University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
Alumni Feature - Aaron Rembert
09.17.2010 | Baseball
UNC Asheville's all-time winningest pitcher returned last year to help turn around the Bulldog baseball program.
Aaron Rembert is Asheville's all-time leader in victories with 24. He pitched for the Bulldogs from 2000-04. He was a Freshman All-American in 2000 but also had to overcome some injuries along the way to become the winningest pitcher in school history.
Aaron graduated in 2004 and after another injury derailed his playing career, he made the natural decision to get into coaching.
"Well, my brother is a coach. My wife is a coach. Most of my family is in coaching of some sort, so I guess it was just meant for me to become a coach after I stopped playing," stated Rembert earlier this week after putting the 2011 team through some early-morning workouts. "It wasn't something I planned, but I'm glad it worked out."
Aaron began his coaching career at nearby Mars Hill College. He was appointed pitching coach and recruiting coordinator for a Lions program that had not generated a whole lot of success in their history. That began to change when Rembert joined the program. During his MHC career, Rembert guided the pitching staffs to the all-time lowest team ERA in Mars Hill history. He coached the Lions all-time wins leader (Nick Tracy) and all-time saves and ERA leader (Charlie Harrison). The Lions program had four of the best seasons in school history and advanced to the South Atlantic Championship game one year.
When Tom Smith became the Bulldogs head coach in the summer of 2009, one of the first things he had to do was find a new pitching coach and recruiting coordinator. He looked a few miles down 19-23 to Mars Hill.
"Whenever I would go recruiting, I would see Aaron on the road working hard and getting good players into Mars Hill's program," stated Smith. "He also had a love for UNC Asheville and this program that made him just a natural to bring back.
"He's done a great job since he came back," added Smith. "No one is going to outwork us with Aaron Rembert as a part of our program."
"It was a tough decision to leave Mars Hill," said Rembert. "You feel loyalty to the student-athletes you've recruited and I had spent four years there helping building their program.
"However, a chance to get back to your alma mater and the opportunity to coach in a Division I program was too good off an offer," added Rembert.
The move back to UNC Asheville came 10 years after Aaron had almost changed his mind about playing for the Bulldogs. He had been recruited by former coach Bill Hillier who left after the 1999 season to take the head coaching job at Duke. The Asheville administration eventually hired former North Carolina head coach Mike Roberts.
Roberts would only coach the Bulldogs one year before leaving to take an Athletic Director's position at Florida Southern. He would be replaced by his pitching coach Matt Myers. Myers was one of the youngest head coaches in the country when he assumed the Bulldog post. He would continue the progress that Roberts had started as Asheville finished tied for second in the rugged Big South in 2003 and came in fourth in 2004.
Aaron had an amazing freshman season in 2000. He finished with an overall record of 9-5 as he did a little of everything on the mound for the Bulldogs that year. He started, closed and pitched in middle relief. At the end of the season, Aaron was named Freshman All-American, the first Bulldog to ever be honored.
But the next year would not be as good. Aaron suffered an arm injury and red-shirted the season. He pitched in 2002 but was in pain and it wasn't until his senior season that his arm felt better. It wasn't fun to go through but Aaron used it as a learning experience.
"During my career at UNC Asheville, I experienced just about everything you could go through," said Rembert. "I was fortunate enough to have a good freshman season but then I had to go through some injuries that slowed me down.
"On the positive side, that's helped me become a better coach," added Rembert. "Going through all those different kind of experiences has allowed me to work with our players better."
The Bulldog baseball program made some strides in 2010. Asheville increased its win total from nine to 17 and qualified for the Big South Conference Tournament. The Bulldogs were a preseason pick to finish in 10th place but moved up to seventh place. Under Rembert's guidance, Asheville pitchers improved in all statistical categories throughout the season.
"We showed some improvement in 2010 but we're never going to be satisfied," commented Rembert. "I want our program to compete for Big South titles every year."
NOTE - If you would like to see a former Bulldog featured, send the information to Mike Gore at mgore@unca.edu.
