Coaching Staff
Gerald Cassard
Head Coach
Gerald "Gee" Cassard begins his second season as head coach for the Wolfpack.
In 2006, Cassard was the volunteer assistant at the University of New Orleans where he handled the Privateers pitching staff. Prior to UNO, he served seven years as an assistant at Nicholls State as recruiting coordinator and pitching coach.
"Coach Cassard has extensive experience coaching at the NCAA Division I level. He also has a vast knowledge of recruiting in New Orleans and the southeast region and he spent last season recruiting players that fit within the Jesuit mission of the University. We look forward to him leading our baseball program," stated Giorlando.
Cassard also gained experience in college summer baseball. He was the pitching coach of the New Orleans Recreation Department All-American Boosters team that placed third in
1999 and sixth in 1998 at the AABA National Championship Tournament. Also in 1998, Cassard led the New Orleans Collegiate League team, Southland International, as head coach. As the skipper of Southland, he coached LSU's Kurt Ainsworth, who was a first round draft pick of the San Francisco Giants.
Cassard has tutored nine pitchers that have gone on to play professional baseball, including former Nicholls State standouts Cheyenne Janke, who was a 16th round selection by the St. Louis Cardinals and Devin Rogers, an eighth-round choice by the Cleveland Indians in 1999.
"I want to thank Dr. Giorlando and the entire Loyola community for the opportunity to lead the baseball program. I look forward to getting to work and leading this team as we strive for excellence on and off the playing field," said Cassard.
Cassard takes over for Doc Beeman who resigned earlier this month to take the head coaching position at Benedictine College. Dating back to 1924, Cassard is the seventh coach in Loyola history and the fourth since the university reinstated baseball in 1991. He earned a bachelor's degree from Nicholls State. A Donaldsonville, La. native, Cassard and his wife Courtney have one son, Cruz.
Brett Simpson
Assistant Coach
Brett Simpson begins his twelfth year working in the Loyola University New Orleans Athletic Department. Simpson was promoted to Associate Athletic Director in August of 2005 and continues to head the department’s marketing and media relations, while coordinating the day to day operations of the athletic department. Besides his administrative duties, Simpson also is an assistant coach for Loyola’s baseball team.
After graduating from the University with a degree in communications/public relations in 1996, Simpson joined the department as a sports information intern. Simpson was promoted to Assistant Athletic Director for sports information and marketing in August of 1999, where he earned numerous honors from the NAIA for media guide publications and the Wolfpack web site.
As an assistant coach and a player for Loyola, Simpson has been instrumental in the resurrection of the program. The 2000 squad set the record for most wins in a season in the 44 year history of the program with 35. The 2002 squad, won the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference Tournament Championship and qualified for their first ever NAIA Regional. He also coached the first player to be drafted since the reinstatement of the program with David Lindsey’s selection by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 19 th round in 2000.
During his playing days for the Loyola baseball team, Simpson earned four letters as an outfielder for the Wolfpack. He was co-captain for the 1995 and 1996 squads. In 1996, he was the starting leftfielder on the first Loyola baseball team to reach post-season play since the reinstatement of athletics back in 1991.
Recently, Simpson worked for Nike during the College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska. In Omaha, he assisted with the operations of the Nike Fieldhouse, a retail and promotional vehicle for Nike Baseball. He has led a successful summer sports camp at St. Martin’s Episcopal School in Metairie, Louisiana since 1998. He has also assisted with gameday media relations with the Allstate Sugar Bowl and the BCS Championship Game in New Orleans. Simpson interned for the New Orleans Zephyrs AAA Baseball Club in 1995.
Besides earning his undergraduate degree from the University, Simpson received his master's in business administration from Loyola in 2003. He also studied at St. Louis University’s Boeing Institute of International Business in Madrid, Spain.
Simpson is a member of the National Association of Collegiate Marketing Administrators, College Sports Information Directors of America, American Baseball Coaches Association, and New Orleans Young Leadership Council. He also serves as the chairman of the baseball committee for the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference. Simpson is involved with his alma mater, St. Martin's Episcopal School in Metairie. He is on the Alumni Board and leads the Athletic Hall of Fame Committee as the chairman at the school.
Cassedy Bass
Assistant Coach
Cassedy Bass enters his fourth year as an assistant at Loyola and his third under Coach Beeman.
Bass earned three letters as an infielder for the Wolfpack. He saw extensive action on the bases as the team's primary base running threat off the bench. He was a member of the 2002 Conference Tournament Championship squad that went on to play in Loyola's first baseball regional since the reinstatement of athletics.
Bass prepped at De La Salle High School in New Orleans and lettered three times for the Cavalier baseball team as an outfielder and DH. In Bass' senior campaign, the Cavs appeared in the Louisiana state baseball tournament in New Iberia, falling in the quarters to Sulpher.
Bass graduated in May 2003 with a degree in communications and will receive his master's degree this May. He will assist in all aspects of
the program and will be the first base coach.
He has written, shot, and produced two feature-length amateur films, and with the help of fellow LU baseball alumnus Dave Griener, established FlyBoys Productions. His future plans include working in film/TV production, or in advertising.
