FROM CBD NEWS SOURCE
Nashville, Tenn. – Vanderbilt Head Coach Tim Corbin has hired Travis Jewett as the Commodores’ new hitting coach and recruiting coordinator.
Jewett joins the Commodores after a successful stint at Arizona State where he served as the Sun Devils’ associate head coach and recruiting coordinator for the past three seasons. Prior to joining the Devils, Jewett spent five seasons (2005-09) with fellow Pac-12 member Washington State as the Cougars associate head coach and recruiting coordinator. While with the Cougars, he helped lead the team to the NCAA Tournament in 2009 for the first time since 1990. He coached infielders and manned the third base coaching box for the Washington Huskies for three seasons (2002-04) prior to his time with the Cougars. The Huskies made the NCAA Tournament all three seasons he was in Seattle. From 1999-2001 Jewett coached at Gonzaga helping the Bulldogs to the West Coast Conference title in 2001.
During his career, Jewett has coached numerous players that have played professionally and in major league baseball. Players that count Jewett as a coach include: Jason Bay, Bo Hart, Brent Lillibridge, 2008 and 2009 Cy Young Award winner Tim Lincecum and 2012 first round pick Devin Marrero.
“We welcome Travis, Tracy, Tanner and Tommy Mac to Nashville and Vanderbilt University,” Coach Corbin said. “I have known Travis indirectly and directly for the last 15 years. While at Clemson, we recruited the northwest and were visible with his program at Edmonds Community College in Washington. He coached with a person who I have a tremendous amount of respect for in Mark Machtolf at Gonzaga. Both Mark and Tim Esmay (Arizona State) are very fond of Travis as a person, his abilities as a mentor and recruiter. The greatest value of a coach besides his teaching ability, energy and passion for the student-athletes, is his respect for the resources that a program like ours possesses. Prior to coaching at Gonzaga and three Pac-10 universities, Travis coached and recruited at programs with limited resources and was very successful. Mundane skills such as administrating your own study halls, doing your team’s laundry, chasing down every foul ball, jumping on a lawn mower, handling a rake and painting white lines while maintaining harmony with your wife and children are qualities in a coach that are hard to find. This is something that I admire and I want our players around a person like this.”
Jewett also brings head coaching experience to Vanderbilt after serving as the head coach at Edmonds (Wash.) Community College for two seasons. He was named the National Junior College Coach of the Year in 1998. He began his coaching career in 1994 as an assistant at Tacoma Community College in his hometown of Tacoma, Wash.
Jewett played baseball at Lower Columbia College in Longview, Wash. before moving on to Washington State, where he did not play baseball. He graduated from WSU in 1993.
Jewett replaces former VU assistant coach Josh Holliday, who left earlier this year to return to his alma mater as the head coach at Oklahoma State
