Jake McKinleyTitle: Assistant Coach - #9 Experience: Third Season Alma Mater: Bethany, 2005 Email:sacstatebaseball@gmail.com Bio: Jake McKinley is in his third season with the Sacramento State baseball program. This year McKinley will work with the pitching staff. Before becoming an assistant coach with the Hornets, McKinley served as the director of baseball operations for the 2011 season.
McKinley began his coaching career at his alma mater, Bethany College (Santa Cruz, Calif.), before moving to Campbellsville (Ky.) University and West Valley College (Saratoga, Calif.).
At Bethany, McKinley served as the pitching coach and recruiting coordinator, where he developed All-American pitcher Mark Koski, who led the nation in wins in 2007. At Campbellsville, McKinley worked with pitchers, hitters and outfielders as he helped the Tigers to the 2009 NAIA World Series for the first time in school history. The Tigers also claimed the Mid-South Conference championship for the second straight season that year as nine players earned all-conference honors and two claimed All-America recognition. As recruiting coordinator at Campbellsville, McKinley used his West Coast contacts to stock the Kentucky school's 24-man roster with 18 players from either California, Oregon or Arizona. McKinley served as the pitching coach at West Valley College in 2010, when his staff led the state in shutouts and the team posted a 24-15 record.
As a player, McKinley enjoyed a standout career at Bethany and Cabrillo Junior College. While at Cabrillo, McKinley finished his lone year with all-Coast Conference honors and was named pitcher of the year after leading his team in wins, ERA, appearances and strikeouts. McKinley continued the trend at Bethany as he was twice named pitcher of the year and once named most valuable player. A two-way player, McKinley is third all-time in career home runs, and still holds most of the Bethany pitching records for a career and single season, including most strikeouts in a career, averaging almost nine strikeouts per nine innings. He earned his master's degree in 2009 while coaching at Campbellsville.
After an All-American collegiate career, McKinley signed a pro contract as a free agent and spent two seasons with the Golden Baseball League’s Chico Outlaws. As a rookie, McKinley set and still holds the league record for fewest hits per nine innings (5.4). He served as a starter, middle reliever and a closer in his two seasons. In his final year of pro ball, McKinley was a starting pitcher on an Outlaws team that went on to win the league championship. In the squad’s title run, McKinley did not allow a run in the playoffs. He was offered a contract extension following the 2007 season but he declined to pursue a coaching career.
Jake McKinley
