Western Nevada College
D.J. Whittemore and his Western Nevada College baseball program hit another milestone Thursday when the Wildcats secured the team’s 400th all-time victory by dispatching Colorado Northwestern Community College, 9-6. Now in his 10th season, Whittemore has guided the Wildcats to an average of nearly 44 wins per season.
“To be able to share it with (assistant) Aaron Demosthenes, who is a great friend of mine, tremendously loyal and very talented coach, for him to be here for all 400 wins is really special,” Whittemore said.
“Coach ‘Demo” deserves a huge amount of the credit, as do all of the past assistant coaches, whether it’s Kevin Edwards or Josh Moody or Jeremy Beard. We’ve had some great coaches come through here and given a huge amount of themselves to this program.
“Any time you win 400 games you have a lot of great players. They are the ones that deserve the credit; they are the ones who put the hard work in. For me personally, it’s just an honor to be part of it.”
From the inception of the program in 2006, the Wildcats of Carson City have never won fewer than 37 games or less than 61 percent of its games in a given season.
“He’s just a leader. Without him, we’re an average ball club,” said sophomore outfielder Jake Bennett, who was hitting .440 through the first 24 games this season. “He’s the reason all of the banners are hanging up there. He gets the players to buy in. He gets the best out of his players and he’s fun to play for.”
Second baseman David Modler provided four of the Wildcats’ season-high 19 hits Thursday to help his coach reach the milestone.
“Without D.J. and the rest of the coaching staff this program wouldn’t be nearly where it is right now,” Modler said. “We’re really happy for him.”
Whittemore secured the program’s 300th victory at the 2012 National Junior College Athletic Association World Series, the team’s third trip to national championships.
College of Southern Idaho coach Boomer Walker has said in the past that the underlying reason for the Wildcats’ success under Whittemore is the work that the coach does in getting his team ready to play.
“He does a tremendous job,” said Walker, who is in his 12th season as CSI’s head coach. “The thing about D.J. is you are always going to play a team with unbelievable preparation.”
Along with that preparation, Bennett said that Whittemore’s passion for the game and work ethic are second to none.
“He’s up every day thinking about how we can get better. He’s willing to do everything, even if it’s the stuff that’s not fun to do,” Bennett said.
Derek Waddoups, an eighth-year assistant coach at Salt Lake, said that WNC players are instilled with the same qualities that have made Whittemore successful.
“They are a disciplined team,” Waddoups said. “He is really disciplined as an individual, which carries over; teams take on the personality of their head coach. I’m always impressed with how he gets his guys to compete and they are just fundamentally sound. He does a great job.”
Whittemore came to WNC and Carson City after spending a season coaching at Feather River College in Quincy, Calif., and winning a state championship at Reno’s Wooster High in 2002.
In all, Whittemore’s Wildcat teams have won three Scenic West Athletic Conference titles, three district titles and four Region 18 championships. That success has helped other teams in the conference raise their level of play as well.
“It’s good baseball and we know that we are going to have to compete,” Waddoups said. “Over the years, we’ve had a lot of battles for championships, and in conference play, it’s always fun competing against these guys.”
Many Wildcats have been able to use the program as a launching pad, either professionally or academically.
Twenty-two former WNC players have signed professional contracts since June 2007. To date, 61 players have either signed scholarships or gone on to play at NCAA Division I universities. In addition, 35 Wildcats have signed with NCAA Division II or NAIA colleges and universities. In total, 101 Wildcats have continued their baseball careers at four-year colleges on in the pro ranks.
In all, eight of his nine previous teams have earned NJCAA All-Academic honors.
Whittemore’s WNC Record
Year Wins-Losses
2015: 16-9
2014: 40-18
2013: 44:20
2012: 48-17
2011: 45-14
2010: 43-17
2009: 48-14
2008: 38-20
2007: 41-24-2
2006: 37-18
Totals: 400-171-2
