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Lids Missouri Bulls Coaching Staff

Todd Pennington - Director of the Missouri Bulls & 16u Head Coach

Todd played for the Southeast Missouri State Redhawks from 1999 to 2001 where he became the staff ace.  In 2001 he was named a Louisville Slugger/TPX All-American and also a Baseball Weekly All-American.  He was named 1st Team All OVC and was named National Pitcher of the week.  His junior year Todd went 12-2 and led all NCAA Division 1 pitchers in ERA with a 1.33.  He was ranked nationally in wins with 12, in strikeouts with 121 and ranked 12th all time in NCAA history with 4.81 hits per nine innings.
 
Todd was drafted by the Cleveland Indians in 2001 where he spent most of his time in AA. He was named to the Rawlings All South Region pitcher of the year that same year.
 
Todd played in 7 professional seasons, winning four championship rings, and named to two all-star teams.  In 2003 he was named to the Baseball Weekly minor league all star team, lead Cleveland Indians minor league system in saves, named Rolaids relief man of the month, and  named to the prestigious Arizona Fall League.
 
In 2018, Todd was inducted into the Southeast Missouri State University Hall of Fame for his exceptional college baseball career.
 
Todd is in his 8th season will the Missouri Bulls Organization.  Coach Pennington lives in Jackson, MO with his wife Kristi. They have three children, Tuc (6), Ella (4), and Via (1). Coach Pennington enjoys playing golf, fishing, and spending time with his family.

Neil Johnson- 18u Head Coach

Neil Johnson played high school baseball for 4 years at Woodland High School in Marble Hill where he received honors as all conference, all district and all state. 

Neil went to play college baseball at Three Rivers on a scholarship as a outfielder and pitcher. Injuries would later not allowing him to finish his baseball career at the college level. 

Neil also coached at his alma mater, Woodland, for 2 years and had 2 successful seasons. He also works at Balls N Strikes as an instructor. This is Neil's 3rd season coaching with the Missouri Bulls.

Neil resides in Zalma, MO, with his wife Torie, and his son, Tyson.

Cody Kennedy- 15u Head Coach

Cody Kennedy played high school baseball for four years at Meadow Heights High School. While there, he received All District Honors each year that he played. His senior year he made the Southeast Missourian Team. After graduating, Cody went on to play collegiately at St. Louis Community College for two years. He then finished up his degree at Central Methodist University where he received his Bachelors in Math Education.

Cody is currently the Jr. High Math teacher at Meadow Heights. He is also in his second year of coaching baseball at Meadow Heights. Cody has had one year of coaching experience with Jackson Junior Legion and two years with Perryville Senior Legion.

This will be Coach Kennedy's first season with the Missouri Bulls Organization. He currently resides in Patton, MO with his wife Bailey and his son Liam. 

 

Zach McKenney- 14u Head Coach

Zach graduated from Northwest High School in Cedar Hill, Missouri in 2012.  In time spent there he complied over 110 hits at the varsity level while earning all district and all region honors. After graduating Coach McKenney attended Three Rivers College and played infield.  After graduating from Three Rivers Zach attended the University of Missouri-St. Louis to continue his baseball career. He graduated from UMSL with a Bachelors in History. 

 

Immediately after graduation Coach McKenney began his college coaching career at UMSL with Jim Brady as a hitting and infield coach. During his time there UMSL was in the top five in hitting categories in the GLVC. After two seasons at UMSL McKenney moved to Poplar Bluff, Missouri and started coaching at Three Rivers College. He is currently in his second year coaching at Three Rivers and teaching at Poplar Bluff Junior High School. Coach McKenney resides in Poplar Bluff.

Cory Johnson- 13U Head Coach

Cory is from Piedmont, MO, where he graduated from Clearwater High School in 1995.  He went to college at Three Rivers, where he played basketball for two years and baseball for one year.
 
In 1997 he transferred to Southeast Missouri State and played 2 more years of basketball.
 
Cory coached high school basketball for 8 years and high school baseball for 4 years.  He coached at Kelly, Notre Dame, and Jackson High Schools.
 
Cory lives in Gordonville, MO with his wife and 2 children.
 

Matt Asher- 12U Head Coach

Matt is from St. Louis, MO. He graduated from Metro Academic and Classical High School in 1996. He was 2 year Public High League All Conference baseball player. He played baseball for 4 years and basketball for 3.

Matt graduated from Southeast Missouri State University in 2000. He has worked at Bell City Schools for the past 19 years. His career began as a physical education teacher and coach. He currently serves as the Bell City Superintendent.

Matt coached high school baseball at Bell City for 10 years. He was also a member of the basketball coaching staff that won two Class 1 State Championships. He has volunteered to coach youth baseball in Southeast Missouri for 20 years. He was the head coach for 2005 and 2006 Missouri Cal Ripken Junior Babe State Champions and the 2017 Cal Ripken 9U State Champions.

Matt lives in Bell City with his wife Kelli and kids, Maddie (14) and Jake (11). He enjoys all sports and is an avid outdoorsman. 

Craig Ringwald- 9U Head Coach

Craig played baseball at Baylor University his freshman season. Following an injury at Baylor, he transferred to Three Rivers Community College where he played for two seasons. Following his time at Three Rivers, he completed his collegiate career at Murray State University. During his time at Murray State, he was honored as All-Conference Honorable Mention his senior season and was twice named Ohio Valley Conference Pitcher of the Week. Craig helped lead Murray State to the 2003 OVC Tournament Championship and a berth into the NCAA Regional Tournament. Craig is still tied for 4th in games started in a single season for Murray State. 

Craig has had the honor of playing under two head coaches for USA Baseball, Bob Coons and Steve Smith. 

This is Craig's 1st season with the Missouri Bulls Organization. He lives in Cape Girardeau, MO with his wife Beth. They have four children: Addison (13), Sydney (12), Kennedy (10), and Max (8).