Stephen F. Austin University Baseball Camp
Coaching Staff
 

Chris Connally
Assistant Coach

Connally is in his fifth season as the Lumberjack hitting instructor and camp director.

Already Connally has coached a pair of MLB draftees in his time at SFA, as Steven Hill and Jared Pitts who were both selected in the 2007 Major League Baseball draft. Hill was named the Southland Conference Hitter and Player of the Year in 2007 and left SFA as the school's all-time leader in nearly every offensive category.

Four Lumberjack hitters have been named to the all-conference squad since 2006, including Hill in 2007 and most recently Sean Meyers in 2009. Under Connally's instruction the 'Jacks led the Southland in home runs in 2007, mashing 73 to set a new school record. Nearly every SFA offensive record has been claimed by one of Connally's players in the last four seasons.

Prior to coming to Nacogdoches, Connally spent three seasons as an assistant baseball coach focusing on hitting and fielding at the Trinity Valley School in Fort Worth, Texas, under head coach Johnny Miller. While there he was able to tutor a pair of future collegiate players including Louisville shortstop John Dao, and Texas Tech catcher Clayton Snodgrass.

Following his time with TVS, Connally went to the Westside Baseball Academy in Fort Worth, where he served as the hitting director as well as facilitating camp and clinic opportunities.

In 2001, he served as an assistant coach with TCU, where he coached hitting, and worked with the Horned Frog outfielders.

Connally earned a Bachelor of Science degree from TCU in 2000, where he was a standout on the baseball diamond. Connally was a two-time first-team All-WAC athlete who earned All-America honors in 1997. He belted 40 home runs in his two seasons at TCU and set the school's single-season home run record (23) in 1997. Those records still stand today. He followed that up by setting TCU's single-season mark in runs batted in (80) the following year.

Connally's collegiate career began at McClennan Community College where he was a two-time all-conference and all-region selection. He hit 30 home runs during his two seasons at as a Highlander and earned All-America honors in 1996.

He was drafted by the Chicago Cubs organization in 1998 and spent his first season with the Williamsport Cubs of the New York Penn League before moving on to the Daytona Cubs where he would finish up his professional career. While at Williamsport, Connally finished the season tied for the league lead in home runs with 10 and was named to the all-star team.

Chad Massengale
Assistant Coach

Massengale enters his second season working with the 'Jacks as pitching instructor after having spent the previous four seasons working in the junior college ranks following a successful playing career.

Massengale made an immediate impact on the SFA pitching staff as Lumberjack pithcers lowered their opponent's batting average nearly 20 points and allowed a full run per game less than just one year before. On his watch Richard Folmer and Erich Lehmann were also each named to the all-Southland Conference teams with Folmer setting a new SFA school record and tying for the league lead with 12 saves in 13 opportunities. Lehmann also made huge strides under Massengale's tutelage, posting his lowest ERA since his Freshman All-American season of 2006 and dropping his ERA 1.2 runs per game.

The 'Jacks also got a big payoff at the end of the season as three pitchers were selected by MLB teams as Chris Court, Folmer and Erik Gregersen were all taken in the MLB Draft.

Before SFA, Massengale spent the 2008 season at Weatherford College after three seasons in East Texas at Texarkana College from 2005-2007. While at WC, Massengale's Coyotes led Region V in team ERA, posting a 4.63 ERA - no other team in the league had an ERA under 5.06 - as they finished the season with a 36-17 record. One of his pupils, Josh Turner, earned first team all-conference honors after picking up 10 wins with a 3.57 ERA.

Before his time at WC, the Weatherford, Texas, native spent three successful seasons at Texarkana JC where he helped the Bulldogs compile a 128-40 three-year record. The team reached the Junior College World Series his first year and the regional tournament each of the next two seasons. While there he saw a number of students selected by major league clubs including David Welch and Jamie Richmond in the 2005 draft, and Maurice Bankston in the 2007 draft.

Massengale also put together a solid playing career, earning conference Pitcher of the Year honors as a sophomore at Vernon College after being an all-district pitcher for the Weatherford High School Kangaroos.

After Vernon, he finished his final two seasons at Texas State in 2000 and 2001. While a Bobcat, he was part of the 2000 Texas State team that won the second of back-to-back Southland Conference Tournaments and upset host Baylor in the first round of the Waco Regional. His 3.09 ERA in 2000 still ranks in the top 10 all-time at Texas State, and his seven saves over his two-year career there are tied for fourth

Monty Pepper
Volunteer Assistant

Pepper is in his third season as a volunteer assistant for the 'Jacks, helping out the coaching staff in various areas on and off the field.

A former college player himself, Pepper has six years of head coaching experience on the high school level under his belt as well as two seasons in the college ranks as an assistant. His first head-coaching job came at Tatum High School outside of Longview, Texas, from 2000-2003 where he led the Eagles to the Class 3A playoffs in his very first season at the helm.

Pepper then moved up to the collegiate level in 2004 when he took an assistant coaching job at LeTourneau University in Longview, Texas, where he stayed through the 2005 season. Following that stint Pepper returned to the high school ranks, taking over the Sabine High School baseball program for the 2006 and 2007 seasons before enrolling at Stephen F. Austin as a graduate student in pursuit of his masters's degree.

Before going into coaching, Pepper was a standout at East Texas Baptist University in Marshall, Texas, where he played outfield for the Tigers for four seasons until his graduation in 1995. He earned first team all-conference honors in both 1994 and 1995 at ETBU and his .480 in the 1994 conference tournament, leading the Tigers to the title with a championship game win over Houston Baptist.

Currently Pepper serves as a social studies teacher at Martinsville Junior High in Martinsville, Texas, and is on schedule to receive his Master's of Education in kinesiology in November from SFA.