Sept. 28, 2012

MILWAUKEE - Head coach Scott Doffek has announced a pair of staff changes for the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee baseball team.

Former players Sam Sivilotti and Cole Kraft will each have key roles for the Panthers for the upcoming season. Sivilotti moves to the role of director of operations after spending the 2012 campaign as the volunteer assistant. Kraft will join the staff as an assistant coach.

Sivilotti wrapped up his four-year playing career for the Panthers in 2011, batting .302 in 143 career games with 123 hits, 68 runs scored and 73 runs batted in. He was named to the All-Horizon League squad after batting .352 his junior year when he helped lead Milwaukee to the 2010 NCAA Tournament.

"We have moved Sam from volunteer coach to the director of operations," Doffek said. "He is a Panther at the core and has a true desire to see this program continue to grow. He will be responsible for community relations, charity and the visibility of our program among other things. We have put together a staff of people that have a common goal to see this program flourish and improve. Sam is another piece to that puzzle."

Kraft, a two-time All-Horizon League selection and American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA)/Rawlings All-Mideast Region Second-Team honoree as a senior, returns to his alma mater after playing professionally the past two seasons. He finished his UWM career ranked third in program history in games (204), third in hits (250), third in doubles (52), fourth in at bats (734), fourth in runs (142), fifth in total bases (342) and sixth in steals (31).

"It's great to have Cole back in the Panther Family," Doffek said. "He has been playing professionally the past couple of years and has now decided to pursue coaching. He is the type of person we want working with our athletes on a daily basis. He was a very good player and a fierce competitor while in a Panther uniform. I enjoyed every second of coaching Cole and now I look forward to coaching alongside him."

The moves came about after former director of operations Steve Sanfilippo moved to a role in the Milwaukee Athletic Department as the assistant to the director of athletics. In addition, Mike Goetz, who has served as the assistant coach in the past, will now be the volunteer assistant moving forward.