By: Wichita State University Athletics
WICHITA, Kan. (goshockers.com) – Wichita State head coach Brian Green announced the additions of assistant coaches Clay Overcash, Anthony Claggett and Anthony Miller to his coaching staff on Tuesday. Overcash will serve as the Shockers recruiting coordinator and catching coach while assisting with hitters, Claggett will assume the role of pitching coach, and Miller will be Wichita State’s hitting and outfield coach. Both Claggett and Miller will also contribute in the recruiting process.
“Today is a very exciting day on multiple levels for Shocker baseball as we announce what we believe to be an impact coaching staff,” Green said. “The culture of a program’s coaching staff starts with cooperation, collaboration and communication; to couple those attributes with this group’s skill set and experience is exactly what we were looking for. I look forward to working with this group and showcasing our commitment to bettering this program every day!”
Clay Overcash
Overcash joins the Shockers after six seasons in the same role at Oklahoma, where he helped the Sooners to the College World Series finals in 2022 and two other NCAA tournament appearances in 2018 and 2023. During his time in Oklahoma, Overcash and the Sooners compiled a .591 winning percentage (189-131), highlighted by eight postseason victories. Overcash was largely responsible for the recruitment and development of 31 MLB draft picks since 2018, including 11 Sooners in the 2022 draft alone.
Overcash consistently produced elite recruiting classes while with the Sooners, ranking 13th in the country in 2021 and 22nd the following year according to Perfect Game. In his most recent class this past season, Overcash helped sign 14 players, six of which ranked among the top 25 in their respective states. All 12 of the high school signees ranked in Perfect Game’s top 500 players in the country.
That recruiting philosophy paid dividends on the diamond with an offense built around patience and athleticism. In 2023, Oklahoma ranked 11th nationally in walks (350) and 19th nationally in stolen bases (114), following up on top-five marks in both offensive categories a year prior.
Over the course of his time in Norman, Overcash developed a pair of Sooner backstops into fourth round MLB draft picks; Brady Lindsly in 2020 and Jimmy Crooks in 2022. This past season, Oklahoma catcher Easton Carmichael was named to the Big 12 All-Freshman team.
Prior to arriving in Norman, Overcash served 18 years as a Midwest area scout for the Chicago White Sox and was involved with the Area Code Games as a part of the Midwest Scout Team. A native of Charlotte, North Carolina, Overcash was also a co-founder of The Sandlot Sox Organization, a Tulsa-based youth baseball organization that produced 64 MLB draft picks from 2005 until its closing in 2017.
Overcash played collegiately at Middle Georgia Junior College and USC Upstate, earning All-District honors in 1990. He began his coaching career with stints as an assistant at UNC Asheville and Armstrong State, later moving to Tulsa where Overcash coached high school baseball before joining the White Sox.
Overcash and his wife, Melissa, have two children; a son, Richie and a daughter, Remi.
Anthony Claggett
Claggett has worked alongside head coach Brian Green as Green’s pitching coach for each of the last six seasons, four at Washington State and two at New Mexico State.
While with the Cougars, Claggett oversaw a staff that established a new program record for strikeouts in each of the last two seasons, capped off by 518 punchouts in 2023. Washington State ranked 17th nationally with 10.3 strikeouts per nine innings and 15th nationally with a 2.76:1 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Cougar pitchers issued 3.72 walks per nine innings, the 35th-best rate in the country. Over his three full seasons in Pullman, Claggett’s pitching staffs recorded more strikeouts and fewer walks each season.
Claggett joined the Washington State program in 2020, inheriting a pitching staff coming off a 7.20 ERA the year prior. In the COVID-shortened 2020 campaign he helped slice more than three full runs off the team ERA to 3.94, kick-starting a run of four straight seasons above .500, the first such stretch of success for the Cougars since 2006-10.
Claggett developed a pair of MLB draft picks from his 2021 pitching staff, right-handers Zane Mills (4th round, St. Louis Cardinals) and Brandon White (12th round, Miami Marlins). Mills’ selection was the highest a Washington State pitcher has been drafted since 2011.
In two seasons at New Mexico State, Claggett helped the Aggies to an NCAA regional appearance in 2018 behind a pitching staff that featured a trio of all-conference arms and recorded a school-record 537 strikeouts. Left-hander Jonathan Groff was named WAC Pitcher of the Year, becoming the first Aggies hurler in program history to claim conference Pitcher of the Year honors. Righty Kyle Bradish became the highest-drafted pitcher in program history when he was selected in the 4th round of the MLB draft by the Baltimore Orioles, where he is currently a member of their starting rotation.
Prior to New Mexico State, Claggett spent time on the coaching staffs at San Jose State, Riverside Community College and College of the Desert, plus one season in professional baseball with the independent New Jersey Jackals.
As a player, Claggett made three appearances at the major league level in 2009 with the New York Yankees and Pittsburgh Pirates as part of an 11-year professional career. He was an 11th round draft pick by the Detroit Tigers out of UC Riverside, where he was both a pitcher and infielder.
Claggett and his wife, Ashleigh, have a son, Maddox.
Anthony Miller
Miller comes to Wichita after four seasons as an assistant coach at the NJCAA level, most recently in his second stint at Johnson County Community College.
This past season, Miller and the Cavaliers reached the NJCAA D1 World Series for the third time in program history and the first time since 2014. JCCC went 56-10, including a 30-3 mark in Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference play. 14 Cavaliers were named to the All-KJCCC East Division Team, including conference Pitcher of the Year Luc Fladda and Co-Freshman of the Year Dagen Brewer.
Johnson County finished second in the country with a .364 team batting average, fourth with a .466 on-base percentage, and sixth with 597 runs scored. As a team, the Cavaliers drew nearly as many walks (336) as they had strikeouts (346). On the mound, JCCC’s 3.80 ERA ranked eighth nationally, piling up 601 strikeouts to finish fourth in the country. The Cavaliers team fielding percentage of .976 was the second-best mark in NJCAA Division 1.
Miller returned to Johnson County after two seasons a volunteer coach at McLennan Community College in Waco, Texas under current Baylor head coach Mitch Thompson. Miller helped the Highlanders to consecutive NJCAA World Series appearances, highlighted by a national championship in 2021. During his time in Waco, Miller and McLennan compiled a 97-29 overall record (.770 winning percentage), four NJCAA All-Americans and three MLB draft picks.
A former All-American as a player at Johnson County, Miller returned to his alma mater to begin his coaching career in 2020. The Cavaliers were 20-3 with a top-10 national ranking before the season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
All told in four seasons as an assistant, Miller’s teams have combined for a record of 173-42, good for a winning percentage of .805.
As a player with the Cavaliers, Miller was a Second Team NJCAA All-American as a sophomore in 2015, hitting .443 with a school-record 26 home runs. He was drafted in the 18th round by the Cleveland Indians, where he played five seasons in their minor league system. Miller ultimately reached Double-A in 2019, and finished his professional playing career with 25 home runs and 117 RBI in 310 career games.
A native of Kansas City, Missouri, Miller was a three-sport star at Blue Valley Southwest High School before beginning his collegiate career at Johnson County. He is married to the former Emily Eldridge.
