Wake Forest University Baseball

A proven program builder and player developer, Tom Walter completed his 16th season as the head coach of Wake Forest baseball in 2025. Walter was named the 2...

Bill Cilento enters his 17th year at Wake Forest in 2026, after being promoted to Associate Head Coach in January 2019. He works primarily with the Demon Deacon hitters and infielders. Cilento has helped 64 players get drafted or sign pro contracts over the last 12 years, including 14 Deacs drafted among the top 50 picks and nine first rounders since 2020 in Marek Houston (2025), Ethan Conrad (2025), Chase Burns (2024), Nick Kurtz (2024), Seaver King (2024), Rhett Lowder (2023), Brock Wilken (2023), Ryan Cusick (2021) and Jared Shuster (2020). Cilento mentored former San Francisco Giant Mac Williamson, who was recruited to Wake Forest as a pitcher. After transitioning to outfield, Williamson went on to earn All-ACC honors and was drafted in the third round before working his way to the MLB. He also oversaw the development of National Player of the Year Will Craig, the first-round pick of the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2016. After not making an all-conference team his freshman year, Craig's improvement earned him ACC Player of the Year honors in 2015 and made him a unanimous first team All-American in 2016. Stuart Fairchild and Gavin Sheets were both All-Americans and top-50 overall selections in the 2017 MLB Draft. Cilento guided Bobby Seymour en route to ACC Player of the Year honors in 2019 as Seymour led the ACC in hitting and led the nation with 92 RBIs. The 2019 Deacs led the ACC with 7.84 runs per game, also batting .289 as a team with 77 homers. Wake Forest has had numerous

Wake Forest No. 6 Seed at 2026 ACC Baseball Tournament, Battling the Winner of Louisville and Pitt on Wednesday Wake Forest No. 6 Seed at 2026 ACC Baseball Tournament, Battling the Winner of Louisville and Pitt on Wednesday Saturday, May 16

Kristen Nicholson, PhD, joined the Wake Forest pitching lab staff in October 2018 as the director of the lab and lead of biomechanics research. She earned her undergraduate in Mathematical Science from Clemson University in 2010 and her MS and PhD in Biomechanics and Movement Science from the University of Delaware in 2015. Dr. Nicholson wrote her dissertation on a mathematical model for measuring scapular motion and became an expert in upper extremity biomechanics. While at the University of Delaware, Dr. Nicholson was the project lead on a collaborative project between US Figure Skating, the University of Delaware, and C-Motion (a biomechanical analysis company). The project was designed to facilitate the performance of triple and quad revolution jumps by Olympic and pre-Olympic skaters. For three years before coming to Winston-Salem, Dr. Nicholson has worked as a biomechanical research engineer at Nemours/A. I. duPont Hospital for Children in Wilmington, Delaware. During this time she augmented her clinical skills while developing her own research interests. She earned an ACCEL Mentored Research Development Award and subsequently secured grant funding from the Scoliosis Research Society. Dr. Nicholson has a particular interest in the development of non-invasive tools and methods for assessing kinematics and implementing scapular kinematics in baseball pitching. Dr. Nicholson is currently an Assistant Professor in Orthopaedic Surgery at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center in

Wake Forest baseball head coach Tom Walter announced the addition of Eric Niesen to the program as an assistant coach working directly with the pitching staf...

Alma Mater: Kansas State University Jeff Strahm joined Demon Deacon sports medicine in August, 1998. He was promoted to Associate Head Athletic Trainer, Director of Olympic Sports in Jan. 2022. He currently works as the head athletic trainer for the Wake Forest baseball team. He is responsible for the team's day to day care including prevention, treatment and rehabilitation of injuries. Strahm has been instrumental in the team's run of seven NCAA regional appearances, two super regional appearances, and two Atlantic Coast Conference championships. While at Wake Forest he also worked three years with the men's soccer program and four years with the women's volleyball program. Strahm graduated from Kansas State University in 1996 with a bachelor's degree in Kinesiology while working as an athletic trainer for the football, basketball, and baseball teams. While at Kansas State he gained valuable experience under the tutelage of head athletic trainer Jim Whalen, now of the New England Patriots. Strahm is a member of the National Athletic Trainers Association, Atlantic Coast Conference Sports Medicine Association, and the North Carolina Athletic Trainers Association. He and his wife Sarah have three children, son Levi, and daughters Taryn and Cambry. Professional Publications:"ACC Sports Sciences Feature: Tennis Elbow," Official Website of the Atlantic Coast Conference: Sports Sciences; www.TheACC.com; July 2005 Presenter at the American Orthopedic Society for Sports Medicine (AOS

Mark Seaver is in his 18th season at Wake Forest in 2023-24, serving as Assistant Director of Sports Performance. Seaver works primarily with the Demon Deacon baseball and women's golf programs. Seaver was a pitcher on the Wake Forest baseball team from 1993-96. He was drafted in the fourth round of the 1996 MLB Draft by the Baltimore Orioles and played professionally in the minor leagues for six seasons. Seaver finished his degree in health and exercise science from Wake Forest in 2003. He is certified by the Collegiate Strength and Conditioning Coaches Association (CSCCA). Originally from Pittsburgh, Seaver currently resides in Winston-Salem with his wife, Kelly, their daughter, Emily and son, Kade.

Wake Forest No. 6 Seed at 2026 ACC Baseball Tournament, Battling the Winner of Louisville and Pitt on Wednesday Wake Forest No. 6 Seed at 2026 ACC Baseball Tournament, Battling the Winner of Louisville and Pitt on Wednesday Saturday, May 16

Tony Joyce joined the Wake Forest athletic department in December 2018 as the Director of Equipment Services at David F. Couch Ballpark. He primarily works with the baseball, men's tennis, women's tennis, men's golf and women's golf teams as well as the Winston-Salem Open and the LJVM Coliseum. Joyce previously worked for eight years as a teacher at Providence Grove High School and was a finalist for Teacher of the Year in 2018. He taught CTE Business and driver's education, and was also a member of the Athletic Equipment Managers Association. He spent 10 seasons as the head varsity and JV volleyball coach, as well as 20 seasons as the head coach of junior Olympics volleyball. Joyce also previously coached baseball and football at West Montgomery High School, as well as coached American Legion baseball with Eastern Randolph Post 81, Montgomery County Post 181, and American Legion Post 45. As a volleyball coach, he earned Randolph County Coach of the Year honors five times between 2008-17, winning three conference titles in that span. Joyce has also been heavily involved in officiating. He served as a high school baseball umpire for more than 35 years, working three NCHSAA Regional Finals and the NCHSAA Class 2A State Finals in 2007. He officiated volleyball for more than 25 years, as well. Outside of work, Joyce spent four years as the Hospitality Director for the Carolina Hurricanes Booster Club. He also spent several years volunteering with the American Cancer Society, Rona