Matt Haefner enters his first season at Bethany.
He spent the previous seven years as the head coach of the Prior Lake High School program where his teams finished with a record of 125–43, and won two South Suburban Conference championships. In 2013, the Lakers won section 2AAA and finished as Runner Up at the State Tournament, and Matt was named MFCA section 2 AAA Coach of the Year. He has coached several players that have gone on to play at the collegiate level.
Currently Matt is in his third year as a director for the Minnesota Waves club softball program based in Prior Lake. The Waves have six teams ranging from 12U – 16U and compete in the top tier in the state of Minnesota. Matt coaches the 14U Gold team and is responsible for the winter training for all the Waves players.
Aside from coaching, Haefner was an accomplished fastpitch player. Haefner was a member of the 1995 ASA National Championship team, was voted the tournament MVP, and was an All-American. He was a member of the bronze medal winning team in the Olympic Sports Festival in 1995 and played in five ISC World Tournaments, finishing as high as fifth place in the World Championships.
Matt has been a hitting instructor in the Twin Cities for the past 15 years and has run camps and clinics for youth softball players and youth softball organizations.
Haefner graduated from MSU – Mankato with a bachelors degree in Business Administration in 1991. There, Matt played baseball and was a senior captain, was voted First-team All-NCC and First-team All-Region in 1990.
Matt grew up in Mankato, attended Mankato Loyola and lived in the shadows of the Bethany campus on Mulberry Street. Matt played football, hockey, and baseball at Mankato Loyola before attending MSU.
