Jake Valentine joined the Highlanders family as an assistant baseball coach in October of 2012, and will work with UC Riverside's outfielders, assist with the offense and coach first base during the upcoming season.
Valentine comes to the Inland Empire after two seasons as an assistant at Stephen F. Austin where the Jacks went 63-56 overall and 36-30 in the Southland Conference. Under Valentine's baserunning tutelage, outfielder Bryson Myles stole 53 bags during the 2011 season nearly doubling the previous SFA single-season high.
Prior to joining the Jacks' staff, Valentine worked as an assistant coach at Skyview High School in Vancouver, Washington where he oversaw the team's offense, worked with the infielders, and coached third base. He also spent a summer with the Portland Stars in the WCL Collegiate Summer League where he served as the offensive coordinator and coached third base.
A communications major, Valentine graduated from Hawaii Pacific in 2009 where he played for two years under Coach Garett Yukumoto and majored in communications. While at HPU, Valentine was a team captain for both years, and left the islands after setting numerous school records including triples, walks and on-base percentage both for his career and single season. The Sea Warriors enjoyed back-to-back 30-plus win seasons during Valentine's time in the Aloha State.
Before becoming a member of the Sea Warriors, Valentine played for Coach Donegal Fergus at Tacoma Community College in Tacoma, Washington.
Jake and his wife Andree were married on September 2, 2012.
