The University of Alabama baseball program has added Florida Atlantic pitching coach Jason Jackson to its staff. The hire was officially announced on Tuesday morning in a news relase.
“I am really excited to add Jason to my coaching team,” baseball coach Brad Bohannon said in the release. “As I worked through putting this staff together, I made dozens of phone calls and his name kept coming up. I was looking for a coach who has an outstanding track record of developing pitchers, someone who has proven that they can evaluate and recruit at an extremely high level, and a person of high character and integrity who connects well with young people. Once I got Jason on campus and spent time with him, I knew he was the perfect fit for what Alabama baseball needs at this point in time.”
FAU head coach John McCormack tweeted on Monday that Jackson had accepted a position with UA.
A quick note that doesn't say it all, but I hope you understand my sentiments. Good luck Jason. pic.twitter.com/hHsKaW5qpl
— J. McCormack (@FAUCoachMac) June 13, 2017
Jackson responded with a tweet of his own on Tuesday morning.
Will always be grateful to @FAUCoachMac for believing in me and for the opportunity to be an Owl! #Family #LOC pic.twitter.com/dRXEAMC9Dg
— Jason Jackson (@jjacksonfau) June 13, 2017
Jackson has been on staff with the Owls since the 2009 season. They made the NCAA tournament four times, including in 2015 and 2016. FAU finished first or tied for first in the conference three times and won the Sun Belt tournament in 2013. The Owls advanced to the semifinals of the Conference USA tournament this season and just missed another NCAA tournament appearance.
FAU finished second in Conference USA with a 4.43 ERA in 2017. Opponents hit .262 against the Owls, tied for best in the conference. His staff led the conference and ranked 14th nationally with a 3.24 ERA in 2016. The Owls also led the conference in walks, runs and doubles. They ranked 15th nationally with a 1.21 WHIP. Jackson was promoted to associate head coach at FAU after the 2016 season.
FAU had 14 pitchers chosen in the MLB draft across Jackson’s first eight seasons, including three each after the 2015 and 2016 seasons.
Before coaching at FAU, Jackson spent the 2007 and 2008 seasons at the University of South Alabama. Two of his players with the Jaguars were drafted. He was an assistant coach at Mercer from 2003-06 and was named recruiting coordinator there in his final season. Prior to that, he coached at North Florida Community College.
Jackson, a Tallahassee native, graduated from Florida State University with a degree in physical education and earned his master’s from FSU in sports administration.
Jackson is Alabama’s second and final full-time assistant coach. UA announced the hiring of Jerry Zulli as an assistant coach on Friday.
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