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Bears Name Harley Head Coach

The Highline Bears today announced that Ben Harley has been named Head Coach for the 2020. Harley is currently the pitching coach at Centralia College and was the Bears pitching coach in 2019.

“We had quite a few applications from great coaches across the country. After interviewing a lot of them we decided Ben was the perfect guy for the job.” explained General Manager Justin Moser. “Ben understands what we are trying to do within our community, for our fans and of course the importance of development with our players.” Harley was hired last season as the pitching coach for the Bears.

Ben cited the unique opportunity as one of the driving factors for applying for the position. “You get the chance to work for an organization that truly cares about their fans, players and coaches and puts forth the effort to make it a memorable and enjoyable experience for everyone involved. I look forward to helping each one of our players reach their individual goals this summer while making relationships that will last well beyond the field.”

The Bears are heading into their sixth season in the Pacific International League, where they have broken all attendance records five years in a row. The team has continued to grow each year and is hoping to be an integral part of the community each summer.

When asked what he was most excited about for the upcoming season Harley said “I am very excited about the quality of our schedule and the level of talent of the players we have joining our team. Knowing that we can compete with any college summer team in the northwest gets me excited about the possibilities of this summer. I am also excited to be a part of the fun atmosphere that is created every night at Mel Olsen Stadium and getting to meet all of the fans that come out to support the Highline Bears.”

Prior to joining the coaching staff at Centralia College, he was previously been the head coach at Valley Catholic High School (Beaverton, Oregon). He has also previously coached at Peoria High School as well as Rex Putnam High School.

Coach Harley played at Olympic College and Cabrillo College. Following his time there he transferred to Oregon State University where he graduated with his Bachelor’s degree in English and then completed his masters in teaching at Lewis and Clark College. He is a ABCA Certified Coach.