Drew Maki Bio

Bio

Andrew Maki was announced as the Cleary University baseball program's 2nd all-time coach on June 3, 2021.
Maki came to Cleary from Northern Illinois University, where he was the pitching coach and recruiting coordinator for the Huskies. 

In his fifth season in charge of the Cougars, Cleary would make the jump, earning a program best 4th place finish in the WHAC, with a 31-21 record overall, and 18-10 in the WHAC.  The team qualified for the WHAC Tournament for the second consecutive season, where they won a postseason game for the first time in the WHAC Tournament, and the program's first postseason victory since the 2017-18 campaign.  A record-setting season all-around, the team had 23 individual or team records broken, including team wins, WHAC wins, runs scored (400), and team batting average (.320).  Brendan Seman became the first player in program history to be named First Team All-WHAC for the second time, while Joey Parinello was named to Second Team All-WHAC.  Coach Maki coached 21 WHAC All-Academic honorees, with 17 of those earning NAIA Spring Sport Scholar-Athlete status.

During his fourth sesaon at Cleary, the Cougars would go 23-27, 13-15 in the WHAC, and qualified for the WHAC Tournament for the first time in program history.  Brendan Seman would become the first player in team history to earn First Team All-WHAC status, while teammate Will Roberts was named Second Team All-WHAC.  23 members of the team would earn WHAC All-Academic status, with 17 of those named NAIA Spring Sport Scholar-Athletes.

In Coach Maki's third season at the helm, Cleary would go 16-30 overall, and 13-19 in the WHAC, narrowly missing out on a berth to the WHAC Tournament.  Pitcher Haden Fisk was named Second Team All-WHAC for his efforts on the mound.  20 members of the team were named to the WHAC's All-Academic team.

In his second season as head coach, Cleary would surge to a 28-22 record overall, earning a then record 17 WHAC wins, and just falling short of making the six-team field in the WHAC Tournament.  Three players were named Second Team All-WHAC in Lucas Withers, Billy Flohr, and Ben Cerven, becoming the first three players coached by Coach Maki to earn All-WHAC recognition.  23 members of the team would also be named to the WHAC All-Academic team.

In his first season at Cleary, the Cougars went 22-22, 10-12 in the WHAC.  Under Maki's leadership, the Cougars produced a gold glove defender in Anthony Lacle, and 20 student-athletes were named to the All-Academic team.

At NIU, Maki helped the Huskies advance to within a game of the 2019 MAC Tournament Championship before falling in extra innings in the semifinal. In 2018, the Huskies pitching staff shattered the school record with 432 strikeouts. The 2018 staff also had 3 of the top 15 conference ERA leaders. The Huskies finished in the top 3 for conference ERA in 2016 and 2017. NIU also had top 100 rated recruiting classes by Perfect Game in 2016 and 2017.

Maki came to NIU from Eastern Michigan, where he spent six seasons with the Eagles as Associate Head Coach and Recruiting Coordinator. In his time at EMU, Maki served as both a hitting and pitching coach seeing success in both positions. In 2009 as the hitting coach, the Eagles finished the year with 100 home runs. That is the most in program history. Seven different Eagles earned first team All MAC honors in Maki's time at Eastern Michigan, including All-Region selection Zack Leonard in 2011. That season, Leonard finished the year with a .372 batting average and became the all-time hit leader in EMU history. The Eagles led the MAC in batting average (.300), on-base percentage (.385), runs (353), doubles (120) and runs per game (6.5) in 2011 on their way to a 37 win season. Lee Longo won the MAC batting title at .379 for the Eagles in 2014 under Maki’s tutelage. 

In his two seasons as the Eagles pitching coach, the Eastern Michigan pitching staff averaged 357 strikeouts per season, including a program record 389 in 2012. That same season three different pitchers earned MAC West Pitcher of the Week honors. Eagle Steve Weber, who was twice decorated as pitcher of the week, was drafted by the Miami Marlins in 2012. Including Weber, Eastern Michigan had five players selected in the Major League Baseball draft in Maki's six years with the Eagles. Prior to his time in Ypsilanti, Maki coached three seasons at Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan where he was the recruiting coordinator and hitting coach. In his final two seasons with the Warriors, 2007 and 2008, WSU posted on-base percentages of .414 and .397, respectively, while batting at least .300 both seasons, led by a .325 performance in 2007.

He’s coached 21 MLB Draft Picks/signees. Maki has also coached 33 All Conference selections and 37 All-Academic selections. He’s been a part of 31 Power 5 wins in his time at the Division 1 level.

Maki got his start in collegiate coaching in 2005 at Henry Ford Community College, where he was the Hawks pitching coach. In 2005, the team posted a 15-win improvement from 2004.

Coach Maki is married to Colleen (Lasecki) Maki and has three daughters, Natalie, Elizabeth, and Sarah.
He is a graduate of Grand Valley State University with a BS in Biology/Environmental Health (2000) and earned a Master’s degree from Eastern Michigan University in Sport Management (2019).

**Assistant Coach Nick Hoogerhyde coached 1 game in each 2023-24, 2024-25 seasons, and 2025-26**