Johnson Welcomes Serrano as Head Baseball Coach

(Story provided by Johnson Sports Communications)

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - Johnson University is excited to announce the hiring of Dave Serrano as our new Head Baseball Coach.

Coach Serrano's incredible resume includes head coaching jobs at Cerritos (1991), UC Irvine (2005-2007), Cal State Fullerton (2008-2011), The University of Tennessee (2012-2017), and Cal State Northridge (2020-2022). Coach Serrano led the UC Irvine Anteaters to their first College World Series appearance in 2007, earning Baseball America's National Coach of the Year Award along the way.

Following his run at UC Irvine, he led the Cal State Fullerton Titans to the NCAA tournament each season of his tenure and led them to the College World Series in 2009. He also led the Titans to the Super Regionals each of his first three seasons at Fullerton. He led the Titans to Big West Conference Championships in 2008, 2010, and 2011, and was named Big West Coach of the Year in 2010 and 2011.

After his run at Fullerton, Coach Serrano was named the University of Tennessee head coach, where he coached the Volunteers for six seasons. Later he was named the head coach for Cal State Northridge, where he coached the Matadors until January 2022.

Coach Serrano has also served in multiple non-head coaching roles, including assistant coach, pitching coach, and recruiting coordinator. He was named the 2004 Baseball America Assistant Coach of the Year en route to a College World Series Championship and recruited a class ranked in the nation's top 20 each of his eight years as a recruiting coordinator.

Coach Serrano also served as an assistant for the USA Collegiate team in 2010 and served as their head coach in 2012. He has coached and recruited 190 players who were drafted by the MLB, 45 who made it to the majors, and 12 who were selected in the draft's first round.

"Coach Serrano's resume speaks for itself,' said Johnson athletic director Brandon Perry. "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. We were looking for a leader to help our baseball program compete in the AAC and nationally in NAIA. Coach Serrano certainly has the ability to build a program that can achieve that goal. But it is also Coach Serrano's commitment to holistic development that really excited us as it aligns perfectly with who we are. Our baseball program will be influential in the community because of his leadership."

When asked about his new role at Johnson, Coach Serrano shared, "I'm truly honored to be the next head baseball coach at Johnson University, and thank athletic director Brandon Perry for trusting me in this role. After retiring from college coaching in June of 2022 there had to be a place that I felt could be special to change my mind. Having the opportunity to coach again in this great community, which I call home, is a thrill to me. My belief is we will build this program and develop players and people to make this a great place for student-athletes."

Along his coaching journey, Serrano has won three Division 1 conference championships, two Conference Coach of the Year honors, a National Assistant Coach of the Year honor, A National Coach of the Year honor, has recruited eight top 20 classes, coached many All-Americans, and compiled an impressive head coaching record of 509-348-1. He will provide the Royals with invaluable experience that will undoubtedly help mold the program and help it reach new heights.

"This is a great day in the development of the Johnson Athletic Department," continued AD Brandon Perry. "We want to be a program that the greater Knoxville community can be proud of. We have a tremendous coaching staff and have made real progress over the last couple of years. Coach Serrano brings us to another level. I hope that today's announcement excites our community to come and see what Johnson is building."