Rockvale High names first baseball, softball coaches

The pieces are starting to fall into place for the soon-to-be-opened Rockvale High.

After hiring its first football coach in January, the school has announced its first head baseball and softball coaches.

Former Dyersburg and Coffee County coach Steve Wilder has been named the school's softball coach,and former La Vergne player and longtime area assistant Shea Diehl has been named head baseball coach.

Diehl, 35, played for current Siegel coach Craig Reavis while at La Vergne, helping the team to the state tournament in 2001. He was an assistant at Blackman for eight years and most recently an assistant at La Vergne.

"It's very exciting," said Diehl, who played two years at Jackson State after graduating from La Vergne. "There's nothing like the opportunity to start a new program. Not only doing that, but becoming a head coach for the first time.

"It's something I've worked for my whole life. I know there will be challenges in starting a new school, but I'm excited. There are a lot of great players in this area."

Diehl is no stranger to District 7-AAA, having played under Reavis and having coached under former Blackman head coach and current Siegel assistant Justin Entrekin.

"I grew up in this area, played here and coached here," said Diehl, who will finish out as an assistant at La Vergne this spring. "I owe a lot to the coaches in this district. We're a fraternity. I look forward to battling these guys."

Diehl was a four-year starter for Reavis.

"Even in high school he was a kid that really understood the game and made good decisions and understood what he was supposed to do," Reavis said. "I'm really happy and proud of him. There were a lot of good candidates out there. He'll get them up and going pretty quick."

Wilder has a state championship under his belt, coaching Dyersburg to a 2014 Class AA softball title. He also led Coffee County to the Class AAA state tournament in 2017 before taking a job in Florida last season.

He came back to Coffee County this year and will be an assistant on the Red Raider baseball team this spring.

"I am over the moon," said Wilder, 55. "This is such a great opportunity. When I went to Florida, I heard they had the best softball. No, they don't. Tennessee, especially Middle Tennessee, has the best around."

Wilder grew up in Cincinnati but ultimately played baseball at Union University, where he started making his Tennessee connections. He started coaching at Perry County, where he met his wife, Jackie, and also Rockvale High football coach Rick Rice.

"That's another perk (of getting the Rockvale job)," Wilder said of his friendship with Rice. 

"The hard part is waiting until August (to get started)."

Reach Cecil Joyce at cjoyce@dnj.com or 615-278-5168 and on Twitter @Cecil_Joyce.

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