FROM CBD NEWS SOURCE
SAN ANTONIO — UTSA Athletics Director Lynn Hickey announced Monday that Jason Marshall has been named head baseball coach. Marshall, who becomes the fourth head coach in the program’s history, was named the interim head coach on May 25.
“We are thrilled to promote Jason to lead our baseball program,” Hickey said. “He has shown his commitment to the program over the last 12 years and has established himself as one of the top coaches in the country. He is a great communicator and teacher of the game and I am excited for what he will bring to the future of UTSA baseball.”
“First and foremost, I want to thank Sherman Corbett for his leadership of the program for the past 12 years,” Marshall said. “It has been an honor to share the dugout with one of the great character men in college baseball. Also, I want to thank Athletics Director Lynn Hickey and Senior Associate Athletics Director Ross Cobb for giving me this opportunity at such a pivotal juncture in the program’s history.
“It has been an honor to influence the lives of so many young men over the last several years and it is humbling to be asked to lead the Roadrunners baseball team. I can’t thank enough of the people who have invested in my life at some point along the way. This is a huge honor for me and I carry them with me daily in this job. I am looking forward to leading this program back to championship caliber.”
Marshall has spent 12 years on the Roadrunners’ coaching staff, including the last nine as the associate head coach, under Corbett.
The Abilene native was hired at UTSA prior to the 2001 season and spent three campaigns as an assistant before being promoted to associate head coach. He has served as both the infielders coach and recruiting coordinator while running the Roadrunners’ camps.
His efforts on the recruiting trails have resulted in a pair of All-Americans, five Freshman All-Americans, 55 Southland Conference performers (including 11 first teamers), the 2007 and ’08 Southland regular season championships and 2005 Southland Tournament title.
Meanwhile, 26 UTSA players have gone on to play professionally, including 16 who have been selected in the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft. In 2002, Mark Schramek became the first player in school history to be selected in the first round when he was the 40th overall selection by the Cincinnati Reds and Matt Crocker became the third-highest pick in program history in June 2010 when he was taken by the Colorado Rockies in the 12th round.
The Roadrunners have posted the top five fielding seasons under Marshall’s guidance, including a .965 fielding percentage in 2012, which is the second-best mark in school history. Seven years ago, UTSA led the Southland with a program-record .969 fielding percentage.
The Birds have set several individual team records during Marshall’s time in the Alamo City.
UTSA posted 15 offensive season marks in the program’s annals, including hits (661/2009), home runs (89/2009), runs batted in (419/2008) and doubles (134/2008). The Birds also have set five fielding records, including assists (688/2011) and double plays (61/2011).
Meanwhile, individuals have set offensive records in 14 season and 14 career categories over the last dozen seasons, including former Roadrunner Michael Rockett, who owns Southland career records with 940 at-bats, 337 hits, 210 RBIs and 537 total bases.
A standout performer at Texas A&M from 1989-92, he was named the Aggies’ Most Valuable Player after leading the team in games played (61), hits (66), runs scored (35) and RBIs (40) as a senior.
Following his collegiate career, he was drafted by the Kansas City Royals in the 13th round of the 1992 MLB Draft. Marshall went on to play four seasons in the Royals organization before finishing his professional career in 1995.
He then entered the coaching ranks as a student assistant at his alma mater in 1996 and was a member of Texas A&M’s staff for two seasons. In summer 1997, Marshall coached with the Cotuit Kettleers in the prestigious Cape Cod League.
The following fall, he was hired as the assistant in charge of defense and recruiting at McMurry University. Marshall helped lead the Indians to postseason play in two of his three seasons and, in 1998, McMurry won the American Southwest Conference regular season and tournament championships.
He currently serves on the American Baseball Coaches Association’s Lefty Gomez Award committee and, in 2001, he was invited to speak at the group’s annual convention on the subject of infield play. He was a keynote speaker again in 2009, this time on coaching ethics. He also was presented with the Goodwill Ambassador Award for community service in 1993 and ’94 while playing for the Wilmington Blue Rocks, the Class A affiliate of the Kansas City Royals.
Marshall, who earned a bachelor of science degree in kinesiology from Texas A&M in 1996, and his wife, Ashleigh, have two sons, Cooper and Jackson, and a daughter, Kate.
