Two-Way Baseball Star Minard Gets AU Hall Of Fame Call

One of the top two-way players in Ashland College/University baseball history will take his place among the greats in Eagle athletics history in October.
 
Ben Minard will be part of the 50^th Ashland athletics Hall of Fame class, which officially will be inducted during the 2026 Ashland University Hall of Fame Induction and Student-Athlete of the Year recognition, Oct. 3 at 9 a.m. at the John C. Myers Convocation Center – prior to the Eagle football team's 102^nd Homecoming game at 1 p.m. vs. Tiffin at Jack Miller Stadium/Martinelli Field.
 
"Very excited," Minard said. "Playing ball at Ashland University was kind of the pinnacle of my career. To be able to make it into the Hall of Fame is kind of the capstone, if you will, to a career that ended 16 years ago.
 
"It's still a lot of fond memories."
 
Minard's impact on Ashland baseball – both on the mound and at the plate – can't be overstated. The member of the AU Class of 2010 is tied for second in career home runs (32), third in batting average (.392), and fifth in RBIs (183), and earned the second-most wins (35) and took the ball for the second-most innings pitched (344 2/3), of any Eagle.
 
He helped Ashland to the NCAA playoffs in all four of his seasons on campus, including a College World Series spot in 2008.
 
A 2008 Daktronics and National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) second-team and third-team ABCA All-American, Minard also was a two-time Daktronics honorable mention All-American (one as a pitcher, one as a designated hitter), the 2008 ABCA and Daktronics region Player of the Year, three-time ABCA and Daktronics first-team all-region, 2010 all-region second-team twice (ABCA as a first baseman, Daktronics as a pitcher), 2008 ABCA all-region Gold Glove team, 2008 GLIAC Player of the Year, three-time first-team All-GLIAC and 2009 All-GLIAC second team.
 
Coming from the Columbus area, Minard had a choice to make – go to NCAA Division I Ohio State and play one way, or come to Ashland and hit and pitch.
 
"I was going to go down and play for Bob Todd at Ohio State," Minard recalled. "I was supposed to have my signing day the day I got back from Norman, Oklahoma (after playing for Team Ohio), and I remember clear as day, when my plane landed in Columbus, my mom had called me, and I had about 15 missed phone calls on my cell phone.
 
"She said…'John Schaly just called you from Ashland University…and they want to offer you a full ride.' I wanted to go to Ohio State. But at the same time, there wasn't much scholarship money on the table there. When John came with a full ride and I got to play both positions, it was kind of a no-brainer."
 
Minard said he would have played first base only as a Buckeye. As an Eagle, he played – and thrived – as a two-way player.
 
"I loved both equally," he said. "Did it take more time and effort and energy to try to be good at both of them? Absolutely. No doubt about it.
 
"It definitely was time-consuming. It was a huge commitment to do it. But, at the same time, I don't regret it a lick."
 
Minard and the Eagles found a lot of on-field success, competing in the NCAA playoffs each year he was on campus.
 
"That was an absolute blast," said Minard. "That College World Series experience in 2008 is still on the of the fondest memories of my youth. It was unbelievable."
 
What was it like for Minard to play for AU head coach John Schaly, the winningest head baseball coach in NCAA Division II history?
 
"I get asked that a lot," Minard said, "John was a professional. He was a great guy, but as a player under John, he demanded certain respects and certain things, which is why he is so decorated and successful himself.
 
"As a player, truth be told, I wasn't the biggest fan of John Schaly. And I would tell him that. I love John. But as a player, he was hard. He was hard to play for. That being said, once you got used to playing for John Schaly and his style, you earned a certain amount of respect for it. He demanded excellence, he demanded borderline perfection."
 
Currently, Minard is the president and managing partner of a wealth management firm, MaPP Investment Service, LLC. He and his wife, Brittany, a former Eagle cheerleader, have three children – Declan, Brielle and Beckett. The family resides in Sugarcreek, Ohio, with Sarasota, Fla., being a second residence.
 
As for his sales pitch for Ashland University to anyone interested, Minard said, "I loved Ashland. My wife and I talk about this still to this day, how good of an experience that we had at Ashland, because of the small quaintness to it, but also the conservative aspect to it.
 
"You end up making relationships with students. You don't have classrooms that are 500 kids in a classroom, which is very important. It's a perfect type of university that will still let you experiment with independence, but at the same time, do it in a controlled manner that's very healthy."