PENDLETON — During his senior year at Purdue University, Matt Vosburgh was reunited with baseball.
A pitcher at Tri-County High School, in Wolcott, he joked there wasn’t a big calling for a pitcher with a mid-70 mph fastball.
“I was not a stud pitcher,” Vosburgh said. “I put baseball on the shelf and went to Purdue for my education.”
In his final year of college, though, the university began a club baseball team. Vosburgh signed up to play for the team, and baseball has been a big part of his life ever since.
On July 11, South Madison Community School Corp.’s board approved the recommendation for him to be the next head baseball coach at Pendleton Heights High School.
“I played on that club team and loved every minute of it and got that (baseball) bug back,” Vosburgh said. “I wanted to be a part of the game that I’d missed for a couple of years. To get back into it was a big deal.”
It was such a big deal that one of the first things he did after securing a teaching job in the South Madison district in 2011 was reach out to then-coach Bill Stoudt about helping with the Arabians’ baseball program.
Stoudt, who was in the final year of 33 as head coach, welcomed him.
In the following season, new coach Travis Keesling made Vosburgh the head junior varsity coach. When Keesling stepped down after this past season, Vosburgh was selected to be the next leader of the program.
“We are excited that Matt Vosburgh will remain in our family as the new head baseball coach,” Pendleton Heights Athletic Director Chad Smith said. “Coach Vosburgh has a strong baseball background, but the most impressive thing about him is not measured on the field.
“He is an excellent teacher and strong family man, which goes a long way in making our young men in the baseball program better people.”
Vosburgh has been part of the staff for three sectional championship teams (2015, 2016, 2018) and two Hoosier Heritage Conference championships (2012, 2017).
“I was excited to apply, just knowing the storied history of the program,” Vosburgh said. “To step in, the pieces fell into place and it’s kind of still sinking in. It’s a pretty cool thing. I’m pretty excited to get started, officially.”
In total, Vosburgh has spent eight seasons as an assistant coach. He said he’s learned a lot, not only from Stoudt and Keesling, but also from a talented contingent of assistant coaches who have been with the Arabians program.
He said he hopes to take what he has learned from them, add his own touch, and continue the school’s strong baseball tradition.
“All of them put together have their different ways of going about things, and you take different things from different guys and see what works for you and aligns with your personal philosophy and personal beliefs,” Vosburgh said. “You take the best and try to put it all out there at one time.”