Witzke takes over NIACC baseball program

Former Humboldt baseball standout Chris Witzke is excited about taking over as head baseball coach at North Iowa Area Community College in Mason City.

Witzke was hired back in late-June after leading the Iowa Lakes Community College program for the past three seasons. Last spring Witzke was named Coach of the Year by the Iowa Conference.

“What drew me to NIACC was multiple things. Right away NIACC has a rich baseball history. The school has had three college world series appearances in the past 20 years. They’ve had 16 players drafted in the past 20 years and they have had over 60 players go on to play at the Division I-A level,” Witzke said.

“It’s a great area. It’s a school that wants to invest in their athletics and take care of their student athletes,” Witzke said.

“I’m thankful for my time at Iowa Lakes. I was able to get my foot into the door to coach. At Iowa Lakes you have to do things right to have success there. There’s not a lot of margin for error and so wins come a lot harder there because you only have so many resources,” Witzke said.

2026 has been a life-changing experience for Witzke. It was barely six months ago when the Iowa Lakes team bus in which Witzke was riding, went off the road in Calhoun county on their way south for a winter tour of games. One of the Lakers players was killed in the tragic crash. Witzke talked about that experience and how it has shaped him going forward.

See full story in the Humboldt Independent. Subscribe today for print/digital access by selecting the link on this page to get started.