| Joel Holst | |
| Current Title: | Co-Head Coach |
| Current Team: | Janesville HS (IA) |
| Birth Place: | Lowden, IA |
| Alma Mater: | Coe College |
| Player Years1: | 1981–1985 |
| Player Team1: | Coe |
| Coach Years1: | 1985-1988 |
| Coach Team1: | West Delaware HS (IA) |
| Coach Years2: | 1989-1990 |
| Coach Team2: | Northwest Missouri State (Asst) |
| Coach Years3: | 1991–1995 |
| Coach Team3: | Loras |
| Coach Years4: | 1996–2023 |
| Coach Team4: | Wartburg |
| Coach Years5: | 2024–present |
| Coach Team5: | Janesville HS (IA) |
| Overall Record: | (college) (high school) |
| Tournament Record: | NCAA: 21–28 IIAC/ARC: 63–33 |
| Championships: | 16 IIAC/ARC (1997-2008, 2013, 2015-2017) 11 IIAC/ARC Tournament (1998-2003, 2005, 2008-2009, 2013, 2017) 2 NCAA Regional Champion (2000, 2005) |
| Awards: | 11x IIAC/ARC Coach of the Year 2x Central Region Coach of the year (2000, 2005) |
Joel Holst is a current American baseball coach at Janesville High School in Janesville, Iowa, and was the former head baseball coach of the Wartburg Knights.[1] [2] Holst played college baseball and college football at Coe College from 1981 to 1985. He then served as the head coach at West Delaware high school in Manchester, Iowa before making a stop at Northwest Missouri State as an assistant. He got his first head coaching job at the collegiate level at Loras College before arriving at Wartburg College in 1996.
Holst played both baseball and football for Coe College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. He was a three starter on both teams. He remains the career record holder for highest batting average at .403.[3] In 2011, Holst was inducted to the Coe College athletic hall of fame.[4]
Holst began his first collegiate head coaching job at Loras College in Dubuque, Iowa in 1991. He inherited a team with a losing record and finished the 1991 season 5-20. In just 3 years at the helm he would lead them to their first winning record in 12 years following the 1993 season. His best season would come the following year when they would go on to have their first 30 win season in program history.[5] He would leave the Loras Duhawks after 5 seasons with a 100-80 overall record.
Joel Holst made the move to Wartburg in the fall of 1995. It took him just two years to reach the top of the conference. In just his second season, his 1997 Knights baseball team won 30 games and the conference regular season championship and a birth to the 1997 NCAA Regional. From there they would go on an unprecedented run winning 12 straight championships from 1997 to 2008.[6] In his time at Wartburg he has won over 700 games and 16 championships, his most recent coming in 2017.[7] On May 12, 2018, Holst joined the 800 win club following an 8–4 win over his alma mater, Coe College in the IIAC tournament.[8] In 2020, he was inducted into the Iowa baseball coaches hall of fame.[9] Holst resigned from his position at Wartburg prior to the 2023 season.