Franklin & Marshall College

Keith Keener joined the Franklin & Marshall softball coaching staff as the team’s hitting instructor prior to the start of the 2020 season. Now in his third season at F&M, "Coach K" also works with the Diplomat infielders and works directly with head coach Brad Brubaker on recruiting efforts. In the brief time of two COVID-shortened seasons, Keener has changed the trajectory of Diplomat hitters, leading F&M to team batting averages of .336 in 2021 and .367 in 2020. Prior to his arrival, F&M had only one season with a team batting average over .300 since 2014 (.312 in 2018).

Keener coached at the Gold Travel Level for 11 years, amassing over 300 wins and coaching teams to third and fifth-place finishes at the PONY Nationals.

Keener previously served as an assistant coach/hitting instructor at Lancaster Bible College, coaching the Chargers with current F&M Head Coach Brad Brubaker. After working with LBC hitters during the fall 2015 non-traditional season, the Chargers improved their team batting average from .287 in 2015 to .328 in 2016, good for second-best among the North Eastern Athletic Conference’s 12 programs that season.

From 2008-15, Keener was an assistant coach at Elizabethtown High School, during which the Bears won the Lancaster-Lebanon League and PIAA District III AAAA Championships in 2010.

As a private instructor, Keener has sent 11 student-athletes to play at the NCAA Division I level and an additional 10 players to compete at the Division II level.

Keener is a former NCAA Collegiate softball umpire, and has more than 20 years experience as an umpire working ASA, USSSA, and PONY tournaments.

Coach Keener resides in Elizabethtown with his wife, Lori. The couple has two adult daughters.