TERRE HAUTE, IN ? Indiana State University head baseball coach Lindsay Meggs announced today that Tyler Herbst has joined the Sycamore baseball staff as the Pitching Coach and Recruiting Coordinator. Meggs also announced that T.J. Merritt has been promoted to full-time assistant coach for the Sycamores.

Herbst has spent the last two seasons as an assistant coach at Arkansas-Little Rock.  He has also coached at Evansville, Northern Illinois and Wabash Valley College.

“We are excited to have him on board,” Meggs said. “He has experience in the conference as and assistant coach at Evansville, and he has recruited throughout the Midwest, especially during his time at Wabash Valley College. It is great for us to have him on the staff with his experience in the area and in the conference.”

Herbst was the pitching coach and recruiting coordinator at Wabash Valley, helping the Warriors to a 37-17 record. Three players earned All-Region honors while Alex Love established a school record for wins by going 11-0.

In addition to coaching, Herbst was an associate scout for the Arizona Diamondbacks while also assisting at Wabash Valley in the school's strength and conditioning, academic advising and fundraising programs.

Herbst spent three seasons at Evansville (2002-2005). The Purple Aces finished 35-23 in his final season with the 35 victories the third-highest total by an Evansville squad since they joined the Missouri Valley Conference. The Purple Aces were ranked as high as 27th nationally and were ranked in three of the four major college polls during the season.

While at Evansville, Herbst assisted in recruiting and worked as the infield defensive coach and assistant hitting coach. During that time, he helped develop 10 All-MVC players, two Freshman All-Americans, the Purple Aces first MVC batting champion, and four players who were drafted by Major League Baseball.

Prior to joining the staff at Evansville, Herbst was a graduate assistant coach at Lincoln Memorial University in 2001 and served as an assistant coach at Northern Illinois University during the 2002 season. During his year at NIU, the Huskies posted their first winning season in 20 years.

Herbst graduated from Lincoln Memorial University in 2000 with a degree in physical education.

Thomas (TJ) Merritt was promoted to full-time assistant coach at Indiana State after spending the last year as a voluntary assistant coach for the Sycamores.

Merritt played two years at Mesa College in San Diego, Calif., where he was a two-time all-league player, hitting .390 overall and .455 in league games. He also played in the Junior College All-Star Game. In 2004 and 2005, he played at the University of San Diego under Division 1 Head Coach Rich Hill.

A 2005 graduate of University of San Diego, Merritt coached at Mesa College in San Diego, Calif., in 2006, working with the outfielders, base runners, and hitters. In 2007, he moved to Cal State-San Marcos where he worked as the recruiting coordinator along with the outfielders and hitters. Merritt also played a major role in fundraising at Cal State-San Marcos. Also in 2007, Merritt worked for the San Diego Padres as an associate scout to locate potential prospects. In the summer, Merritt worked at various camps across the country.