Former Tennessee baseball coach Dave Serrano hired by Johnson University
Johnson University hired former Tennessee baseball coach Dave Serrano as its coach on Monday, the school announced.
"Coach Serrano's resume speaks for itself," Johnson athletics director Brandon Perry said in a school release. "We feel that his addition is going to raise expectations for the baseball program and our entire department. His experience coaching at the highest levels will help our athletic department take a huge leap forward."
Johnson University went 5-44 last season.
Serrano most recently was the coach at Cal State Northridge. He retired following the 2022 season after three seasons with a 63-46 record.
Serrano coached at Tennessee for six seasons but never found much success. He did not reach the NCAA Tournament and finished with a 157-163 mark in Knoxville, which led to his resignation before the end of the 2017 season. UT hired Tony Vitello, who has taken the Vols to the College World Series twice in the past three seasons. He also led UT to a a program-record 57 wins in 2022 and a lengthy stint as the No. 1 team in the nation.
Serrano accepted an assistant coach position at West Virginia soon after the split with UT. The Mountaineers went 29-27, finishing near the bottom of the Big 12 standings. The team posted a 4.79 ERA with Serrano as the pitching coach. He was in Morgantown for one season before he and the program reportedly mutually parted ways.
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Serrano previously was the coach at UC Irvine and Cal State Fullerton. Serrano led the UC Irvine Anteaters to its first College World Series appearance in 2007 and earned Baseball America's National Coach of the Year Award. He was an assistant coach on the Cal State Fullerton team that won the CWS in 2004. He led Cal State Fullerton to the CWS in 2009.
Mike Wilson covers University of Tennessee athletics. Email him at michael.wilson@knoxnews.com and follow him on Twitter @ByMikeWilson. If you enjoy Mike’s coverage, consider a digital subscription that will allow you access to all of it.
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Dave Serrano: Johnson University hires former Tennessee baseball coach
