Evangel University Athletics

Baseball Coaching Staff

Lance Quessenberry

Lance Quessenberry

Head Coach

(417) 865-2815 ext. 7287
Email Coach Quessenberry - School Bio

Lance Quessenberry enters his fifth season as Evangel's head baseball coach in 2011 and he has seen his team make tremendous strides since he took over the program in 2006. He is 79-117 (.403) as a collegiate head coach but has led the Crusaders on a 180-degree turn during his four years.

Last season, Quessenberry led Evangel to their first postseason win in 15 years as the Crusaders were a game away from advancing to the final day of the Heart of America conference tournament. In his third season, Evangel made their first conference tournament appearance since 1996 and the program achieved their first winning season in seven years in Quessenberry's season in 2008.

Turning teams around is Quessenberry's forte. With Evangel, he inherited a team that won two conference games the year before he arrived, finishing 2-22 in league play. His first season with Evangel saw the Crusaders go just 10-34 in a season of transition, but a winning season arrived just a year later.

Quessenberry came to Evangel from Parkview High School in Springfield. After going 7-14 in his first season in 2003, he led the Vikings to three straight winning seasons, the longest such streak in program history. Parkview was an Ozark Conference runner-up and advanced to their first district championship game in 24 years during his four years.

A Hartville, Missouri native, Quessenberry coached at his high school alma mater in 2001 and 2002 and went 55-22, had two second place finishes in the conference and played for a district title.

His first head coaching job was at Marion C. Early High School in Morrisville. After his first season of 10-14, he led the Panthers to an 80-13 record over the next three years, two conference titles, two district runner-ups, one district championship and a Class 2 state Final Four appearance in 1999 that resulted in a second place finish in the state.

In 14 years as a head coach, Quessenberry is 272-218 combining his high school and college totals.

Coach Quessenberry has also had stops in American Legion programs in Bolivar, MO and with the Parkview Legion program while he was at Parkview HS.

Along with his coaching duties, Coach Quessenberry also serves as an Assistant Professor in EU Department of Physical Education, Recreation and Exercise Science. He is a 1991 graduate of Hartville High School and a 1996 physical education graduate of Southwest Baptist University. He also earned his Master's degree from SBU in 2002.

During his stay at SBU, Quessenberry was a two-year starter on the baseball team and in 1995 he earned All-MIAA honors as a centerfielder. Quessenberry also won the SBU team hustle award. Prior to coming to SBU, Quessenberry earned his Associates of General Studies degree from Labette Community College in 1993. At Labette, he was a two-year starter in centerfield.

Coach Quessenberry and his wife Darla have been married for 15 years and currently live in Springfield. Darla also graduated from Hartville High School and attended EU, graduating with a degree in Business Education in 1997. She is currently employed at McKesson Corporation (Home Health Care Software Provider) where she is the sales manager. Their daughter Keyler is 6 years old.

Russell Brand

Russell Brand

Assistant Coach

(417) 865-2815 ext. 7276
Email Coach Brand - School Bio

Russell Brand enters his 5th year as the pitching coach for Evangel. Brand also serves as coach for junior varsity team, is the academic director for the baseball program and is the intramural director at the university.

The 2011 season was Coach Brand's 9th season as an assistant coach under Coach Quessenberry as the two coached together Parkview High School in Springfield.

In addition to coaching, Brand taught business classes at Parkview High School (2003) and Willard High School (2004-2007). Along with his work with the baseball and intramural programs, Coach Brand has also taught classes in the graduate and undergraduate programs at Evangel.

He is a 1998 graduate of Steelville High School and is a 2002 business education graduate of Evangel. As a Crusader from 1999-2002, Brand was a mainstay in the pitching rotation and was an HAAC All-Eastern Division pick in 2001 and he earned Academic All-American honors in 2001 and 2002.

Coach Brand and his wife Marcia (a 2002 early childhood EU graduate) are currently living in Republic and have a two year old daughter, Mariah.

Kris Wheeler

Assistant Coach

Kris Wheeler enters his first year with Evangel as an assistant coach. Wheeler was previously the pitching coach at Ottawa (Kan.) University where he guided the Pitcher of the Year in the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference in 2008.

Wheeler completed a Master's degree in Sports Business Administration from the University of Central Missouri in 2009 and has a degree in secondary education from Kansas State in 2007.

A native of Valley, Center, Kansas, Wheeler pitched for the Class 5A state runner-up in high school during his junior year on a team that finished 20-2. He started his college career at Kansas State but transferred to Johnson County Community College where a shoulder injury ended his playing career.

Wheeler has coached the 17-and-under Johnson County Hornets in 2009 and guided them to an IBC World Series in Clearwater, Florida.

Eric Osner

Assistant Coach

Email Coach Osner - School Bio

Eric Osner completed his playing career with the Crusaders last year and will enter his first year as a student assistant this year. Osner played for Evangel for three seasons and hit .336 during his junior year and .301 last season. He played his freshman year at Allen County (Kan.) Community College. The Lower City, Missouri native is a Physical Education major.

Al Lebron

Student Assistant

Al Lebron enters his first season as a student assistant with the Evangel baseball team after completing his eligibility last year. Lebron was a pitcher and infielder with the Crusaders. The native of Orlando, Florida is a Recreation major at Evangel and was part of the Crusaders trip to Tlaquepaque, Mexico last summer.