John Gaub enters his fourth year as a Golden Bear assistant coach in the 2019 season. His primary role is assisting Marcus McKenzie with the pitching staff. As a 2003 graduate of South St. Paul High School, he was a three-time All-Conference pitcher/outfielder along with being a three-year letter winner in football and hockey as a three-sport prep athlete. As a senior he was drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the 25th round but elected instead to attend the University of Minnesota on a baseball scholarship.
Gaub pitched for the Gophers from 2004-06 where he was a teammate of Concordia's associate head coach Marcus McKenzie. As a relief pitcher, Gaub twice led the team in ERA, appearances, and saves. In 2005, Gaub was twice named Big Ten Pitcher of the Week and was elected to the All-Big Ten Team. In 2006 he was drafted by and signed with the Cleveland Indians.
All together he played seven professional seasons with the Cleveland Indians, Chicago Cubs, Tampa Bay Rays, Texas Rangers, and St. Louis Cardinals. In 2008 he led Minor League Baseball in strikeout rate by sitting down 100 batters in 64 innings. In 2009 he was named to the Southern League (AA) All-Star Team and in 2011 he was selected to play in the AAA All-Star Game. He made his Major League Debut in 2011 with the Chicago Cubs at Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati against the Reds.
After Gaub’s career came to a close he returned to the University of Minnesota and graduated with a degree in business/marketing. He is currently enrolled in the sport management graduate program at Concordia.
From 2012-16, Gaub coached high school club baseball for the Minnesota Millers and Minnesota Mash. He has coached over 100 players that have gone on to play collegiate baseball including Concordia freshmen Carter Schmidt, Roch Whittaker and Isaac Hormann.
John is married to his wife Sarah and they have a daughter named Sydney.
