SACRAMENTO STATE BASEBALL NAMES CHRISTIANSEN ASSISTANT COACH 7/2/2008 SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Reggie Christiansen, who has spent the past four seasons as the head baseball coach at South Dakota State, has been named an assistant baseball coach at Sacramento State today by head coach John Smith. Christiansen was given the task of building a Division I baseball program during his four seasons with the Jackrabbits, taking over at the beginning of their reclassification period. Christiansen posted a 96-113 record at South Dakota State, turning a 12-win team in Division II a year previous to his hire in 2004 into a team that won the Division I Independent Tournament in 2007, collecting a 34-19 record. He will take over as recruiting coordinator for the Hornets, and will also serve as the team’s hitting instructor. “We are lucky to bring in a coach with such a wealth of experience at the Division I level,” head coach John Smith said. “Coach Christiansen is considered by many of his peers to be one of the nation’s top up-and-coming college coaches. His expertise in collegiate baseball will be very valuable to the program for years to come.” Prior to his arrival at South Dakota State, Christiansen was an assistant at the University of Kansas under Ritch Price for two seasons. During his time with the Jayhawks he served as first base coach and worked as a hitting instructor, while also overseeing the outfielders. He spent the 2002 season as the head coach of his alma mater, Menlo College, in Atherton, Calif, where he had previously spent time as an assistant coach from 1997-99. He spent the 2001 season as the head coach in his hometown at Ferndale High School, and also spent time with three summer teams as an assistant coach, working with the San Mateo Bulldogs, the Humboldt Crabs and the Topeka Capitals. “I am excited to be back in California, and work with coach Smith and his staff,” Christiansen said. “It was a difficult decision to leave players that I was close to at South Dakota State, but an easy decision in terms of being close to my family and having an opportunity to work at a school like Sacramento State.” Christiansen graduated from Menlo in 1998 with a degree in business administration, and received his master’s degree from Kansas in 2004 in health, sport and exercise science. A native of Ferndale, Calif., Christiansen and his wife Amber have two young sons, Ryan (4) and Reese (2). He replaces Don Barbara, who accepted a coaching position at the University of the Pacific.