2011 Baseball Coaches
Tom Raven - Head Coach - 4th Season
Head Coach
Coach Raven enters his fourth season at the helm of the Trinity International baseball program.  Over that time he has amassed a 66-73 record, while placing 6 players on CCAC all conference teams, and 18 on CCAC All Academic teams.  In 2010, TIU experienced its first NAIA National Player of the Week in Kevin Tenney and its first MLB drafted player, Peter Miller to the Detroit Tigers in the 40th round.

From 1998-2000, Raven was the head baseball coach for Asbury College in Wilmore, KY. In his first year as the head coach, he led a team that won a mere nine games the previous season to a 25-win season in 1999. Raven's team found continued success, winning 24 games in 2000.

Raven remained active in baseball after Asbury coaching the next 6 seasons as assistant baseball coach at Greenway High School while he carried a pastoral role at Deer Valley Church in Phoenix, AZ.

Before coaching at Asbury, Raven served as the assistant baseball coach from 1995-1998 at West Jessamine High School in Nicholasville, KY.  Prior, Raven attended Asbury Theological Seminary and served as a youth pastor from 1991-1995 for Arrow Highway Wesleyan Church.

At the semi-professional level, Raven spent a season playing on a team in Azusa, CA. Raven played second baseman for the Cougars at Azusa Pacific University in California. Coach Raven is filled with passion for God and baseball and he enjoys intertwining the two.  He has brought experience to TIU from both the college baseball and discipleship levels.

"Beyond God and family, my two passions are Christian discipleship and baseball. I felt led to disciple a group of players through the avenue of baseball," said Raven. "I am drawn to Trinity because of their passion for their players' lives and Christian growth, yet with a desire to excel on the field. I am confident that with God's help I can continue lead the Trinity baseball team to the goals of spiritual growth and competitive quality of play."

Coach Raven will handle all pitching duties.
Billy Johnson - Hitting / Catching Coach - 2nd Season
Hitting / Catching Coach
Coach Johnson enters his second year on the Trojan coaching staff and will serve as hitting coach and handle all the catching duties.  Johnson has been most recently a member of the Milwaukee Brewers organization having signed a contract in February of 2009.

Johnson was previously signed on with the Windy City Thunderbolts which is an independent minor league club in Crestwood, IL. The ThunderBolts are part of independent baseball's Frontier League. As an independent club, the ThunderBolts have no affiliation with any major league team. Currently, former ThunderBolts are playing in the organization of two big league teams, the Florida Marlins and Kansas City Royals.

As a former University of Wisconsin-Whitewater catcher Johnson finished the 2008 Warhawk season with a .398 batting average, one of the best on the team. Johnson's fielding percentage was a respectable .974 with 10 errors in 50 games played.

Johnson was named to the first team of the Division III All-Midwest Regional Team this past year by the American Baseball Coaches Association. He was also named First Team All-WIAC this past spring.

Johnson has been part of the Warhawk baseball history that won the WIAC championship seven times in the past nine years.  Johnson was on the roster in the 2005 season when Whitewater won the National Championship.

Johnson is a native of Kenosha, WI and holds a degree in business from University of Whitewater. 


Luke Cassis - Infielders / Strength Coach - 1st Season
Infielders / Strength Coach
Luke Cassis joins the staff after a solid career at the University of Missouri and will handle the duties of coaching infielders and running the strength/conditioning program.

Cassis, a letterwinner for the Tigers from 1999-2002, completed seven seasons as a member of the Mizzou Baseball staff.  Cassis served as the Director of Operations, assisting with the day-to-day operations for the Tiger baseball program.

He had a role in Mizzou's recruiting efforts, while assisting with the Mizzou Baseball camps and organizing special events.  He also served as a defensive coach as well as one of the hitting coaches for the Tigers.

As a player, he was a regular in the lineup, as his ability to play any position on the infield led to him playing in 183 games for Mizzou, starting 157 during his career.

Following his playing days, he joined the Missouri staff as a student assistant before taking over the role of Director of Operations in 2005. Cassis also spent two seasons as an analyst for the Tigers' radio broadcast.

A native of Wheaton, Ill., Cassis was a three-year starter for Wheaten North High School, earning all-conference and all-area honors twice and was a four-time academic all-conference selection.

Cassis comes to Trinity International University as a seminary student studying for a Masters of Divinity degree.

Nikki Haines - Manager - 1st Season
Manager