Olimpija Karlovac have appointed Don Freeman as head coach for the upcoming 2022 season, the defending Croatian champions have announced.
Freeman, who was inducted into the American Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2018, has coached for over 45 years at the youth, club and national team level. Among other accolades, he led the USA U16 national team to gold at the 2007 World Championships. He has also worked as an MLB envoy in Germany, and, in addition, has coached in various capacities with the Mainz Athletics, Munich-Haar Disciples and Berlin Flamingos of the German Bundesliga.
Karlovac won the 2021 Croatian title in dramatic fashion, rallying from a 3-0 series deficit to win four games in a row and lift the championship trophy at home.
Freeman’s National Team Coaching Experience
2000 USA U16 Assistant Coach, Pan-American Games (gold medal)
2002 USA U16 Assistant Coach, Pan-American Games (silver)
2003 USA U16 Head Coach, World Championships (gold)
2007 USA U16 Assistant Coach, World Championships (gold)
2014 Germany Men’s National Team Pitching Coach, European Championships (5th place)
2016 Germany Men’s National Team Assistant Coach, European Championships (4th)