Western Kentucky announced the hiring of Brett Neffendorf as an assistant coach on the baseball staff Friday. (WKU ATHLETICS)

Western Kentucky baseball coach Marc Rardin announced the hiring of assistant coach Brett Neffendorf to the Hilltopper coaching staff on Friday.

Neffendorf will oversee the pitching staff in his role.

“I’m excited to join the staff,” Neffendorf said in a news release. “I’m thankful for coach Rardin to bring me on and give me the opportunity to be a part of such a successful baseball program and to be able to coach alongside the guys that are here and build off of what they’ve done the last three years.”

Neffendorf joins the Tops after serving as head coach at Indiana University Southeast, where he led the Grenadiers to a 69-38 overall record across two seasons. In 2024, IU Southeast posted a 37-20 mark and went 20-4 in River States Conference play, capturing the West Division title and the conference’s top spot. Under Neffendorf’s leadership, the Grenadiers made a historic run in the 2024 NAIA Opening Round, going 4-0 in the Upland Bracket and clinching the program’s second Avista World Series berth in four years. IU Southeast finished sixth and secured their first World Series win under Neffendorf, defeating No. 15 William Carey.

In 2025, the Grenadiers were the Hattiesburg Bracket Regional Runner-Up and saw standout player Logan Beard named RSC Player of the Year and Third Team All-American, while Luca Sandrella earned RSC Freshman of the Year honors.

Neffendorf’s tenure at IU Southeast was marked by individual accolades and professional development. He coached two NAIA All-Americans in 2024, Mason White and Luke Schafer, with White also earning RSC Player of the Year honors and Garrett Hill receiving NAIA Ball All-American recognition. Over two years, 13 of his players signed professional contracts.

“I think with every turnover of seeing a good staff member moving on like Dillon Napoleon, it gives you a chance to bring in someone else new with energy, with new ideas and I think with Brett Neffendorf is you bring in someone with head coaching experience, new recruiting areas, different energy, different ideas with a pitching staff and different eyes, seeing our program in a different way,” Rardin said. “Maybe he sees something different that changes things for us and continues to make us better.”

Neffendorf brings over a decade of coaching experience to WKU, including seven seasons as an NAIA assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Campbellsville, Cumberland and Union. At Campbellsville, he developed one of the nation’s top pitching staffs, helping the Tigers capture the 2017 Mid-South Conference regular season championship, back-to-back MSC Tournament titles in 2018 and 2019 and the program’s first NCCAA World Series title in 2018. During his time there, Neffendorf’s pitchers set single-season records for wins (44), strikeouts (506) and saves (17) while leading the conference in ERA (3.88) and opponent batting average (.241).

At Union, Neffendorf served as associate head coach and led the Bulldogs to a 30-19 record, an AAC Tournament Championship and a 20-win improvement from the previous year. He also coached the AAC Player of the Year and guided the team to an NAIA Opening Round appearance. At Cumberland, his recruiting class produced a Mid-South Conference Player of the Year, multiple all-conference selections and an MLB free agent signee.

Neffendorf’s coaching journey also includes a head coaching stint at Clark College, where he recruited and coached the first Clark player picked in the MLB draft since 1982, and led the team to a single-season program record for wins.

Neffendorf has ties to the Oregon State coaching staff, serving as camp director for the Oregon State Prospect Camp from 2015-16.

In addition to his collegiate experience, Neffendorf was an associate scout with the Houston Astros and previously worked as an associate scout for the Atlanta Braves. He began his coaching career at NCAA Division III George Fox, assisting with infielders, scouting reports and recruiting.

Neffendorf holds a bachelor’s degree in sociology from Oregon State and a master’s in management and leadership from Campbellsville.