The lure of coaching in the premier NCAA Division III baseball conference has brought Eric Frese, the all-time winningest coach at Clarke College, to the University of Wisconsin-Platteville as its interim coach.

He replaces Jamie Sailors, who left after five seasons to become the pitching coach at Purdue University.

"The number one thing that drew me to this job is that this is the best baseball conference in the country," said Frese of the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. "The chance to compete at this level with a program that is growing and has definitely taken some big steps forward in the last few years is a good challenge. We want to get out there with the rest of the big boys. That excites me, that challenge."

Frese (pronounced "freeze") was the coach at Clarke College since 1999, leading the Crusaders to 74 school records, the highest conference finish in school history and the first-ever national ranking. He guided the Crusaders to a 6-4 win over the Pioneers on March 26 when UWP was nationally ranked.

UW-Platteville Athletic Director Mark Molesworth was impressed with Frese's coaching resume and with what he has seen first-hand.

"Eric has an outstanding track record and came highly recommended," he said. "He's had success at Clarke. We hope with our new facility, with the foundation Jamie Sailors set, and with us making the WIAC playoffs two years ago, Eric is the man to continue that progress and take us to the next level."

Frese will take over a Pioneer program that is coming off the first back-to-back seasons of .500 or better since 1992-93. UW-Platteville was 19-19 in 2006, despite playing all 38 games on the road while the new Kendall Murray Field was under construction.

The new field is scheduled to be completed in mid-October and will be used for the first time in 2007.

"The new facility is a huge drawing power," Frese said. "An on-campus facility is something I haven't had, and I think this will be one of the top fields in the conference when all is said and done. It will definitely help from a recruiting standpoint. We should have some outstanding student-athletes now taking a look at us because of the facility, and that is exciting."

A member of three state championship teams at Norway, Iowa, Frese earned all-state honors in 1991. He played collegiately at Mount Mercy, earning all-conference honors in 1995. Frese earned his bachelor of arts degree in sociology.

Prior to coaching at Clarke, Frese assisted at various Iowa high schools, the Red Oak Red Sox, and Porterville (Calif.) Community College. He also served as a professional scout for the Tampa Bay Devils Rays and was the head coach of the Cedar Rapids team that won the state American Legion tournament.