New Baseball Coach Hires Two Staff Members

GAINESVILLE - Kevin O'Sullivan, the Gator's new baseball coach, has added two members to his staff.

O'Sullivan hired Brad Weitzel (pronounced White-sell) and Craig Bell as the Gators' assistant coaches on
Wednesday. The two were most recently professional scouts for the Minnesota Twins and Seattle Mariners, respectively.

Weitzel and Bell will work with UF's position players, while O'Sullivan will focus his attention on the squad's pitchers.

"I am excited that Brad and Craig are joining the staff," O'Sullivan said. "They are as eager as I am to hit the ground running toward shaping our team for next season. They both bring a unique perspective
through their involvement in professional baseball and their background here in the state of Florida. They are a great fit with my vision for the program. Their experience has afforded them a tremendous amount of contacts throughout the country."

Weitzel spent 15 years as the Florida area scout for the Minnesota Twins. Eleven of his signees have reached the Major Leagues, incljding Doug Mientkiewicz (New York Yankees) and A.J. Pierzynski (Chicago White Sox). Weitzel was a coach for Minnesota's organization in the Instructional League between 1998 and 2001 and was a pitching coach for the Gulf Coast League Twins in 2000.

Bell had been the Seattle Mariners' Supervising Area Scout for Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina since 2000, after serving as an Associate Professional Scout in the Sunshine State for the Cincinnati Reds from 1993-2000.