Sport(s) Baseball 1967–1970 Redlands Bulldogs Role Coach | Name Bill Kernen Title Head coach | |
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Csub says goodbye to ncaa tournament and to coach bill kernen
Bill Kernen (born August 1, 1948 in Boise, Idaho) is the retired former head coach of the California State University, Bakersfield baseball team. Prior to that position he was the head coach of the California State University, Northridge baseball team from 1989–1995, and the pitching coach for the California State University, Fullerton baseball team from 1978–1982 and 1986-87. Following this he was the pitching coach at University of Illinois from 1987-88. He was the pitching coach at North Carolina State from 2001-1003. Before founding and building the program at CS Bakersfield, he was again an assistant at CS Fullerton in 2006-2007. In addition to his baseball coaching achievements, Kernen is also an accomplished playwright, having been produced on the New York stage seven times. He is the producer, writer and director of a short film made in 2006. Kernen was a professional baseball player in the Baltimore Oriole organization from 1970-72.
Contents
- Csub says goodbye to ncaa tournament and to coach bill kernen
- Head baseball coach bill kernen retiring
- Playing career
- San Gorgonio High School
- Orange Coast College
- Cal State Fullerton
- Cal State Northridge
- Cal State Bakersfield
- Head coaching records
- Playwright
- References
Kernen is 437-352 as a collegiate head coach.
Head baseball coach bill kernen retiring
Playing career
Kernen started his college baseball playing career in 1966 at University of Redlands. A four-year letterman for the Bulldogs, Kernen had a successful playing career as a pitcher. In 1970, his senior season, he won 11 games with a 1.26 ERA in 106 innings, earning him first-team All-SCIAC, Player of the Year, and Student-Athlete of the Year honors.
Kernen completed his undergraduate degree requirement in Psychology at University of Redlands in 1970, graduating cum laude. He played two seasons of minor league baseball with the Baltimore Orioles organization, before beginning his coaching career in 1974.
San Gorgonio High School
Kernen began his head coaching career for his alma mater, San Gorgonio High School, spending two years with the program from 1974 to 1976.
Orange Coast College
He moved on to coach at Orange Coast College in 1976, serving as pitching coach for Mike Mayne for one season.
Cal State Fullerton
Moving to Cal State Fullerton in 1977 to coach pitchers under renowned head coach Augie Garrido, Kernen helped to turn the Titans into a perennial postseason contender winning the Big West Conference 5 straight seasons, including trips to the College World Series in 1979 and 1982, with the Titans winning the national championship in the 1979 season. Kernen left the Titans after the 1982 season, only to return to the team for the 1987 season. During these 6 years at Fullerton, he coached 14 pitchers who were selected by Major League Baseball in the amateur draft, four of whom reached the big leagues in Gary Buckles, Larry Casian, Jeff Robinson, and No. 1 draft pick Mike Harkey.
Cal State Northridge
Kernen's first major college head coaching position was at Cal State Northridge, where he led the Matadors in their transition from Division II to Division I. The Matadors, who had been successful at the Division II level, having won national titles in 1970 and 1984, transitioned between the two divisions over a four-year period under Kernen's auspices. 1990 was the last year of Division II play for the Matadors, and in this final year Kernen guided the team to the NCAA Division II national title game. This effort earned Kernen the Division II West Region Coach of the Year honors. In 1991, the first year of Division I play for the Matadors, Kernen led CSUN to a 44–18–1 record, the West Regional championship game and a #10 ranking in the final NCAA Division I poll--only the second time in NCAA baseball history a first year team finished in the Top 10, the other being Augie Garrido's Cal State Fullerton team in 1975. In seven seasons with the Matadors, Kernen's record was 240–154–3.
Cal State Bakersfield
Kernen was selected to coach the Cal State Bakersfield Roadrunners in August, 2008. As the founding coach of the Roadrunners program, he was responsible for the selection of the initial recruits, as well as the hiring of assistant coaches. He put together a 25-man team roster for the Roadrunners--small by college baseball standards--the maximum roster in college baseball is 35. They built the team from scratch to become a national power in college baseball, achieving their first Top 30 ranking on March 7, 2011, just 30 months after the programs inception. In their first season of 2009, Bakersfield defeated defending National Champion Fresno State three times to become the first program in NCAA history (in any sport) to defeat a defending national champion in their first year of competition. After being an independent the first four years, Bakersfield entered the WAC Conference and won the regular season championship the first year in 2013. From there they went on to win the WAC Championship in 2015 and a berth in the NCAA Regional at UCLA. Kernen was awarded WAC Coach of the Year in 2013 and 2015. The program produced 16 players to be drafted by MLB in those seven years, none of which were drafted before entering the CSUB program.
Head coaching records
Below is a table of Kernen's yearly records as an NCAA head baseball coach.
Playwright
After coaching at Cal State Northridge, Kernen left college baseball to pursue a career in theatre and film. He was accepted into the dramatic writing program at Columbia University in New York City. As a playwright, Kernen produced multiple plays. In 1997, Kernen wrote and produced And Other Fairy Tales and A Graveyard Symphony; in the next years, Kernen followed these with the more ambitious Galleria degli Angeli (2001) and Musica de Mariposa (1999). And Other Fairy Tales was honored as a finalist in the Oglebay Institute National Playwriting Competition. Kernen produced, wrote and directed a short film in 2006--In the House of Athazagora. Following his retirement in 2015, Kernen returned to New York City to resume his theatre/film career. He is currently on pre-production for a feature film based on his play Galleria degli Angeli.