Maryland Native Jimmy Jackson Named Terrapin Baseball Assistant Coach/Pitching Coach

COLLEGE PARK, MD -- A native of Glen Burnie, Maryland with more than 15 years as a college baseball coach, Jimmy Jackson, has been hired by new head coach Matt Swope. Jackson will serve as an Assistant Coach/Pitching Coaching with the Terrapins after most recently serving as Associate Head Coach/Pitching Coach at James Madison.

"I am thrilled to come back home to Maryland and work with Matt Swope and Maryland baseball," said Jackson, who graduated from Old Mill High School in Millersville, Maryland. "Matt has a vision for the Terrapin baseball program and I am excited to be a part of the staff. We will work to recruit top talent from within the DMV and the entire nation as we continue to build on the recent success Maryland has had with three consecutive NCAA Regional teams and back-to-back Big Ten Championships."

Swope has known Jackson for more than a decade and is excited to welcome him back to his home state.

"Jimmy is a tireless worker and will be a vital addition to our staff here in College Park," said Swope. "He's an excellent pitching coach and really understands how to recruit the area and develop young arms. He has mentored and coached numerous MLB Draft picks and guys who have made it to the majors and we look forward to him doing the same thing with the Terps. We welcome Jimmy and his family to our One Maryland family."

Jackson has spent the last eight years at James Madison with the first four as an assistant coach (2016-19) before being elevated to associate head coach from 2020-23. In their first season in the Sun Belt Conference, this past season, the Dukes won 15 conference games, their most in league play since 2011. During Jackson's time in Harrisonburg, James Madison had nine MLB Draft picks including six pitchers with both Kevin Kelly (Tampa Bay Rays) and Nick Robertson (Los Angeles Dodgers) currently pitching in the majors.

His pitching staffs have been among the conference leaders in strikeouts, lowest opponent batting average, ERA, saves, and fewest walks allowed during his tenure. In 2019, the Dukes were among the national leaders in strikeouts per nine innings and posted the lowest batting average against (.232) and most strikeouts (553) in school history. Four Dukes pitchers were drafted following that season including Kelly and Robertson along with Shelton Perkins (Baltimore Orioles) and Dan Goggin (New York Mets).

Jackson joined James Madison after spending four seasons as the pitching coach and recruiting coordinator at Fordham (2011-15), putting together some of the Atlantic 10's best pitching staffs along the way. Jackson also saw four of the seven pitchers in his first two recruiting classes selected in the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft, with all four having been selected in the top 24 rounds. Among those draft picks, four reached the major leagues: Nick Martinez (Texas Rangers, San Diego Padres), Brett Kennedy (San Diego Padres), Gregg Weissert (New York Yankees) and Reiss Knehr (San Diego Padres).

Prior to his four years at Fordham, Jackson spent three years at Siena (2008-10), the last two as the pitching coach and recruiting coordinator. The pitching staff led the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference in ERA in his first season as pitching coach and finished second in the conference the following year.

Before Siena, Jackson spent three years as the varsity pitching coach at Archbishop Spalding High School in Severn, Maryland. In that time, Archbishop Spalding had 17 players who advanced to play in college, including 10 pitchers. Additionally, Jackson delivered private lessons to over 20 players that moved onto the collegiate ranks, including eight who played at the Division I level.

Originally from Glen Burnie, Md., and a graduate of Old Mill High School, Jackson played two years (2004-05) of independent professional baseball in the Frontier and Atlantic Leagues after a standout collegiate career that ended in 2004 at Division II Shepherd University in West Virginia, where he earned his bachelor's degree. He was a two-way player as an infielder and pitcher at Shepherd, earning First Team All-Conference, All-Region and Preseason All-American honors as a pitcher. He still holds multiple pitching records at Shepherd.

Jackson and his wife, Brittany, have a son, Grayson, and a daughter, Adaline.

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