#WinforCoach Page

Scott Heather was named the head coach of the Bucknell baseball program on June 18, 2012, succeeding the retiring Hall-of-Famer Gene Depew. Heather spent the previous eight years as an assistant coach at Bucknell, helping the Bison to a pair of Patriot League Tournament titles and NCAA appearances.

It took Heather, the 2014 Patriot League Coach of the Year, just two seasons as head coach to lead the Bison through a successful postseason run. Under Heather's tutelage, Bucknell won the Patriot League regular season and Patriot League Tournament titles in 2014. The Bison advanced to the NCAA Regional at Virginia and posted the second NCAA win in program history, defeating Liberty 5-2 behind a complete game four-hitter from pitcher Dan Weigel.

In his 14 years as head coach, Heather has guided the Bison to seven 20-win campaigns and 268 victories overall, which is the second-highest total in team history behind only Depew's 591. The squad has qualified for the Patriot League Tournament nine times under Heather. The Bison recently made back-to-back championship series appearances in 2022 and 2023, and they captured the Patriot League regular-season title in 2026.

A former pitcher at the University of Arkansas, Heather served as the pitching coach during the first eight years of his tenure at Bucknell. The staff had a 4.30 ERA in 2006, marking the team's lowest since 1983 (4.10).

During his tenure as pitching coach, Heather tutored a number of outstanding hurlers, including 2011 Patriot League Pitcher of the Year Ryan Ebner. Additionally, Heather oversaw the development of 2008 graduates Jason Buursma and Mathew Wilson. Those two former Bison claimed back-to-back Patriot League ERA titles, while Buursma earned a pair of First Team All-Patriot League selections as a relief pitcher. Wilson, who was the 2007 Patriot League ERA champion, broke the school record for career shutouts and pitched a complete-game shutout against nationally ranked Florida State in the 2008 NCAA Tournament.

Heather has had the opportunity to see Bison pitchers selected in three Major League Baseball Drafts since his arrival in Lewisburg in August 2004. Buursma was drafted in 2007 (42nd round by Seattle Mariners) and 2008 (25th round by St. Louis Cardinals), while Kyle Walter was selected in the 18th round of the 2006 draft by the Toronto Blue Jays. Most recently, third baseman Sean Keys was selected in the fourth round by the Blue Jays in 2024, and he made his Major League debut in 2026. Keys became Bucknell's first MLB player since Matt Daley, who went undrafted but enjoyed a successful big-league career as a relief pitcher with the Colorado Rockies and New York Yankees.

In addition to his duties with the Bucknell pitching staff, Heather served as the program's recruiting coordinator and assisted with all fundraising projects during his time as a Bison assistant.

Prior to his stint as an assistant at Bucknell, Heather served as an assistant coach at Arkansas-Fort Smith from 1999 to 2004.

Heather began his playing career at Arizona Western College in Yuma, Ariz., where he was MVP of the 1996 team that was ranked third nationally, before moving on to Arkansas. Heather lettered for the Razorbacks as a pitcher in 1997 and 1998, and then became a student assistant in 1999 when Arkansas won its first Southeastern Conference championship. He also pitched professionally for the Duluth Dukes of the Northern League in 1998.

Heather, who earned his degree from Arkansas in 2003, and his wife, Emily, live in Lewisburg with their daughters Ellie and Maren.

Name	Title	Email Address	Phone
Scott Heather	#WinforCoach (Click for More)
Jason Neitz	Acting Head Coach	jln013@bucknell.edu	570-577-1059
Brett Smith	Assistant Coach/Hitting Coach	bjs041@bucknell.edu
Josh Kieffer	Assistant Coach	jmk059@bucknell.edu
Cade Dressler	Assistant Coach	cd041@bucknell.edu

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