Northern Oklahoma College has hired Michael Keeran as the new baseball coach for the NOC Tonkawa Mavericks.Keeran most recently was the recruiting coordinator at Western Illinois University. Athletic Director Alan Foster announced the hiring Monday. “I want to thank Alan Foster and the committee for this unbelievable opportunity,” Keeran said. “My family and I are so humbled and blessed to join the NOC Tonkawa athletic department and community. I am looking forward to adding onto the storied legacy of this program that Coach Bay has built. We are excited to talk and meet with the players and provide a standard of excellence that former, current and future Mavericks can be proud of. The facilities and resources at NOC are incredible and I am excited to be a part of the unbelievable atmosphere. I am excited to get to work to compete for championships for years to come as a Maverick.”Foster said Keeran stood out in an impressive group of candidates. “I was super impressed with the pool of candidates who expressed interest in the head baseball job at NOC Tonkawa,” Foster said. “I feel through the process that Michael kept checking the boxes the committee was look for.“He has had success everywhere he has been and his experience as a Head Coach at Bismarck State should translate to NOC Tonkawa,” he added. “His experience at the Division 1 level should benefit our student athletes as that is what many of their goals are. I feel like our student athletes will benefit from his leadership.I look forward to working with Michael to continue the success that has been achieved by the Mavericks Baseball program.We welcome him as well as his wife Kaitlin, and two sons Maddux and Jax. Before Keeran’s stint at Western Illinois, he was the head coach at Bismarck State College (North Dakota) from 2020-22. During that time the Mystics won conference (2021, 2022) and region championships (2022). During that time-span BSC held a 6918 (.793). BSC was ranked in the Top 25 in 2021 and 2022 and were ranked as high as #2 nationally in NJCAA Division 2.Keeran coached six All-Americans during that time. In 2022 Keeran won the Mon-Dak Coach of the Year, Region 13 Coach of the Year and North Dakota Sports Coach of the Year.From 2018-2022 Keeran was a head coach in various summer collegiate leagues. During those five years, Keeran held a 171-38 (.818).
