DURHAM, N.C. — USA Baseball announced the 2016 Collegiate National Team coaching staff on Thursday, including the naming of current University of Oregon Head Coach, George Horton, as Manager. Horton will take charge of the Collegiate National Team for the first time in his career after serving as an assistant coach in 2012.
Joining Horton on staff will be Jason Gill, Mitch Karraker, David Pierce, Dave Serrano, and Dave Snow.
“We are delighted for Coach Horton to lead our 2016 Collegiate National Team, along with a group of successful veteran coaches,” said Paul Seiler, Executive Director/CEO at USA Baseball. “Coach Horton’s record speaks for itself and we know that the athletes will thrive under his, and his staff’s, leadership both athletically and personally.”
George Horton is entering his eighth season as the Head Coach at the University of Oregon where he holds a 261-169-1 overall record, including a school record 48-win season in 2013. Horton has led the Ducks to the NCAA Regionals for the last four consecutive years and five times in seven seasons. He was named the Field Turf NCAA Division I Coach of the Year in 2012 and then was named as an assistant coach to the 2012 USA Baseball Collegiate National Team. Prior to taking over at Oregon, Horton spent 11 seasons at Cal State Fullerton and led the Titans to a National Championship in 2004. He has led his teams to the College World Series six times, was named the National Coach of the Year by Baseball America in 2003, and has seen 120 of his players selected in the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft.
Three-time USA Baseball coaching alum, Dave Snow, will serve as the Bench Coach for the 2016 squad.
Snow was an assistant coach for the Collegiate National Team in the Barcelona 1992 Olympic Games, 1995, and at the Atlanta 1996 Olympic Games. During these tours, the U.S. held a cumulative record of 95-24 and won a bronze medal in the 1996 Olympics. Snow, a former Head Coach at L.A. Valley College, Long Beach State, and Loyola Marymount, retired from coaching after a 29-year career in 2001. He earned Co-National Junior College Coach of the Year accolades in 1982, and was named Baseball America’s Coach of the Year in 1986 and 1989. Snow has since served as a Scouting Consultant with the Colorado Rockies from 2003-2012 and was named Player Development Consultant with the San Diego Padres in February of 2015. Snow also served as an assistant coach on the 1984 National Champion baseball team at Cal State Fullerton.
“We are thrilled to welcome Dave Snow back to the coaching ranks with USA Baseball” said Eric Campbell, USA Baseball National Team General Manager. “To have a coach with his qualifications and experience on staff will provide an unparalleled level of expertise for our staff and our players.”
Dave Serrano will serve as the Pitching Coach on his third USA Baseball coaching staff, following an assistant coaching role in 2010 and serving as the Manager of the 2012 Collegiate National Team where he worked with current Manager, Horton. Serrano led the 2012 team to a bronze medal finish at the Honkbal-Haarlem Baseball Week in Haarlem, Netherlands and led the U.S. back to Cuba for the first time in 16 years to take on its national team in an international friendship series. Currently entering his fifth season at the University of Tennessee, Serrano is one of just 12 coaches to lead two different programs to the College World Series (Cal State Fullerton and UC Irvine). He holds a 390-250-1-career record in his 11 seasons as a Division I head coach and has coached 174 draft picks. Serrano is also responsible for coaching two no-hitters in NCAA Division I baseball history. He was named Baseball America’s National Coach of the Year in 2007 after leading UC Irvine to its first College World Series appearance in program history.
Jason Gill will join the 2016 Collegiate National Team staff after previously working with Horton and Serrano on the 2012 U.S. squad. Currently the head coach at Loyola Marymount University, Gill is preparing for his eighth year at the helm where the Lions have reached the West Coast Conference Championship game in back-to-back years. In addition to previously working with Horton on the 2012 Collegiate National Team, Gill also worked as his assistant coach at the University of Oregon and Cal State Fullerton.
Tulane University’s David Pierce will also serve as an assistant coach for the 2016 squad. Currently entering his second season, Pierce led the Green Wave baseball program back to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2008. Prior to taking charge of the Tulane program, Pierce guided Sam Houston State to an overall record of 121-63 in three seasons, including three consecutive appearances in the NCAA Regionals from 2012-2014. He was also an assistant coach at Rice University for nine years, including the 2003 National Championship team. This will be Pierce’s first coaching stint with USA Baseball.
Rounding out the 2016 Collegiate National Team coaching staff is Bullpen Coach Mitch Karraker. Currently working with the pitchers as a volunteer assistant coach under Horton at the University of Oregon, Karraker has been a part of its baseball program since 2009. He was a catcher for the Ducks from 2009-2011 and coached the Klamath Falls Gems in the West Coast Summer League for two seasons.
Certified Athletic Trainer Danny Wheat will also join the Collegiate National Team staff in 2016. He has served as an athletic trainer with USA Baseball five times, including the 2003 and 2009 World Cup teams. Wheat is a former trainer for the Texas Rangers and is currently entering his twelfth season working with the baseball program at Texas Christian University.
The 2016 USA Baseball Collegiate National Team will train in Fullerton, Calif. and compete against teams in the California Collegiate League from June 28 – July 2. They will follow with trips to Chinese Taipei, Japan, and Cuba for International Friendship Series from July 5 – 26.
