Ben Greenspan enters his seventh season at Arizona State University and his fourth as associate head coach. He serves as the team’s recruiting coordinator and works primarily with the team's offense and catchers.
Greenspan has established himself as one of the elite recruiters in the nation during his time in Tempe while also being instrumental in the program’s development of talent, as demonstrated by ASU’s 30 MLB Draft picks under his guidance.
Among his additional roles during his time with the program, Greenspan has served much of his time at ASU as the academic liason between the program and Sun Devil Athletics Office of Student-Athlete Development to help insure the academic success of Sun Devil student-athletes, with 34 baseball student-athletes earning Pac-12 All-Academic honors in the previous five seasons. Greenspan also provides oversight for the Sun Devil’s equipment needs and works closely with Adidas representatives and administrators on the team’s uniform demands.
Greenspan oversees the Sun Devil baseball program’s annual competition schedule, arranging over 20 non-conference games and series per season. Well-embedded in the professional baseball community, Greenspan is the program’s liason with professional scouts, analysts and coaching staffs in the MLB and plays a pivotal role in preparing the current Sun Devils for life at the next level of competition.
In addition to his off-the-field duties, Greenspan has spent the majority of his time at ASU as the team’s third-base coach. He is heavily involved in in-game coaching decisions from the dugout and is a key member of the coaching staff in the program’s development of scouting reports on upcoming opponents.
His recruiting acumen has been established with the 2021 recruiting class ranked as the No. 10 class in the nation by Baseball America, the Sun Devils have now brought in a Top-10 recruiting class in four of the last five seasons. The 2020 crop of newcomers was ranked as the No. 8 signing class by bother Baseball America and D1Baseball. The 2018 class - which included the No. 1 overall pick in the 2020 MLB Draft, Spencer Torkelson - was ranked No. 4 by Baseball America and No. 6 by D1Baseball. The 2017 class was ranked No. 7 by Baseball America and No. 9 by D1Baseball.
Since his arrival at ASU, 30 Sun Devils have been selected in the MLB Draft – including Torkelson, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2020 MLB Draft, Alika Williams (the 37th pick of the 2020 first round) and the No. 10 overall pick in 2019, Hunter Bishop.
Undrafted out of high school, Torkelson was selected by the Tigers as a third baseman despite playing his career at ASU as a first baseman. He is the first third baseman to go first overall since Pat Burrell in 1998 and just the fifth third baseman to be selected first overall in MLB Draft history. Had he been selected as a first baseman, it would have been the first time in history a right-handed first baseman had gone first overall in the MLB Draft while also being the first ever college first baseman to be selected first.
It also marked the first time a college position player went from being undrafted out of high school to the No. 1 overall pick since Nebraska outfielder Darin Erstad in 1995 – though it should be noted Erstad's high school didn't have a baseball program. Arkansas third baseman Jeff King in 1986 would mark the last time prior to that.
The illustrious career of Torkelson was unfortunately cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic that ended the 2020 season early. However, Torkelson still put together one of the best careers in Sun Devil history, finishing within two home runs (54) of the long-standing ASU school record of 56 by Bob Horner - a mark Torkelson easily would have surpassed with a full season. Torkelson finished with the second highest career slugging percentage in school history (.729). Torkelson played 35 multi-game series at ASU and homered at least once in 28 of those. He played 20 Pac-12 series and homered in 18 - the season finales against Cal (2018) and Stanford (2019) being the only exceptions. He had at least one hit in 104 of his 129 career games and multiple hits in 50 of those.
Torkelson bat .337 in his career with 130 RBIs, 152 runs scored, 33 doubles and 54 long balls. He slugged a an incredible .729 over his career – also just shy of Mitch Jones school record .731 from 1999-2000. He struck out just 104 times in his career while walking 110 times. He was also solid defensively, recording a career fielding percentage of .987.
Torkelson was a two-time Golden Spikes Award semifinalist, given annually to the top player in college baseball. He was a unanimous All-America selection as both a freshman and sophomore. Collegiate Baseball also tabbed him as an All-American in his COVID-19-shortened junior season and he was the Preseason National Player of the Year by several outlets in 2020.
He will go down in the history books as the first Pac-12 player in history to be crowned the league home run champion in three consecutive seasons as he also led the league when the 2020 season was canceled. He was only the third Pac-12 player in history to post back-to-back 20+ home run seasons. He was the nation's home run champion as a freshman with 25 home runs – two more than any other player. Torkelson also donned the Red, White and Blue as he competed for the U.S.A. Collegiate National Baseball team following his freshman and sophomore seasons.
Bishop was a unanimous All-American in 2019 in one of the top offensive campaigns for a Sun Devil in recent memory. He became the first Sun Devil Baseball player to go in the first round of the MLB Draft since 2012 and just the 13th Top-10 pick in Sun Devil lore.
The junior slugger burst on to the scene, climbing over 100 positions in nearly every draft projection to earn his selection by the Giants. Bishop knocked 22 home runs on the season the second-best total in the Pac-12 behind teammate Spencer Torkelson and 10th in the country. He had just 10 combined home runs in his first two seasons in Phoenix.
At the conclusion of his season, he was eighth in the country and second in the Pac-12 with a .748 slugging percentage while fifth in the league with a .479 on-base percentage for a gaudy 1.227 OPS. He was seventh nationally and second in the Pac-12 with 166 total bases and finished third in the league 63 RBIs, which was 40th nationally. He was fourth in the Pac-12 with 67 runs scored, a total that also ranked in the top-25 nationally.
Torkelson also earned unanimous All-America honors in 2019 and was the Pac-12 home run leader for the second season in a row in 2019, finishing the season with 23 – good for fifth in the nation. He became the first Pac-12 player to lead the conference in homers in back-to-back seasons since Oregon State's Michael Conforto 2012 and 2013, though it should be noted Conforto only hit 13 and 11 in those seasons. Torkelson is only the third player in Pac-12 history to have back-to-back 20+ home run seasons.
Catcher Lyle Lin excelled at the plate and as a catcher during his playing career behind Greenspan’s guidance and heard his name called for the second straight season in the 2019 MLB Draft – this time by the hometown Arizona Diamondbacks in the 14th round.
The two-time All-Pac-12 selection saw career numbers offensively in 2019 where he was named an All-Conference designated hitter. Lin bat .299 with a career-high nine home runs and 50 RBIs. He slugged .457 on the year and struck out a team-low 25 times. Lin finished as a career .301 hitter in the Maroon and Gold, registering 199 hits, 33 doubles, 93 RBIs and 13 home runs. Lin never struck out more than 33 times in a season while posting a .343 career on-base percentage.
Greenspan’s recruiting efforts were on full display in 2018 as the Sun Devil freshman combined for more starts among freshmen than any other team in the nation. Six different freshmen position players frequently found their name in the starting lineup while three freshman arms toed the mound in prominent innings over the course of the season.
Torkelson, Williams and Gage Workman combined to post three of the four highest batting averages among freshmen in the Pac-12 on the season.
Torkelson knocked two more home runs than any other player and just one shy of the NCAA freshman record. Torkelson was just the sixth player to reach 25 home runs since the BBCOR batting technology changes took effect in 2011 and the only freshman in the NCAA to reach the milestone in that time. Against Washington State, he surpassed the previous Sun Devil freshman record of 11 home runs set by Barry Bonds in 1983. Torkelson finished tied with Bob Horner (1978) for second in ASU single-season history, just two shy of Mitch Jones' school record 27 in 2000.
Lyle Lin was as steadfast as they come behind the plate in his sophomore season, starting 55 games on the season with over 50 of those coming at the catcher position. For the second straight season, Lin bat over .300 (.312) and was drafted for the second time in his life by the Houston Astros in the 29th Round of the 2018 MLB Draft before choosing to return for his junior season at ASU.
The 2017 campaign saw Gage Canning emerge as one of the elite players in the Pac-12 with Greenspan helping to oversee that growth. The California-native led the team in virtually every hitting category, including batting average (.332), runs (37), doubles (12), triples (8), home runs (6) and slugging percentage (.538). He was the only player in the Pac-12 to finish with a double-digit number of doubles while also posting at least six home runs and six triples.
Greenspan also helped oversee the emergence of Bishop as one of the exciting young freshmen in the country on the year. The freshman finished his 2017 campaign with an impressive .301 batting average, five doubles, four triples and five home runs. He ranked second on the team – behind only Canning – in batting average, runs scored (27), triples, home runs and slugging percentage (.484). Bishop started 31 games in the outfield season to become just the sixth ASU freshman in the past 15 years to start over 50 percent of the season in the outfield.
Catcher Brian Serven earned First Team All-Pac-12 recognition in 2016, as well as Pac-12 All-Academic honorable mention and was a semifinalist for the Johnny Bench Award, given to the nation’s top catcher. His prowess on both sides of the plate was evident as he became just the fifth catcher in school history to lead the team in home runs and he caught 17 runners stealing, the most by a Sun Devil since 2009. Serven was the first Devil to go in the 2016 MLB Draft, going in the fifth round to the Colorado Rockies.
Also excelling at the plate under Greenspan was first baseman David Greer, who also earned a First Team All-Conference selection as well as earning a spot on the Louisville Slugger All-America third team. The Arizona-native finished his junior campaign first in the conference in doubles and total bases, second in slugging percentage and third in runs scored. Greer was taken in the 10th round of the 2016 MLB Draft by the Seattle Mariners.
In his first season at ASU, Greenspan helped the Sun Devils excel both offensively and defensively. The Devils ranked in the top half of the Pac-12 in a number of offensive categories, including second in slugging percentage, third in both batting average and hits, and posted their best defensive numbers since 2010 as they finished fourth in the conference in both fielding percentage and errors.
Excelling in his recruiting coordinator position, Greenspan assembled the No. 1 recruiting class in the nation in 2016 according to Collegiate Baseball Newspaper. The class was headlined by Bishop, who was rated the 15th-best outfielder in the nation by Perfect Game. Other highlights of that class included 2019 MLB Draft selections Carter Aldrete, Alec Marsh and Lyle Lin.
Greenspan followed that up in playing a big part in another Top-5 Nationally ranked recruiting class in 2017, and the top recruiting class in the Pac-12 and the West. The 2017 Sun Devil class featured six signees who participated in the 2015 Area Code Baseball Games, an invitation-only elite baseball event held annually in Long Beach, Calif. The class includes ASU’s entire starting infield in Torkelson, Williams, Workman and 2019 Pac-12 All-Defensive selection Drew Swift.
The No. 8 recruiting class in the country for 2020, according to Baseball America and D1Baseball, is scheduled to take the field this spring. The group includes five individuals that competed in the 2018 Area Code games and 14 of the 16 members are regarded among the Top-500 recruits nationally. Additionally, Saint Mary’s transfer and 2019 National Freshman of the Year Tyler Thornton and junior college southpaw Justin Fall figure to fit heavily into the Sun Devil rotation this season.
Greenspan spent six seasons as an assistant coach at Indiana, including the past year as recruiting coordinator, and worked extensively with the team’s catchers and hitters. The Hoosiers’ offense ranked in the top 25 in the nation in batting average, slugging percentage, total hits and extra-base hits in 2014.
Greenspan mentored some of the most prolific hitters in IU program history, including two-time All-American catcher Kyle Schwarber, current Oakland Athletics catcher Josh Phegley, and 2010 Big Ten Player of the Year Alex Dickerson. He also played a large role in developing talent at IU as 11 of his position players were selected in the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft, including five in the top five rounds. In the eight years Greenspan has served as a catching coach, his guidance has produced a First Team All-Conference player at that position in five of those seasons with two of them currently playing MLB (Schwarber and Phegley).
Schwarber, who was selected with the fourth overall pick in the 2014 MLB Draft, was a 2013 First Team All-American and was named the best catcher in the country by Perfect Game and the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association. Dickerson won the 2010 Big Ten Triple Crown after he batted .419 with 24 homeruns and 75 RBI.
Greenspan’s additional hitting protégés include 2012 Big Ten Freshman of the Year Sam Travis, two-time All-American Dustin DeMuth and current major leaguers Micah Johnson and Ethan Wilson.
Greenspan played for two seasons under coach Smith at IU, and was a Hoosier team captain and Academic All-Big Ten performer in 2007. He spent two years at the University of Connecticut as a catcher and first baseman before joining the IU program. He earned a bachelor's degree in Sport Marketing and Management and a master's degree in Sport Administration from Indiana University.
Greenspan is originally from West Point, N.Y., and is married to his wife, Janine. The pair have two children, Grayson and Adalyn.