Baseball
- Title:
- Assistant Coach
- Email:
- jjackson@ia.ua.edu
- Phone:
- 205-348-4029
One of the top pitching coaches and recruiters in the assistant coaching ranks of college baseball, Jason Jackson was officially hired to serve as the Crimson Tide’s pitching coach on June 13, 2017 and enters his sixth season on Brad Bohannon’s staff in 2022-23. Jackson came to Alabama with 16 years of work as a Division I assistant, including the previous nine as the pitching coach at Florida Atlantic University.
Since arriving in Tuscaloosa, Jackson has placed an emphasis on throwing strikes and limiting walks, and his 2022 staff did exactly that. Alabama’s arms totaled 540 strikeouts, the fourth-most in Crimson Tide history, and averaged a Tide single-season record 9.3 strikeouts-per-game last season. Jackson’s pitchers also maintained a 2.74 strikeout-to-walk ratio that was 24th nationally while allowing just 3.74 walks per 9.0 innings, good for 30th in Division I. The 2022 group struck out 10-plus hitters 28 times while walking two-or-fewer batters in 25 matchups.
Alabama’s pitching staff was highlighted by weekend starters Garrett McMillan and Jacob McNairy. McMillan was the model of consistency during his time on the mound, getting the nod on Friday nights for the Tide. He led UA in innings pitched and strikeouts while also pacing the team in those same categories during Southeastern Conference play. The right-hander tossed 5.0-plus innings in all 14 regular-season starts while averaging 6.0 frames per outing. McNairy was solid in the Saturday starter role, finishing as UA’s leader in wins while allowing a team-low 18 walks. He totaled 72.0 innings of work, the second-most on UA, and was impressive during the final stretch of the season where he contributed 5.0-plus frames in six of his final seven starts.
On the back end of the Tide’s 2022 staff was Freshman All-America and All-SEC honoree Dylan Ray. The closer tied for fourth in the SEC in saves with eight and led all Alabama relievers with 49 strikeouts, a total that was good for fifth overall by a Tide pitcher. Ray, McMillan and McNairy were joined by Connor Prielipp as the Tide’s four players selected in the 2022 MLB First-Year Player Draft.
Prielipp went in the second round of the draft, making him the sixth-highest player and third-highest pitcher ever selected out of Alabama. He was followed by Ray, who went in the fourth round to the Arizona Diamondbacks, with McNairy (Seattle Mariners) and McMillan (Minnesota) rounding out the group of draftees. Following the three-day event, Landon Green began his professional career by signing a free agent contract with Arizona.
The 2021 staff combined for 497 strikeouts compared to 178 walks for a 2.79 strikeout-to-walk ratio that finished 36th nationally. Alabama’s 497 Ks finished as the seventh-most in a single season in program history and were the most since the 2010 squad posted 514 strikeouts. Additionally, the Crimson Tide’s walk total was its lowest since 2011 while the 178 walks across 514.0 innings led to a 3.21 walks per 9.0 innings number that was 19th in Division I and third in the SEC.
Alabama’s pitching performance in 2021 was even more impressive due to the fact that weekend starters Antoine Jean and preseason All-America honoree Prielipp, both 2020 Freshman All-America selections, missed a majority of the season. Tyler Ras and Dylan Smith answered the call on the weekends, helping the Tide to its first SEC Tournament since 2016 and first NCAA Regional since 2014. Ras stepped into the Friday starter role and finished tied for the team lead in wins with seven while posting eight quality starts and working 5.0 or more innings in 11 of his 15 starts. Smith followed on Saturday, recording a team-high 98.1 innings and 113 strikeouts across 16 starts. His 113 strikeouts ranked as the third-most in a single season in Alabama history and tied for eighth in the SEC and 30th nationally during the 2021 campaign.
Jackson’s staff posted impressive numbers in 2020 despite a shortened campaign. His efforts were highlighted by the development of Prielipp and Jean, then-true freshmen. The duo earned a spot in the starting rotation on the weekends and were successful in those roles, each finishing at 3-0 across four starts apiece. Jean maintained a 3.18 ERA and struck out 17 compared to only three walks, a number that tied for the third-fewest free passes in the SEC among qualifying pitchers. Prielipp, Perfect Game USA’s “Impact Freshman of the Year”, was masterful in his first season, sporting a perfect 0.00 ERA with 35 strikeouts while holding opposing hitters to an SEC-low .077 average. He also gave up the fewest hits (5) among qualifying pitchers in the conference and was one of only eight pitchers nationally to not allow a run during the season.
The bullpen also contributed in a big way during the abbreviated 2020 campaign. Alabama’s relievers finished a perfect 9-0 with two saves through 17 total games. The relief pitchers maintained a 1.62 ERA across 89.0 innings and struck out 103 while holding opposing hitters to a .204 average. Jackson made sure to spread the wealth across his relievers with 13 totals arms getting the call in relief, five of which sported a perfect 0.00 ERA and four others who held a sub-2.00 ERA at season’s end.
Alabama’s 2019 staff combined for 469 strikeouts while walking only 183 batters. Helping to keep the walk total down was Friday night starter Sam Finnerty. The senior allowed 12 free passes to tie for the fewest walks allowed by an SEC arm in 2019 while his 1.46 walks-per-nine innings was second in the conference and ranked 26th nationally. Finnerty’s final campaign featured SEC Co-Pitcher of the Week honors following his performance against South Carolina that saw the Pelham, Ala., native toss a complete game shutout on only 79 pitches. He went on to set Alabama’s all-time mark for fewest walks per nine innings, issuing only 52 across 226.1 innings for a total of 2.07.
The program saw significant improvements in Jackson’s first season leading the pitchers in 2018. The UA staff sported a 4.10 ERA in 2018 and struck out 370 compared to 195 walks allowed. Alabama’s ERA dropped by 0.83 from the previous season while the team’s walk total dropped by 65. In SEC action, Tide pitchers lowered their combined ERA by 0.80 and slashed their walk totals by 61. Jackson’s guidance helped four-year starter Jake Walters return to form. Walters finished his final year at the Capstone as the team leader in strikeouts at 82, good for 12th in the SEC, and recorded a team-high tying four wins to go with a 3.73 ERA. The senior starter was even better in conference play, maintaining a 2.89 ERA, which was fifth-best in the league, and earned SEC Pitcher of the Week honors for his complete game shutout against then-No. 4 Ole Miss in the final start of his Alabama career. Walters went on to be the first Alabama pitcher selected in the MLB Draft under Jackson’s watch, going in the ninth round of the 2018 draft to the Miami Marlins.
Known for his ability to develop talent on the mound, Jackson has created the foundation for future professional players, with five of his former student-athletes pitching on MLB rosters in the last seven seasons. Across his career, Jackson has coached 29 pitchers that were selected in the Major League Baseball Draft, 22 of which were undrafted prior to their time under his direction. He has also helped 44 players sign professional contracts in the last 14 seasons, 31 of which were undrafted out of high school and seven that were eventually drafted in the top five rounds of the MLB Draft.
Those numbers include 13 former Crimson Tide pitchers who have gone on to professional careers with Prielipp, Ray and Green included in that total. The trio joined Ras, Smith and Lee from the 2021 draft along with Casey Cobb, who signed a professional contract with the Boston Red Sox following the pandemic-shortened five-round draft in 2020, and four pitchers who were taken during the 2019 installment of the draft.
Jackson arrived in Tuscaloosa following his nine seasons at FAU. During his time in Boca Raton, the Owls developed into one of the top baseball programs in the NCAA South-Central region. Jackson joined the FAU staff in 2008 and worked his way to the title of Associate Head Coach by September of 2016. Throughout his nine-year span in Boca Raton, the FAU program captured four conference titles and appeared in four NCAA Regionals, including the 2013 NCAA Chapel Hill Regional, where the Owls defeated top-seeded host North Carolina.
A pair of FAU arms guided by Jackson had their names called in the 2018 MLB Draft with Kyle Marman (13th Round) and Jake Miednik (20th Round) each being selected by the Cleveland Indians. Jackson also had 14 pitchers chosen in Major League Baseball Drafts during his time at FAU, including: Alex House (24th Round, Houston Astros) in 2017; David McKay (14th Round, Kansas City Royals), Colyn O’Connell (26th Round, Detroit Tigers) and Robbie Coursel (26th Round, Pittsburgh Pirates) in 2016; Seth McGarry (8th Round, Pittsburgh Pirates), Kyle Miller (19th Round, Chicago Cubs) and Drew Jackson (35th Round, San Francisco Giants) in 2015; Austin Gomber (4th Round, St. Louis Cardinals) in 2014; Michael Sylvestri (29th Round, Washington Nationals) in 2013; R.J. Alvarez (3rd Round, Los Angeles Angels) and Ryan Garton (34th Round, Tampa Bay Rays) in 2012; Paul Davis (17th Round, San Francisco Giants) in 2011; Ryan Bernal (23rd Round, Milwaukee Brewers) and Mike Gipson (31st Round, New York Yankees) in 2010; and Alex Pepe (44th Round, Texas Rangers) in 2009.
The 2017 season under Jackson’s watch saw the Owls rank second in ERA and allow the second-fewest earned runs in the league. FAU’s pitchers struck out 444 compared to only 131 walks while holding the opposition to a league-low .262 average. The pitching staff was highlighted by Second Team All-Conference USA selection Cameron Ragsdale.
In 2016, the Owls’ staff paced Conference USA with a 3.24 ERA, six shutouts and a 1.21 WHIP, while allowing a league-low for walks, runs and doubles en route to winning the C-USA regular-season championship. The FAU pitchers ranked 14th in the nation in both ERA and walks allowed, and 15th in WHIP. The 2015 slate featured the emergence of several pitchers who gained national traction under Jackson’s guidance, including one who received all-conference honors.
As the Owls made their transition into Conference USA in 2014, Jackson’s pitchers allowed only nine home runs, the fewest in FAU history and the fewest in C-USA that season. The Owls ranked 19th nationally in strikeout-to-walk ratio at 2.57 – a category in which they led the league in four of his last five seasons thanks to Jackson’s guidance. The 2013 team featured FAU closer Hugh Adams, who set the school’s season saves record with 18 on the way to recording both the FAU and Sun Belt Conference career saves mark with 31.
In his first three seasons at FAU, Jackson helped guide the Owls to two Sun Belt Conference titles. Jackson tutored starting pitcher Paul Davis and Adams to All-South Central Region selections by the National Baseball Coaches Association of America at the end of the 2011 season.
Before his stint in Boca Raton, he was an assistant at South Alabama (2007-08), Mercer University (2003-06) and North Florida Community College (2002). In all of those stops, Jackson served as a pitching coach, recruiting coordinator or both.
The Crimson Tide’s pitching coach earned his bachelor’s degree from Florida State in physical education in 2000 before going on to obtain a master’s degree in sports administration at FSU. Prior to his time at Florida State, Jackson played at Santa Fe Community College where he earned his first degree in 1998.
A native of Tallahassee, Fla., he and his wife, Katie, have three children, Kinsey, Tyler and Haylee.
