The University of Toledo announced Monday the hiring of former Western Kentucky baseball assistant Rob Reinstetle as the Rockets’ head coach.

Reinstetle spent the past four seasons as an assistant coach for the Hilltoppers under John Pawlowski and now takes his first Division I head coaching job in his home state of Ohio.

“It has always been a dream of mine to be a head coach at the D1 level,” Reinstetle said in a news release.

Reinstetle was previously an assistant with Pawlowski at College of Charleston before the two came to WKU in 2016. Reinstetle served as recruiting coordinator and worked with outfielders.

The Hilltoppers are coming off their best season under Pawlowski with a 26-29-1 record and an appearance in the Conference USA Tournament.

The Columbus, Ohio, native takes over a Toledo team that went 17-36 last season. Former coach Cory Mee stepped down as the Rockets coach in May after coaching the program for 16 seasons.