Kramer Sneed, a Winterville, N.C. native, begins his second year as the pitching coach at Dakota State University. His primary duties consist of working with the pitchers, recruitment of pitchers and catchers, opponent scouting, eligibility and camp/showcase coordinator.
Sneed’s first season as the pitching coach was cut short early in 2020 due to COVID-19. During the shortened season, the pitching staff lowered the team’s ERA by 3.7 runs from the previous year and had two pitchers, juniors Devin DeBoer and Carver Hultgren, earn Conference Pitcher-of-the-Week honors. Hultgren pitched the program’s first no-hitter since 2005.
Prior to being named the pitching coach at Dakota State University, Sneed served as the pitching coach at NCAA DII Davis & Elkins College in Elkins, W.V. Before his time at Davis & Elkins, Sneed was an assistant pitching coach at his alma mater, NCAA DII Barton College in Wilson, N.C.
Sneed attended Barton College where he was named First Team All-Conference Carolinas and Academic All-Conference as a pitcher. After his junior season at Barton, he was drafted by the New York Yankees in the 32nd round of the 2010 Major League Baseball Draft.
Sneed spent eight years in professional baseball before beginning his career as a collegiate pitching coach. He spent three years in the New York Yankees organization before being traded to the Los Angeles (Anaheim) Angels. While in the Angels organization, Sneed was named a California League All-Star as a starting pitcher and won the 2013 California League Championship. His best season professionally came in 2015 when he finished with a 15-3 record, 2.83 ERA and 181 strikeouts. He ended his professional career pitching over 860 innings and recording over 650 strikeouts.
After finishing his professional baseball career, Sneed completed his undergraduate degree at Purdue University Global in liberal studies, graduating magna cum laude.
