PALMER — Each summer college players from across the country use their time in the Alaska Baseball League to help achieve all of their baseball goals.

The same goes for the coaches too.

And that’s part of the reason Russell Raley is thrilled about his chance to coach in the ABL. The Mat-Su Miners have announced that Raley, an assistant at Division I Oklahoma University, is the new head coach of the Mat-Su Valley summer collegiate developmental baseball team.

“I’m very excited,” Raley said by phone on Monday. “It’s my first opportunity to be a head coach at any level, much less a league like the Alaska League.”

Mat-Su general manager Pete Christopher said he has no qualm about hiring Raley, a 24-year-old rookie head coach, to be his field manager.

Instead, the longtime Mat-Su baseball boss sees a coach who is eager to teach, hungry to win and someone whose philosophies mesh with Miners management.

“Basically, he feels the same way I do,” Christopher said.

Raley also brings ABL experience to the Miners. The former Oklahoma standout played for the Anchorage Glacier Pilots in 2003.

“It’s nice to have somebody familiar with the road trips and the ball parks, and things like that, Christopher said.

Raley said he enjoyed his time in Alaska and is excited to return in a different capacity.

“Overall it was a good experience,” Raley said.

Following a stellar career at OU, in which he was a career .315 hitter for the Big 12 program, Raley played for two years in the New York Yankees organization. Selected by the Yankees in 21st round of the 2006 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft, the second baseman spent most of his time at the Single A level.

Raley hit .338 for the Staten Island Yankees in a Single A short season league in 2006.

After his time in the minors, Raley returned to his alma mater as a volunteer assistant.

“I’ve always wanted to coach, and the opportunity came up,” Raley said.

Raley said, even as a player, he thought about a potential career as a coach.

“I love to coach,” Raley said. “I really wanted to coach at the college level.”

Raley and Christopher met through a connection at OU. Last season, Oklahoma sent three pitchers to the Miners — Michael Rocha, Jeremy Erben and Garrett Richards.

While he was recruiting talent for the 2009 roster, Christopher contacted OU about potential players. The Miners general manager didn’t sign a Sooner player, but he did find his head coach.

“Everything happened pretty fast after that,” Raley said.

Raley said his coaching staff for the 2009 ABL season is also complete. Kansas State volunteer assistant Craig Ringe will be an assistant coach and Western Oklahoma Junior College assistant Matt Kruse will serve as the team’s pitching coach.

Raley replaces former Mat-Su head coach Conor Bird. Ryan Heil and Jordan Wyckoff, assistants in 2008, will also not return for another season in the Valley.

The 2009 roster is also about finalized, Raley said. Among the players on the roster are four members of a 2008 squad that finished second in the ABL.

Infielder Blake Newalu (San Diego), pitcher Jeremy Atkins (Lafayette), pitcher Mike Carlson (Scottsdale Community College) and pitcher Will Musson (Eastern Connecticut) are returning for another summer.

Contact Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com.