Jeremy Manley

Jeremy Manley is in his third season as the Pitching Coach with the Sun Devil softball program. Before joining the Sun Devils, Manley spent three seasons as the pitching coach at Ball State. He made an immediate impact in his first season with the Cardinals, as the team led the Mid-American Conference and ranked 37th nationally with a 2.22 team ERA during the COVID-19-shortened 2020 season. The effort helped the Cardinals amass an 18-9 record, where Ball State pitchers struck out 149 batters to rank second in the MAC. The team's 6.02 strikeouts per seven innings ranked as the fourth-best average in program history.  Ball State's four pitchers allowed just 55 earned runs over their 173.1 innings of work while holding opposing batters to a .243 average. They also combined for four shutouts on the year and held opponents to three or fewer runs in 16 games. Prior to joining the Ball State staff, Manley spent one season as an assistant at Kansas during the 2019 season. That followed two seasons of coaching success in the MAC, helping develop one of the most dominating pitching staffs in conference history at Ohio from 2017-18.   During his two-year stint at Ohio, Manley assisted with the pitching staff that produced a 1.98 ERA in 2017 and led the league with 541 strikeouts, 201 more than any other program in the conference. The 2018 season was no different, as the Bobcats produced a 2.51 ERA, which was second in the MAC. Ohio's pitchers again led the conference in strikeouts in 2018, fanning 410 batters.   Ohio registered an 82-35 overall record during his time on staff, including winning the 2018 MAC regular season and tournament championships to earn a berth in the 2018 NCAA Knoxville Regional. At that regional, Ohio claimed the first two NCAA regional wins in program history with a 4-0 shutout over Monmouth and a 7-3 victory over James Madison. The 2017 Bobcats recorded the first 40-win season in program history (42-18), while the 2018 squad earned the second (40-17).    Along with the team accolades, Manley worked with a pair of MAC Pitchers of the Year in Savannah Jo Dorsey and Danielle Stiene. Ohio's student-athletes also earned 11 All-MAC and 13 Academic All-MAC honors during Manley's two seasons, while the coaching staff was named the 2018 NFCA Division I Mideast Regional Coaching Staff of the Year.   Before his time at Ohio, Manley was a volunteer assistant at Illinois for the 2015 season, working with the offense and pitching staff. Before joining the NCAA Division I coaching ranks, Manley was a coach and pitching instructor in New Zealand and Central Illinois, ranging from private individual lessons to high school and junior college level coaching.   Manley was a World Champion pitcher as an athlete, leading the New Zealand Men's National Team, also known as the Black Sox, to the International Softball Federation Men's Fastpitch World Series title in 2013. Manley earned the Kevin Herlihy Memorial Trophy for Most Valuable Pitcher for his efforts in the circle, the only individual honor awarded at the event. The world championship followed a second-place finish at the 2009 ISF Men's World Series.   A Black Sox member since 2006, Manley was named Softball New Zealand Pitcher of the Year four times (2006, 2010, 2011, 2013) and played in tournaments in Japan, Australia, Argentina, Samoa, Canada and New Zealand. Manley was also named International Softball Congress All-World three times, including first-team selections in 2009 and 2010, and earned Amateur Softball Association All-America selections in 2003, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2014, and 2015. Manley was named to the 2025 class for induction into the International Softball Congress Hall of Fame.   Beyond his play with the Black Sox, Manley won the New Zealand Men's Open Club Championships in 2006 and 2010 with Hutt City United and the Hutt Valley Dodgers, respectively. Following his second championship, he was named the Tournament Most Valuable Player and Pitcher, and the Dodgers named him Sportsman of the Year and their Most Valuable Pitcher. Manley graduated from Massey University in Palmerston North, New Zealand, in December 2013 with a Bachelor of Science in exercise science, emphasizing management and coaching. A full scholarship student-athlete, he was a three-time Massey University Blues Award winner, the highest sporting accolade awarded in the New Zealand tertiary system. Jeremy and his wife, Ali, have two children, Josie and Wyatt.