Coug baseball hires new Assistant Coach/Recruiting Coordinator
Jake Valentine last coached seven seasons at the University of Portland
Members of the WSU baseball team rush the field after sophomore catcher Cory Meyer drew a bases-loaded walk to defeat the Huskies 5-4 in Friday’s series-opening game at Bailey-Brayton Field.
June 27, 2022
WSU baseball hired Jake Valentine to be the new assistant coach/recruiting coordinator.
Valentine coached the previous seven seasons with University of Portland Pilots. He worked as an assistant coach from 2016-17 and was the recruiting coordinator as well as a hitting coach from 2018-22 for the Pilots. Before the start of the 2022 season, Valentine was promoted to associate head coach.
As a recruiting coordinator Valentine produced three straight nationally ranked recruiting classes for the Pilots. In his seven seasons with Portland, four players were drafted into the MLB.
The first season Valentine was a hitting coach in 2018, the Pilots set single-season records for home runs. In 2019 the Pilots’ offense was in the top 10 in program history with doubles and RBIs.
Before working for the Pilots, Valentine was an assistant coach and first-base coach for the Santa Clara Broncos.
From 2010-12 Valentine coached for the Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks as an infield coordinator, assistant coach and was a third-base coach. The Lumberjacks won a school-record 37 games during the 2011 season.
Valentine was also an assistant coach at UC Riverside from 2012-14. He worked with both outfielders and hitters during his two seasons with the Highlanders.
Valentine, originally from Vancouver, Wash., began his baseball career playing at Tacoma Community College and then spent two years at Hawai’i Pacific University where he earned a communications degree. During 2008 Valentine had 52 walks and scored 58 runs to help Hawai’i Pacific win at least 30 games in both of his seasons with the Warriors.
Valentine’s proven success to develop pro-ready talent should make him an excellent fit for head coach on Brian Green’s staff and the WSU baseball program.
