One of the rising associate coaches in collegiate baseball, Rusty McKee recently completed his 13th and final season with FGCU. A veteran of college coaching in the state of Florida, McKee has been responsible for coordinating the recruiting efforts as well as assisting head coach Dave Tollett with all aspects of the program.
During his time in Fort Myers, FGCU compiled 459 wins, including a 175-91 mark in the ASUN since joining Division I in 2008. The Eagles have won at least 36 games in nine of his 13 seasons.
McKee handled the schedule of opponents, scouting and works with the hitters. In addition, he helped direct the FGCU youth baseball camps, which welcomed more than 300 participants in 2008.
Over his 13 seasons working directly with FGCU’s hitters, McKee has helped the Eagles finished with a team batting average over .300 in seven of those seasons, highlighted by a program Division I record .334 clip in 2010. McKee has seen a player hit .300 or better 68 times over his 13 years, including two that surpassed the .400 mark.
McKee's final season with the Eagles in 2017 was the most successful in program history as the Green and Blue won a program record 43 games, claimed its first ASUN Tournament Championship, and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the first time ever. The longtime associate coach helped mentor Nick Rivera to ASUN Player of the Year honors, while Richie Garcia was also named the ASUN Freshman of the Year. Rivera was also named a Perfect Game/Rawlings Third-Team All-American, and Garcia earned Collegiate Baseball News Freshman All-American honors.
In 2016, McKee mentored a FGCU offense that turned in a .288 average - hitting .310 during conference games - and ranked in the top half of the ASUN for the ninth straight season since joining the league in 2008. Highlighting the FGCU offense, Jake Noll was named an All-American by four publications and became the program's first two-time All-American. McKee coached Noll into ranking in the top three in the ASUN in eight offensive categories while leading the league in runs, hits and total bases en route to becoming the program's second ASUN Player of the Year. Additionally, Noll was selected by the Washington Nationals in the 7th Round of the 2016 MLB Draft, becoming the second-highest FGCU position player to be selected. With fellow ASUN First-Team and MLB free agent signee Tyler Selesky, the two posted career highs in home runs and RBI while becoming the first duo to hit double digit home runs in the same season since Zach Maxfield and Tim Roberson in 2010. Lastyly, Jake Smith, Noll and Matt Reardon turned in batting averages of .360 or higher, becoming the first trio to do so since the program's inaugural season in 2003.
During the 2015 season, McKee led a FGCU offense that posted a .291 batting average, which ranked third in the A-Sun. Furthermore, the Eagles were slightly better in conference play when the posted a .294 clip. Individually, six players hit better than .300, led by Jake Noll's .348 mark, while Nick Rivera blasted 10 home runs, tied for eighth most in a single season in program history, to go along with a Division I program record 70 RBI (Jason Louwsma drove in 74 runs in 2006). Following the season, Rivera became the 25th FGCU player selected in the MLB Draft and the ninth position player to hear his name called.
From 2013-15, McKee saw a total of 19 players surpass the .300 average mark, including Noll's .367 average in 2014, a year in which he broke the school record for hits in a single season (101) and was named both the A-Sun and National Freshman of the Year. As a team, the Ealgles hit over .300 in 2013 and haven't finished outside of the top three in the A-Sun in team batting average since that time.
In the 2011 and 2012 seasons, McKee guided five different players to an average of .300 or better, including Zach Maxfield's .365 mark in 2011 which was seventh in the A-Sun.
During FGCU’s run to an A-Sun regular season crown in 2010, McKee saw a program record eight players bat .300 or better, led by junior Mikel Alvarez, who hit .409. The Eagles finished third in the conference in team batting average (.334), as three field position players earned All-Conference first team status. FGCU finished with a 38-20 overall record and equaled its record with a 25-5 record in A-Sun action.
During the 2008 season, FGCU’s first as a Division I program, McKee helped guide the Eagles to an Atlantic Sun Championship, setting a record for wins by a first year A-Sun program with 25 league wins. He helped develop A-Sun hitter of the Year Jason Peacock who was a 25th round selection by the Florida Marlins in the 2008 MLB Draft. Peacock posted the fifth highest batting average in league history and ranked among the nations leaders in batting average, on base percentage and slugging percentage. FGCU hit .312 during the season, second best in the league. The Eagles were one of the top defensive squads in the country under McKee. FGCU posted a fielding percentage of .971, best in the league and among the leaders in NCAA Division I. In addition to Peacock, Ozzie Borrell and Mikel Alvarez were each honored as All-Atlantic Sun selections.
During the 2007 season, FGCU’s final season as a member of NCAA Division II, McKee helped lead the Eagles to their second consecutive 40 win seasons and appearances in the NCAA tournament. FGCU boasted one of the top offenses in the country as they hit .333 and scored a program record 512 runs. The Eagles drew an amazing 300 walks while posting a .432 on base percentage as a team. In 2006, FGCU set a school record with 41 wins while hitting .327 under McKee. They hit 54 homeruns and had a .499 slugging percentage as they made their first trip to the NCAA Tournament. FGCU pounded out a school record 650 hits and advanced to the South Region final before falling to the eventual national champions. During McKee’s first season, the Eagles posted then school records 53 homeruns and .957 fielding percentage. During the season, their first as a Division II member, the team hit .306 during the season.
A 2000 graduate of the University of North Florida, McKee was an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Flagler College in St. Augustine, Florida from 2002-04.
He also served as an assistant coach at UNF under legendary head coach Dusty Rhodes from 1996-2002. During his tenure on the UNF staff, the Ospreys went to four NCAA Division II regionals and two NCAA Division II World Series.
McKee, who has also served as a manager in the Northwoods and MINK Collegiate Summer Leagues, has coached 12 all-Americans, 17 all-region players and 28 all-conference selections during his coaching career while also working with more than 70 players who have played professionally, including four major leaguers.
McKee and his wife Traci along with their sons Brett and Braden reside in Fort Myers.
