Jimmy Jackson - Baseball Coach - James Madison University Athletics

Jimmy Jackson

Title:
Associate Head Coach/Pitching Coach
Phone:
540-568-3630
Physical Address:
Memorial 1150 (395 South High St.) / MSC 6925

Jimmy Jackson completed his seventh season with the Dukes as pitching coach, and his third as associate head coach. He had previously served as assistant coach his first four years with the program (2016-19).

In 2022, the Dukes finished with a record of 27-26 with 12 conference wins to mark the most wins in league play since 2016. Lefty Liam McDonnell earned All-CAA Second Team, winning his first six decisions on the way to a 6-1 record. The pitching staff combined for the fifth lowest walks allowed in program history (173) and the tenth lowest opposing batting average (.267).

During Jackson's first full season as associate head coach, the Dukes went 11-17 during 2021. The pitching staff saw their name on the All-CAA Second Team, as Lliam Grubbs earned his first career All-Conference selection. Grubbs also earned a spot on the Midseason NCBWA Stopper of the Year Watch List and finished third in the CAA in saves. Donovan Burke also lead the league in opposing batting average, holding opponents to a .178 clip with a 4-1 record. Multiple pitchers set new career-highs in innings and strikeouts.

In 2020, the Dukes finished with a 10-6 record. All following contests in the 2020 season were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In the shortened season, the pitching staff was ranked second in the CAA in opposing batting average, holding opponents to a .232 batting average. Justin Showalter started off the year strong, pitching the first one-hitter in program history since 2009 and leading numerous categories in the CAA.

In 2019, the Dukes complied a 31-26 record on the season, marking the first time a JMU Baseball team had won 30 or more games since 2011. The JMU pitching staff was ranked nationally in strikeouts per nine the entire season and posted the lowest batting average against in program history with .232 and shattered the previous program record for strikeouts with 553. The Dukes pitching staff also had one All-CAA First-Team recipient, an ABCA/Rawlings All-East First-Team recipient and four MLB Draft picks. Nick Robertson was drafted in the 7^thround by the Los Angeles Dodgers, Shelton Perkins was drafted in the 16^thround by the Baltimore Orioles, Dan Goggin was drafted in the 17^thround by the New York Mets and Kevin Kelly was drafted in the 19^thround by the Cleveland Indians.

In 2018, the Dukes compiled a 26-26 overall record, marking the best finish since the 2011 campaign. For the second consecutive year, the Dukes landed five players on CAA All-Conference teams. Adam Sisk and Fox Semones led the way, earning spots on the Third Team. Three freshman secured spots on the All-Rookie team in Nick Stewart, Michael Morgan and Josh Jones. The three All-Rookie selections are the most by JMU since 2008.

Jackson led the pitching staff to a 3.91 team era which is a 1.66 drop from the 2017 campaign. As a staff, the Dukes held opponents to a .252 batting average, marking the second-lowest average in program history. Additionally, the team combined to throw 457 strikeouts, improving from 420 in 2017.

In 2017, the Dukes matched their win total from the previous year in four fewer games, finishing at 24-27. JMU garnered national attention, receiving votes in the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association poll, and collecting two Collegiate Baseball National Player of the Week awards (Brett Johnson - Feb 27, Colton Harlow - March 13).

In 2016, his first season with the Dukes, JMU finished 24-31, a six-win improvement over the previous season. The Dukes finished with a 13-11 Colonial Athletic Association record and won their first CAA Tournament game since 2013. JMU's staff ERA fell by 0.75 runs from the 2015 season, while senior reliever Ben Garner signed a free-agent contact with the Los Angeles Angels following the season.

The Dukes' pitching staff had a banner year in 2017, lowering its ERA by 1.01 from the previous season and checking in at 42nd nationally in K/9 innings. The Dukes also notched their lowest ERA since 2006, lowest K/BB ratio since 2009, lowest batting-average-against since 2011 and the highest K/IP since at least 2000. Following the season, senior pitcher Brandon Withers was selected in the 31st round of the 2017 MLB First-Year Player Draft by the Oakland Athletics.

Jackson comes to Harrisonburg from Fordham, where he spent four seasons as the pitching coach and recruiting coordinator, putting together some of the Atlantic 10’s best pitching staffs along the way.

In 2015, his staff combined to break the program record for strikeouts in a season, as the Rams fanned 392 opposing batters to break the 1999 mark of 387 en route to their second straight appearance in the A-10 Championship. Jackson also saw four of the seven pitchers in his first two recruiting classes selected in the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft, with all four having been selected in the top 24 rounds.

The 2014 season marked Fordham’s first appearance in the A-10 Championship in four seasons, as Jackson guided the pitching staff to its best strikeout-to-walk ratio (1.91:1) since joining the conference.

Prior to his four years at Fordham, Jackson spent three years at Siena, the last two as the pitching coach and recruiting coordinator. The pitching staff led the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference in ERA in his first season as pitching coach and finished second in the conference the following year.

Jackson's staff lowered its ERA by two full runs each season and, in 2011, posted the program’s best ERA in over 10 years. Siena's pitchers also broke three individual season records and two season staff records, as well as a pair of freshman season records.

In three years at Siena, the Saints had multiple All-Conference and All-Region players, as well as one Freshman All-American and one All-American.

Prior to Siena, Jackson spent three years as the varsity pitching coach at Archbishop Spalding High School in Severn, Maryland. In that time, Archbishop Spalding had 17 players who advanced to play in college, including 10 pitchers. Additionally, Jackson delivered private lessons to over 20 players that moved onto the collegiate ranks, including eight who played at the Division I level.

Originally from Glen Burnie, Md., and a graduate of Old Mill High School, Jackson played two years ('04 & '05) of independent professional baseball in the Frontier and Atlantic Leagues after a standout collegiate career that ended in 2004 at Division II Shepherd University in West Virginia, where he earned his bachelor’s degree. He was a two-way player as an infielder and pitcher at Shepherd, earning First Team All-Conference, All-Region and Preseason All-American honors as a pitcher. He still holds multiple pitching records at Shepherd.

Jackson and his wife, Brittany, have a son, Grayson, and a daughter, Adaline.