinois College (junior college) where he played baseball and graduated with an Associate’s Degree. He then transferred to Rio Grande University to continue his education and baseball career. In 2020 he graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Communications.
Coach Higdon is the head coach for 17U head coach. He was a 3 year player for the Wolves from 2015-2017. He played varsity baseball at Breckinridge County from 2014-2017. His senior year he led his school in batting average at .396, home runs with 6, RBI's with 38, walks with 26, and only struck out 4 times, tying the Kentucky state record. This led to Brady being named to the 3rd team All- State. He graduated high school with 9 college offers, including two D1 walk-on offers. He played collegiate baseball at Berea College for two years before his career was cut short from a shoulder injury. Brady is extremely experienced in teaching young catchers and pitchers the skills they need to make it to the next level. He has been helping run clinics in his hometown since his playing career ended. Since he has joined the Wolves staff, he became the first person to win a tournament as a player and a coach. He's a great asset to have in our organization, and we are more than happy to have him.