Cal Fougner enters his first year as Head Coach of the baseball team for the 2024 season.
Before coming to Northland Fougner was the lead assistant coach at Valley City State University. The pitching staff in 2021 broke the university's strikeout record and was 21st in NAIA for opponent batting average. That same season the batter broke the program's single-season home run record. While there he coached many award-winning athletes with 17 North Star Athletic Association All-Conference award winners, six NSAA Player of the Week, one NAIA All-American/NSAA Conference Player of the Year, and 17 NAIA Scholar-Athletes. Two athletes signed professional contracted while under Fougner.
Prior to VCSU, Fougner was the head baseball coach at Denfeld High School in Duluth, Minnesota, for seven years. Through a program overhaul, Fougner's teams found consistent success, culminating with a Minnesota Section 7AAA championship in 2019—advancing to the state tournament for the school's first appearance since 1954. He was named the 2019 Section 7AAA Coach of the Year. Earlier in his career, Fougner was the assistant baseball coach at Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College for the 2011–2012 season and was a student-assistant coach at the University of Wisconsin-Superior for 2009–2010. He also founded two amateur baseball teams, the Moorhead Expos (Moorhead, Minn.) and the Twin Ports North Stars (Duluth, Minn.).
While attending UW-Superior Fougner was a part of the baseball team as a pitcher, catcher, and outfielder.
He graduated from UW-Superior in 2010 with a bachelor's degree in English with a minor in coaching.
Fougner and his wife, Becky, reside in Ashland, Wisconsin, with their two dogs, Jake and Niko.
