ABCA Recognizes Jim Wells, Jason Jackson at 2024 Banquet
1/17/2024 1:41:00 PM | Baseball
Wells was named to the organization’s Hall of Fame while Jackson was tabbed the Division I Assistant Coach of the Year
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) recognized Jim Wells and Jason Jackson at its annual awards banquet last Saturday.
Wells was inducted into the Hall of Fame as part of the organization's 2024 class. He became the first coach in Alabama history to earn a spot in the Hall of Fame and was part of a list of 10 coaches in this year's class. Induction to the ABCA Hall of Fame is the highest honor bestowed by the organization.
Jackson, who was named the ABCA/Marines National Assistant Coach of the Year in Division I, was also the first Crimson Tide assistant to be recognized with his honor. The ABCA began honoring a National Assistant Coach of the Year annually in 1999. The Assistant Coach of the Year has since expanded and now recognizes outstanding assistant coaches from eight divisions of college baseball and three divisions of high school baseball. Coaching expertise, recruiting, loyalty to the program and respect for the players and the game are some of the many criteria examined when reviewing the candidates for the award. Assistant Coach of the Year honorees are voted on and selected by the ABCA All-America and Coach of the Year committees, in conjunction with the ABCA national office.
ABCA Hall of Fame Inductee
Jim Wells
- Led the Alabama baseball program from 1995-2009, compiling a 625-322 career record in Tuscaloosa
- The all-time winningest coach in Crimson Tide history with 625 victories, including a program-best 259 in Southeastern Conference play
- Helped UA earn a berth in Omaha for three of the program's five College World Series appearances, making it to the CWS in 1996, 1997 and 1999, while adding 12 NCAA Regional berths
- Led Alabama to three SEC Western Division titles (1996, 2002, 2006), two SEC regular season titles (1996, 2006) and six SEC Tournament championships (1995-97, 1999, 2002-03)
- Tied for the most SEC Tournament titles in league history with six, matched only by Skip Bertman and Paul Mainieri of LSU
- Named SEC Coach of the Year in both 1996 and 2002
- Began his collegiate head coaching career at Northwestern State from 1990-94
ABCA/Marines National Assistant Coach of the Year
- Led one of the nation's top pitching staffs all season while assuming the interim head coach role over the final two months of the 2023 campaign
- Finished with a 13-6 record as interim head coach
- Led Alabama to an NCAA Super Regional appearance for the first time since 2014
- Helped the program earn an NCAA Regional host bid with UA finishing as Regional Champions at 3-0
- Secured three straight SEC series wins during the final month of the regular season, highlighted by a victory over then-No. 5 Vanderbilt in his first three games as acting head coach
- Jackson's guidance on the mound helped the '23 group match the 1999 team for the Alabama single-season strikeout record with 593 punchouts
- The Tide also recorded seven shutouts in 2023 to tie for the second-most in UA single-season history
- Alabama owned the lowest ERA and average against while also allowing the fewest runs, earned runs and hits during SEC play last season
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