Jason Jackson - Baseball Coach

Jason Jackson

Title:
Associate Head Coach
Email:
jjackson@ia.ua.edu
Phone:
205-963-5778

Personal Information

Hometown: Tallahassee, Fla.
Education: Florida State University, 2000
Spouse: Katie
Children: Kinsey, Haylee, Tyler
Birthday: November 10

Coaching Experience

2024-present: Alabama, Associate Head Coach
2023: Alabama, Interim Head Coach
2018-23: Alabama, Assistant Coach
2017: Florida Atlantic, Associate Head Coach
2009-16: Florida Atlantic, Assistant Coach
2007-08: South Alabama, Assistant Coach
2003-06: Mercer, Pitching Coach
2002: North Florida Community College, Pitching Coach

One of the top coaches and recruiters in college baseball's assistant coaching ranks, Jason Jackson was officially hired to serve as the Crimson Tide's pitching coach on June 13, 2017. He then took over as interim head coach in May of 2023 before being named UA's associate head coach on June 13 of the same year. Jackson, who is in his 10th season on staff for 2026-27, came to Alabama with 16 years of work as a Division I assistant, including nine as the pitching coach at Florida Atlantic University.

The 2023 ABCA/Marines National Assistant Coach of the Year, Jackson has helped the Crimson Tide excel on the mound during his time in Tuscaloosa. Most notably, his staffs have finished on Alabama's top-10 list for single-season strikeouts on six separate occasions while finishing near the top of nearly every pitching statistic among Southeastern Conference teams during a majority of his Alabama tenure.

In the professional ranks, Jackson has helped former Crimson Tide pitchers earn a combined $12.05 million over the last six MLB Drafts. He was also key to Alabama becoming the only program in the SEC to have a pitcher earn $1 million-plus dollars in five of the last six drafts from 2021-26.

Alabama - Associate Head Coach (2024-Present)

Tasked with directing the Crimson Tide's pitching staff while also serving as the Associate Head Coach
His guidance helped propel Alabama to a 42-21 record in 2026, as the Tide's pitching staff was the key catalyst to UA's first Men's College World Series berth since 1999
Directed a pitching staff that managed a collective 4.34 earned run average, the third-lowest ERA in the SEC and the 21st ranked ERA in Division I
His group totaled 546 strikeouts in 2026, the fifth-most strikeouts in a single season in team history
2026 represented the sixth season that Jackson's staff has cracked into the top-ten for single-season strikeouts since 2018
Organized the breakout season of Myles Upchurch, who was responsible for a 3.75 ERA (30 ER/72.0 IP) in 16 games, including 15 starts
Upchurch closed his freshman season with an 8-3 record, adding 78 strikeouts with 41 walks and was one of only six Division I freshmen to make at least 15 starts in 2026
Upchurch eventually garnered Freshman All-American honors from D1Baseball.com, Baseball America, Perfect Game USA and the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) following a superlative rookie season and was invited to the 2026 USA Collegiate Baseball National Team Training Camp
The freshman right-hander was also named to the SEC All-Freshman Team
Largely helped to develop a pair of 6th-round selections in Tyler Fay (169th overall) and Zane Adams (171st overall)
Fay, who earned Second Team All-SEC status, was a former walk-on that developed into the Crimson Tide's Friday night starter in 2026
Fay racked up 127 strikeouts, the second-most in a single season in program history, and led all SEC arms with 109.0 IP
The tall right-hander was named SEC Pitcher of the Week following his incredible no-hit outing against then No. 18 Florida on March 20, a start in which Fay created new career highs in innings pitched (9.0) and strikeouts (13) en route to the no-no, surrendering just two walks while retiring 27 of the 29 batters he faced
Fay became the first Tide pitcher since Eddie Owcar in 1942 to manage an individual 9.0-inning no-hitter while accomplishing Alabama's first no-hitter of any kind since 2014
Steered the development of reliever Hagan Banks, who posted a career-best 3.09 ERA in 18 appearances out of the bullpen, adding six saves in as many tries
Banks, whose six saves were tied for seventh in the SEC, later signed with the Minnesota Twins as an undrafted free agent
Helped coach the Crimson Tide to a 41-18 finish in 2025
In 2025, Alabama pitchers recorded 536 strikeouts, the sixth-most in program history
Oversaw the development of Riley Quick, who posted a 3.92 ERA (27 ER/62.0 IP) with 70 strikeouts in his lone season in the weekend rotation
Quick was selected with the 36th-overall pick of the 2025 MLB Draft (Minnesota Twins), becoming the Tide's second first-round arm in as many seasons
Managed Carson Ozmer, who broke the program's single-season saves mark, recording 17 saves in 29 outings and earning All-SEC honors
Ozmer's 17 saves were also tops among all Division I relievers
Braylon Myers, the Tide's most-used relief arm in 2025, posted a career year, managing a 2.63 ERA (12 ER/41.0 IP) with 58 strikeouts to 14 walks, later joining the Chicago Cubs as an undrafted free agent
Helped the Crimson Tide to a 33-24 record in 2024
Coached Alabama to its 27th NCAA Regional appearance
Led the Crimson Tide pitching staff to 493 strikeouts in 2024, tied for the 10th-most in a single season in program history
Saw his group record six shutouts in 2024, as Alabama was one of only 13 Division I teams to manage at least six shutouts in 2024
Furthered the development of right-hander Ben Hess, who compiled a 13.9 strikeout per nine innings ratio (106 K's/68.2 IP) in the Tide's weekend rotation
Hess' strikeout per nine innings average was the second-best figure in the SEC and 10th-best mark in Division I
Hess' 106 strikeouts became the fifth-most by an Alabama pitcher in a single season in program history
Hess was one of three Alabama pitchers chosen in the 2024 MLB Draft, eventually selected 26th-overall by the New York Yankees,
LHP Greg Farone was selected in the 7th round (208th overall) by the San Francisco Giants while RHP Pierce George heard his name called by the Chicago White Sox in the 13th round (379th overall)
Managed southpaw Zane Adams to the 2024 SEC All-Freshman Team after accumulating 58.2 innings in his rookie season, the third-highest innings total among the Crimson Tide staff
The freshman left-hander's first campaign was highlighted by an eight-inning shutout of then-No. 1 Arkansas on April 14 to secure the series win

Alabama - Interim Head Coach (2023)

Selected as the 2023 ABCA/Marines National Assistant Coach of the Year for Division I
Tasked with managing Alabama's 2023 group over the final two months of the season
Finished with a 13-6 record as interim head coach
Led the Crimson Tide to an NCAA Super Regional appearance for the first time since 2014
Helped Alabama earn an NCAA Regional host bid, where the Tide would go 3-0 to be crowned Regional Champions
Secured three consecutive series wins during the final month of the regular season, highlighted by a victory over then-No. 5 Vanderbilt in his first series as acting head coach

Alabama - Assistant Coach (2018-23)

Led the 2023 pitching staff to one of the best years in program history, finishing with a 4.26 ERA and 593 strikeouts compared to only 236 walks while limiting opposing hitters to a .233 mark
The '23 group matched the 1999 team for the program's single-season strikeout record while averaging 9.27 strikeouts per game compared to an 8.59 mark in '99
Jackson's 2023 arms also recorded seven shutouts to tie for the second-most in a single season by any Tide team
Alabama finished third in the SEC in ERA, WHIP and walks per 9.0 innings while ranking fourth in hits allowed per 9.0 innings, strikeout-to-walk ratio and shutouts in '23
During league play, the Tide owned the lowest ERA and average against while also allowing the fewest runs, earned runs and hits
Guided Alton Davis II to Freshman All-America and Freshman All-SEC Team accolades on the way to an invite to the 2023 USA Baseball Collegiate National Training Camp
In 2022, Alabama's arms totaled 540 strikeouts, the fourth-most in program history at the time, and averaged 9.3 strikeouts per game to set the UA single-season record
Helped closer Dylan Ray earn Freshman All-America and Freshman All-SEC honors in '22
The 2021 staff combined for 497 strikeouts, the seventh-most in a single season in program history at the time and the most since 2010
Alabama also issued just 178 walks in '21, the fewest since 2011, and maintained a 3.21 walks per 9.0 innings number that was 19th in Division I and third in the SEC
The 2021 group was led by Dylan Smith who struck out 113 in 16 starts, the third-most strikeouts in Alabama single-season history
Jackson's staff posted impressive numbers in 2020 despite a shortened campaign, highlighted by the development of Connor Prielipp and Antoine Jean who were both tabbed Freshman All-Americans by Collegiate Baseball Newspaper
Prielipp, who was also named CBN's "National Freshman Player of the Year" and Perfect Game USA's "Impact Freshman of the Year", sported a perfect 0.00 ERA with 35 strikeouts while holding opposing hitters to an SEC-low .077 average after giving up the fewest hits (5) among qualifying pitchers in the conference
Alabama's 2019 staff combined for 469 strikeouts while walking only 183 batters
Friday night starter Sam Finnerty was key to the '19 group, allowing just 12 free passes to tie for the fewest walks allowed by an SEC arm that season 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 him toss a complete game shutout on only 79 pitches
The Pelham native went on to set Alabama's all-time mark for fewest walks per 9.0 innings, issuing only 52 across 226.1 career frames for a total of 2.07.
In 2018, Alabama's ERA dropped by 0.83 from the previous season while the team's walk total dropped by 65 under Jackson's watch
Against SEC foes, Tide pitchers lowered their combined ERA by 0.80 and slashed their walk totals by 61 that first year
Jackson's guidance helped four-year starter Jake Walters return to form with the senior finishing as the team leader in strikeouts at 82, good for 12th in the SEC
Walters 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

Florida Atlantic - Associate Head Coach/Assistant Coach (2009-17)

Spent nine seasons at FAU prior to his arrival in Tuscaloosa
Joined the FAU staff in 2008 as an assistant and worked his way up to the title of associate head coach by September of 2016
Helped FAU capture four conference titles and appear in four NCAA Regionals
Coached 14 players who were chosen in the MLB Draft during his time in Boca Raton, highlighted by third-rounder R.J. Alvarez and fourth-rounder Austin Gomber
The 2017 season saw the Owls finish second in ERA and allow the second-fewest earned runs in the league
FAU's pitchers struck out 444 compared to only 131 walks in '17 while holding the opposition to a league-low .262 average
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 title
The FAU pitchers ranked 14th in the nation in both ERA and walks allowed and 15th in WHIP in '16
The 2015 slate featured the emergence of several pitchers who gained national traction under Jackson's guidance, including one all-conference honoree
As the Owls made their transition into Conference USA in 2014, Jackson's arms allowed only nine home runs, the fewest in FAU history and the fewest in C-USA that season
The Owls' '14 group ranked 19th nationally in strikeout-to-walk ratio at 2.57
Jackson's 2013 roster 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

Prior to FAU

Served as an assistant coach at South Alabama from 2007-08
Worked at Mercer from 2003-06 as the Bears' pitching coach all three seasons while adding the title of recruiting coordinator for the 2006 campaign
Began his coaching career at North Florida Community College in 2002 where he was the pitching coach and recruiting coordinator

Personal Info

Native of Tallahassee, Fla.
Married to the former Katie Summers
Has two daughters, Kinsey and Haylee, and one son, Tyler
Obtained his master's degree in sports administration at Florida State University
Earned his bachelor's degree in physical education in 2000 from FSU
Prior to his time with the Seminoles, Jackson played at Santa Fe Community College where he acquired his first degree in 1998

Jackson's Notable Pro Players at Alabama

Known for his ability to develop talent on the mound, Jackson has coached 38 pitchers that were selected in the Major League Baseball Draft, 31 of which were undrafted prior to their time under his direction. He has also helped 56 players sign professional contracts in the last 18 seasons, 45 of which were undrafted out of high school and 13 that were eventually drafted in the top five rounds of the MLB Draft.

Following the 2026 MLB First-Year Player Draft, those numbers include 25 former Crimson Tide pitchers who have gone on to professional careers.