LEBANON, Ill. – Newly hired McKendree University Sports Information Director Ben Greenberg has announced the addition of a full-time Assistant Sports Information Director and three Graduate Assistants to the Sports Information Department staff for the 2021-22 school year.

Greenberg, who began his duties as McKendree's SID on June 28, has hired Patrick Knapinski as the school's full-time assistant director and has brought in Breelyn Craig, Sean Ditch and Kyle Goessler as graduate assistants in the Bearcats SID office.

"I'm very excited about the four new additions to the Sports Information Office at McKendree University," Greenberg said. "All four of them are top-notch and are ready to hit the ground running in helping to promote the successes and accomplishments of all our athletic teams and student-athletes. All four bring experience, a strong work ethic, and a passion for doing the job well and that will be reflected in the work they produce to promote McKendree Athletics."

Knapinski joins McKendree after spending the 2020-21 school year as a graduate assistant at fellow Great Lakes Valley Conference member, the University of Southern Indiana. In addition to working in the SID office at USI, Knapinski spent time working in the SID office as an undergraduate student assistant at Xavier University from 2017-20.

While at USI, Knapinski, who earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Sports Management with minors in Public Relations and Business from Xavier in 2020, was the primary contact for the volleyball and men's and women's golf programs, along with serving as a secondary contact for baseball and men's basketball. In addition, assisted with videography and photography projects for numerous sports, including basketball, soccer and volleyball. In his time at Xavier, he performed SID tasks for the men's and women's golf teams and helped create graphics, media guides, game notes and media releases.

"Patrick is very focused, task-oriented and dedicated to the SID profession and brings some experience working in the GLVC to this position at McKendree," Greenberg said. "I'm excited to work with Patrick and can't wait for him to get started."

Knapinski, a native of Neenah, Wis., has also held multiple internships with professional baseball organizations in grounds and operations prior to graduating college. During the summer of 2019, he worked for the Jupiter Hammerheads (Advanced-A, Miami Marlins) and Palm Beach Cardinals (Advanced-A, St. Louis Cardinals) at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium as a turf and grounds intern, helping maintain all 13 playing fields. In the summer of 2018, Knapinski interned with the Milwaukee Brewers grounds crew, helping maintain both the playing surface and the surrounding appearance of Miller Park.

Craig and Goessler both come to McKendree after working with Greenberg in his previous position as the Sports Information Director at Webster University in Webster Groves, Mo. Craig, who is a native of Victorville, Calif., was a student assistant for the Gorloks as she was responsible for the taking of most of the athletic department's photos at Webster the past three years, while Goessler, who is a native of Imperial, Mo., and graduated from Seckman High School, was a student intern in the Webster SID office during the 2019-20 school year. After graduating from Webster in 2020, he served as both a public address announcer and assisted with in-game statistics as a contractual worker at Webster.

Both Craig and Goessler were student-athletes at Webster as Craig was a three-year letterwinner in softball from 2018-21 and was named the MVP of the 2021 St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Tournament, while Goessler lettered for four years in track and field at Webster and holds the school's record in both the indoor and outdoor long jump.

Craig earned her bachelor's degree in Photography with a minor in both Advertising and Marketing Communications from Webster in 2021, while Goessler received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Sports Communications with a minor in History from Webster in 2020.

"Breelyn and Kyle have worked with me the past three years at Webster and both of them will make strong additions to the SID office," added Greenberg. "Both are passionate, dedicated and hard workers and know what I expect. I'm excited to get the chance to continue working with them with the Bearcats."

Ditch moves up to a graduate assistant role in the McKendree SID office this year after spending the past several years handling play-by-play duties on the GLVC Network for McKendree's three ice hockey teams. Ditch earned his bachelor's degree from Lindenwood University in 2019 and has worked in broadcasting hockey for several years around the St. Louis area.

"Sean has some familiarity working with McKendree Athletics as a play-by-play announcer, but I am excited that he has decided to become a graduate assistant and help us promote McKendree's athletic teams and student-athletes," Greenberg stated. "He has a passion for sports and is a driven and hard-working person that will fit in well in the SID office."