Rick Rembielak, a three-time Mid-American Conference Coach of the Year who has compiled more than 500 career wins at Wake Forest University and Kent State University, was hired as the head baseball coach at The University of Akron on July 1, 2011.
 
"Coach Rembielak is the perfect fit for our baseball program," said UA Director of Athletics Tom Wistrcill. "He has extensive experience as a Division I head coach, is a proven winner in the MAC and has local ties to Northeast Ohio. We are pleased to hire someone of his caliber and welcome him and his family back to The University of Akron."
 
Rembielak, a Cleveland native and 1988 graduate of UA, won four MAC regular season championships and three league tournament titles at KSU, where he remains the all-time winningest coach of any sport with a career record of 373-251-1 (.597).
 
Moreover, in 11 seasons as the Golden Flashes' head coach, Rembielak was 200-100 (.667) against league members and led KSU to 11 consecutive MAC Tournament appearances. During that time, Rembielak produced seven MAC Pitchers of the Year and the MAC Player of the Year and MAC Freshman of the Year twice.
 
In his 16 seasons as a Division I head coach, Rembielak has had 35 players sign professional contracts, including pitcher John Van Benschoten, who was selected eighth overall by the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2001.
 
"I feel very fortunate to be named the head coach at The University of Akron and to return to coaching in the MAC," Rembielak said. "There are many people I owe a debt of gratitude, especially over the last two years. I also would like to thank everyone involved in the selection process, especially Tom Wistrcill and (Associate AD for Facilities and Operations and Baseball Sport Administrator) Paul Hammond, for their confidence in me. I am eager to hit the ground running as I feel there are many positive events occurring at Akron and within Zips Athletics in particular."
 
In June of 2004, Rembielak became the 24th head baseball coach at Wake Forest, where he spent five seasons. His impact was immediate as the Demon Deacons showed remarkable improvement during his first season. Wake not only improved its win total from the previous campaign by 11 games, but also captured eight more victories in league play.
 
In 2007, Rembielak led Wake Forest to its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2002. The Deacons' postseason bid was due in large part to their strong showing at the 2008 ACC Championship, where they became only the second No. 8-seeded team in league history to play in the title game.
 
Rembielak's Wake Forest teams also excelled in the classroom. During his tenure, his team's Academic Progress Report (APR) improved each season from 965 in 2005 to 983 in 2009. Rembielak's 2009 team received special recognition for their academic success.
 
In all, Rembielak, who spent the 2010-11 season as a volunteer assistant coach at Georgia Tech, owns a record of 515-393-1 (.567) over a 16-year career as a Division I head coach.
 
Rembielak was a three-year letterwinning shortstop at Miami (Ohio) from 1979-81 where he helped lead the ball club to a 36-13-1 MAC record and a league championship (1979).  In 1981, Rembielak was drafted in the 13th round by the Baltimore Orioles and played with teams affiliated with the O's, Chicago Cubs and Milwaukee Brewers over five seasons.
 
A graduate of Central Catholic High School in Cleveland, Rembielak earned a bachelor's degree in business education from UA in 1988 and a master's degree in sports administration from Kent State in 1992. He is a member of the Greater Akron Baseball Hall of Fame, the Stark County Hall of Fame and the Cleveland Central Catholic High School Hall of Fame. He was inducted in the Kent State Varsity "K" Hall of Fame in 2009.

Rembielak and his wife of 27 years, Sharon, have two daughters - Nicole (24) and Megan (21) - and one son - Matthew (18).

Experienced collegiate and high school coach Fred Worth will begin his first season on the coaching staff of Akron baseball in 2012. Worth comes to Akron with over 30 years of high school coaching experience and 10-plus years of collegiate experience.

Worth most recently served as the director of baseball operations at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, N.C. from 2006-2009. Worth was the camp director for the Demon Deacons and also arranged the travel for the program's road contests.

Worth began his coaching career at Miami East High School in Casstown, Ohio where he taught American Government and History, was the head baseball coach, and was the offensive coordinator for the Miami East football team.

Worth coached the Vikings to 11 league championships, three district titles, and one regional crown on the baseball diamond. Additionally, Worth was named league coach of the year 11 times, district coach of the year four times, and state of Ohio coach of the year once.

From 1997-2006, Worth served as the assistant baseball coach at Findlay University in Findlay, Ohio. As the Oilers hitting coach, Worth aided his ball clubs in breaking every offensive record in school history. Worth also helped coach Findlay to its first ever Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Tournament.

Worth graduated from Ohio University in 1974 with a dual major in Political Science and American History. He completed a masters of science in Education and Administration from Findlay in 2001.

Worth and his wife of 37 years, Janet, have three children and five grandchildren.

Matt Ford will join The University of Akron baseball coaching staff for the 2012 season after spending the previous 10 years pitching professionally, including one full year as a major leaguer with the Milwaukee Brewers.

A High School All-American at J.P. Taravella High School in Coral Springs, Fla., Ford was selected in the third round of the 1999 MLB Draft by the Toronto Blue Jays.

Ford spent the next three summers as one of the top pitching prospects in the Blue Jays organization posting a 2.42 ERA with the single A Charleston Alley Cats in 2001 and a 2.37 ERA with the single high-A Dunedin Blue Jays in 2002.

Ford was selected by the Brewers in the Rule V Draft prior to the 2003 season and would pitch in 25 games for the MLB club in 2003. He completed the season with a 2.15 ERA in 21 relief appearances and pitched 43.2 innings.

Ford then spent the 2004 and part of the 2005 season with the Brewers double-A affiliate Huntsville Stars, where he continued to be ranked one of the clubs best minor league pitching prospects. He then moved to the Kansas City Royals organization in the middle of the 2005 season and played at the triple-A Omaha Royals. Ford was signed as a free agent by the Minnesota Twins and spent the 2006 season at the triple-A Rochester Red Wings. Ford would go on to sign with the Colorado Rockies in 2007.

Ford played for the indepent Bridgeport Bluefish and York Revolution in 2007 and 2008, before playing the 2009 seasons with Caribes de Anzoategui of the Venezuelan League.

Ford spent his off seasons from professional ball mentoring youth and high school pitchers in his home state. Most recently Ford was the assistant coach at West Broward High School in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. where he worked with the pitching staff from 2008-11. He also spent time in a similar role at both Chaminade Madonna High School in Hollywood, Fla. and his alma mater, J.P. Taravella High School. Ford was also the owner and operator of the South Florida Pitching Academy, where he worked with pitchers aged 12-18. All told, Ford has had a hand in the development of four future MLB draft picks.

Ford and his wife, Dana, have been married for three years. He received his degree from Trinity University.

Matt Trate joins the Akron baseball staff for the 2012 season as the volunteer assistant coach.

Trate comes to Akron after spending the fall of 2011 as an assistant coach at Cecil College in Maryland, where he worked with the catchers, first basemen, and outfielders.

He previously served as the junior varsity coach at Hodgson Vocational Technical High School, guiding the club to a 19-7 record in two seasons. Trate also has experience instructing at several camps, including the U.S. Baseball Academy Catching Clinic.

Trate graduated from Wesley (Del.) in 2011 after playing catcher for two seasons under coach Tripp Keister. He started his collegiate career at Cecil, where he also played two seasons under coach Charlie O'Brien.