KALAMAZOO, Mich. – Western Michigan University and head baseball coach Billy Gernon have announced the addition of Cory Mee as the program's new associate head coach. He will primarily work with WMU's catchers and the offense.
 
Mee replaces former associate head coach and recruiting coordinator Adam Piotrowicz, who was hired as the head coach at Saginaw Valley State earlier this summer after spending nearly a decade on Gernon's staff. Current WMU assistant Jordan Keur will assume the role of recruiting coordinator for the Broncos. 
 
"I am extremely fortunate and thrilled to welcome Cory to the Western Michigan Baseball program," Gernon said. "I have known Cory for over 20 years and have a tremendous amount of respect for him both personally and professionally. When the search began, I knew it would be challenging to replace a veteran coach like Adam. As the process unfolded, Cory quickly became the clear choice of how we wanted to move forward. He brings a wealth of knowledge, along with success as a player and a coach to our program. He will play an instrumental role in the recruitment and development of talent as we strive to win championships."
 
Mee brings 29 seasons of coaching experience, including 16 as a head coach within the Mid-American Conference, with him to Kalamazoo. Most recently, he served as the associate head coach and recruiting coordinator for two seasons at Akron. Before his two seasons in Akron, Mee spent the shortened 2020 campaign on staff at Eastern Michigan.
 
Mee served as the head coach of the Toledo baseball program for 16 years. During his tenure with the Rockets, he compiled 366 wins, second-most in program history, and totaled a program-record 195 MAC wins. Under his guidance, UT won the 2012 MAC West Division championship, reached the MAC Tournament 10 times and advanced to the tournament's championship game in 2009.  
 
During his 29 seasons as a collegiate coach, Mee has worked with 77 players who have gone on to sign professional contracts, 27 of which came at Toledo. While at UT, he coached 24 Rockets who earned All-MAC honors, including two-time MAC Defensive Player of the Year Deion Tansel, who won the award in 2015 and 2016. Tansel was the first two-time winner of the award.
 
In 2010, Mee became just the second coach in Toledo program history to be named the MAC Coach of the Year. That season, he guided the Rockets to a 34-22 overall record and a 19-8 mark in league play. The 30-win season was the first for Toledo since 1999, and it saw the team set school records in hits, doubles, runs scored, RBIs and slugging percentage. The 2010 Rockets also hit .328 as a team, the second-best mark in program history.
 
Mee's Toledo teams excelled in the classroom as well, with the team recording a GPA of 3.0 or higher in 27 of the 32 semesters during his tenure. In addition, 48 different student-athletes earned Academic All-MAC recognition.
 
Prior to coaching the Rockets, Mee was an assistant coach at Michigan State from 2000-03. While serving as the program's hitting coach, the 2002 Spartans set school records in batting average, hits, runs scored, doubles, home runs and RBIs.
 
Before his time at MSU, Mee spent six seasons in the dugout at his alma mater, Notre Dame, coaching under longtime Arizona State head coach and current Milwaukee Brewers bench coach Pat Murphy, and later under legendary retired LSU head coach Paul Mainieri. He also worked alongside current Virginia head coach Brian O'Connor. During his time on staff, the Fighting Irish won four conference titles and made three NCAA Regional appearances. The Notre Dame offense set several records during his tenure, including the 1997 squad setting a school record for batting average.
 
A four-year starter at Notre Dame, where he was teammates with former Major Leaguer and current Brewers manager Craig Counsell, Mee helped the Fighting Irish to four conference championships and a pair of NCAA Regionals during his playing career. As a senior, he was a team captain and was named First Team Academic All-America.
 
He graduated from Notre Dame in 1992 with a bachelor's degree in Biological Sciences. Following graduation, he signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers and played in the minors for the Yakima Bears of the Northwest League.  
 
Mee and his wife, Susan, have two daughters, Reilly and McKenna, and a son, Grady.