MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WREG) — A new era may be is underway at the U of M.
It’s being reported that Kerrick Jackson will take over for Daron Schoenrock as the Tigers next baseball coach.
The hire will make history. Jackson will be the first black head coach in Memphis baseball history and is the only black head coach in the American Athletic Conference. He’s also one of just three black college baseball coaches in the country among non-HBCU institutions.
The former Southern University head coach spent that last two years as the inaugural President of the MLB Draft League of the Major League Baseball. Jackson played college baseball at St. Louis Community College, Bethune–Cookman and Nebraska from 1994–1997.
“I am truly honored to be given this opportunity to lead the Memphis Tiger baseball program,” Jackson said. “I have always believed that this is a special program with unlimited potential. When you factor in the City of Memphis and its passion, the region and its talent, the baseball program and its history, and the University and its credibility, you have all you need to build a nationally respected program. My family and I are looking forward to being involved in the community and are grateful that Laird has entrusted me with the future of this program.”
“We had an incredible amount of interest in our head coaching job, and Kerrick immediately rose to the top of a group of very qualified leaders,” Memphis Vice President and Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Laird Veatch said. “We are poised to enter an exciting new era of Memphis Baseball that includes this offseason’s $3.5 million renovation to FedExPark Avron Fogelman Field. As numerous colleagues of his we spoke with during this process echoed, we feel Kerrick is the perfect person to lead our program into the future. He is extremely well respected in the baseball industry, and he is the best person to make us nationally relevant in the game.”
“We are extremely excited to bring Kerrick, Talia, Zion and Lazarus to Memphis,” Memphis Associate Athletic Director for Development and baseball administrator Blair DeBord said. “When we set out to find a leader to take over for Coach Schoenrock, we sought someone with a track record of identifying and recruiting talent, someone with a vision for what Memphis Baseball could become that aligned with our own and someone who has experienced success at multiple levels of the game. Kerrick possesses all of that, and as a result he quickly separated himself during our process. We look forward to building a baseball powerhouse in Memphis.”
Before joining MLB, Jackson served as the head coach at Southern University from 2018-20, where he took a nine-win team in 2018 to 32 wins, a conference championship and the NCAA Tournament the following season en route to SWAC and Louisiana Sports Writers Association Coach of the Year accolades. His 2018 Jaguar team boasted the athletic department’s highest men’s team GPA and also received national recognition for its community service efforts.