Bio

Record at SJR State entering 2022: 451-268
NJCAA Region 8/FCSAA State Tournament Appearances: 2010, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2022
        
MFC Championships:
2013, 2014, 2015
 
Mid-Florida Conference
Runner-Up: 2010, 2016, 2017, 2022
 
         Ross Jones joined the St. Johns River State College coaching staff as the head baseball coach on June 10, 2008 and assumed the position of athletic director on June 1, 2009. After twelve seasons at SJR State, Jones has an overall record of 451-268 (.627) and a Mid-Florida Conference record of 199-118 (.628). These 14 seasons have been among the program’s most successful in its 62-year history and include three consecutive Mid-Florida Conference Championships and seven trips to the FCSAA State/NJCAA Region 8 Tournament.

         During Jones’ first season at the helm, he led the Vikings to a 33-17 record and a fourth-place finish in the Mid-Florida Conference. In 2010, the Vikings returned to the FCSAA State/NJCAA Region 8 Tournament for the first time since 1989 after finishing second in the Mid-Florida Conference. In 2013, the Vikings won their first Mid-Florida Conference Championship since 1977, followed by a second consecutive Mid-Florida Conference Championship in 2014 with an overall record of 37-14 and a 20-4 conference record.

         2015 was a special season! The Vikings enjoyed the best sea-son in school history, finishing 47-10 overall 19-4 in the Mid-Florida Conference. The 47 wins smashed the former school record of 38 wins in a season. The Vikings cap-tured their third straight Mid-Flor-ida Conference Championship and finished third at the FCSAA/NJCAA Region 8 Tournament. On March 18, the Vikings also climbed to the top of the NJCAA National Baseball Poll, ranking #1 in the country for the first time in school history.

         2016 was another outstanding season as the Vikings posted an overall record of 42-14. In the Mid-Florida Conference, the Vikings posted a 16-7 record to finish in second place. The Vikings also made their fourth consecutive trip to the NJCAA Region 
8/FCSAA State Tournament, finishing 5th in the 10 team field. In 2017, the Vikings posted a 37-18 overall record and a 19-5 record in the Mid-Florida Conference. Their 19-5 record in the MFC tied for the best record in conference play.

         Jones began his coaching career as an assistant to Dusty Rhodes at the University of North Florida, where he spent a total of three seasons in two separate stints (1993 and 2000-2001). He spent six seasons as an assistant coach at Vanderbilt University (1994-1999), serving as the pitching coach and recruiting coordinator. Jones also spent six seasons as the pitching coach and recruiting coordinator at the University of Florida under Head Coach Pat McMahon. As a recruiting coordinator at Vanderbilt and Florida, Jones helped sign some of the most talented play-ers, not only in Florida, but across the nation. Seven of his recruiting classes were ranked in the top 25 nationally, with three in the top 10. His 2003 and 2005 recruiting class-es at the University of Florida were both ranked number three in the nation by Collegiate Baseball Magazine.

         As a pitching coach, Jones has tutored 79 pitchers who have gone on to sign professional con-tracts, including Clinton Johnston, the Pittsburgh Pirates’ number one draft pick in 1998. Also, nine of Jones’ pitchers have received All-American honors, including Todd Ewasko, the NCAA Division 2 National Pitcher of the Year in 2001, and Justin Hoyman, the Southeast-ern Conference Pitcher of the Year in 2004. While Jones was coaching at the University of North Florida in 2000 and 2001, the Ospreys won consecutive Peach Belt Conference crowns and appeared in back-to-back NCAA Division 2 College World Series. UNF finished third in the nation both years. Jones also played a major role in the University of Florida’s 2005 Southeast-ern Conference championship and the Gators’ postseason run to the NCAA Division 1 College World Series, where the Gators played in the National Championship Series against the University of Texas.

            Jones is a 1984 graduate of Palatka High School and was selected by the Texas Rangers in the 1984 Major League Baseball amateur draft. He spent seven seasons pitching for the Texas Rangers and Montreal Expos minor league systems. After retiring from professional baseball, Jones earned his A.A. degree from SJR State in 1991 and his bachelor’s degree in education from the University of North Florida in 1993. Jones is an avid outdoorsman and enjoys hunting and fishing in his spare time. Ross and his wife, Tish, have two sons, Tyler and Hunter, and two daughters, Taylor and Tessa.

VIKINGS POST–SEASON HONORS UNDER COACH JONES

Nic Dellatorre, Pitcher, Los Angeles Angels (2012, 30th round)
Chris Fern, Pitcher, San Francisco Giants (2012, 27th round)
Jake Schrader, 1st Base, Atlanta Braves (2013, 27th round)
C.J. Robinson, Pitcher, Florida Marlins (2013, 12th round)
Tyler Humphreys, 3rd Base, Arizona Diamondbacks (2014, 7th round)
Reid Love, Pitcher, Baltimore Orioles (2015, 10th round)
Myles Straw, Outfield, Houston Astros (2015, 12th round)
Nathaniel Lowe, 1st Base, Tampa Bay Rays (2016, 13th round)
Pearson McMahan, Pitcher, - Pittsburgh Pirates (2016, 19th round)
Pearson McMahan, Pitcher, - Colorado Rockies (2017, 4th round)
Justin Smith, Outfield, Atlanta Braves (2017, 20th round)
Scott Kobos, Pitcher, Cleveland Indians (2017, 38th round)
Zach Greene, Pitcher, Miami Marlins (2018, 15th round)
Andy Toelken, Pitcher, Arizona Deamondbacks (2018, 19th round)
Clay Helvey, Pitcher, San Francisco Giants (2018, 22nd round)
Tyler Carr, Pitcher, Philadelphia Phillies (2018, 31st round)

FCSAA All-State
Jake Schrader (2010, 2nd Team)
Chris Fern (2011 - 1st Team)
Blake Swann (2013, 1st Team)
Mitchell Cody (2014, 1st Team)
Tyler Humphreys (2014, 1st Team)
Josh Garcia (2014, 2nd Team)
Dustin Hersey (2014, 2nd Team)
Nathaniel Lowe (2015, 1st Team)
Myles Straw (2015, 1st Team)
Kyle Kalbaugh (2015, 1st Team)
Dustin Hersey (2015, 2nd Team)
Omar Villamman (2016, 1st Team)
Alec Dwoell (2016, 2nd Team)
Tyler Carr (2016, 2nd Team)
Justin Smith (2017, 1st Team)
Kerry Carpenter (2018, 1st Team)
Joey Bellini (2018, 2nd Team)

FCSAA Player of the Year
Nathaniel Lowe (2015)

FCSAA Fireman of the Year
Chris Fern (2011)

FCSAA Scholar Athlete of the Year
Matt Pennington (2013)
Johnny Blue-Craig (2015)

NJCAA All-Americans
Tyler Humphreys (2014 – 3rd Team)
Nathaniel Lowe (2015 – 1st Team)
Kyle Kalbaugh (2015 – HM)
Omar Villaman (2016, HM)

NJCAA Academic All-Americans
Matt Pennington (2013)
Jose Hernandez (2014)
Johnny Blue-Craig (2015)
Omar Villaman (2016)
Brian Moore (2017)
Kerry Carpenter(2017)
Jimmy Goldsmith (2017)
Scott Kobos (2017)
Darin Kilfoyl (2018)
Kerry Carpenter (2018)
Matt Marini (2018)
Jacob Cross (2018)

MFC Player of the Year
Tyler Humphreys (2014)
Nathaniel Lowe (2015)
Justin Smith (2017)

MFC Pitcher of the Year
Marshall Stalvey (2009)
Mitchell Cody (2014)
Kyle Kalbaugh (2015)

MFC Fireman of the Year
Chris Fern (2011)
Tyler Carr (2015)

MFC Defensive Player of the Year
Casey Eddinger (2013)
Myles Straw (2015)

All Mid-Florida Conference
2009
Marshall Stalvey – 1st Team
Nick De La Osa – 1st Team
Monte Ketchum – 2nd Team
Jesse Piccolo – 2nd Team
Austin Flores – 2nd Team

2010
Will Breton – 1st Team
Jesse Piccolo – 1st Team
Jake Schrader – 1st Team
Jarrell Rodgers – 2nd Team
Chris Fern – 2nd Team
Austin Flores – 2nd Team

2011
Chris Fern – 1st Team
Jake Schrader - 2nd Team
Max St. Hilaire – 2nd Team

2012
Nic Dellatorre – 2nd Team
Casey Eddinger - 2nd Team

2013
Reid Love – 1st Team Pitcher
Blake Swann - 1st Team
Tyler Humphreys - 1st Team
Reid Love – 2nd Team Outfielder
Shawn Sanders – 2nd Team
Matt Pennington – 2nd Team

2014
Mitchell Cody – 1st Team
Dustin Hersey – 1st Team
Trae Ratliff – 1st Team
Josh Garcia - 1st Team
Myles Straw – 1st Team
Will Mackenzie – 1st Team
Tyler Humphreys – 1st Team
Patrick Duester - 2nd Team
Shawn Sanders – 2nd Team

2015
Kyle Kalbaugh - 1st Team
Dustin Hersey - 1st Team
Myles Straw - 1st Team
Nate Lowe - 1st Team
Kyle Hann - 2nd Team
Andy Toelken - 2nd Team
Wes Weeks - 2nd Team
Hunter Alexander - 2nd Team

2016
Omar Villaman - 1st Team
Alec Dowell - 1st Team
Andy Toelken - 1st Team
Tyler Carr - 1st Team
Wes Weeks - 2nd Team
Nick Koslowski - 2nd Team
Pearson McMahan - 2nd Team
Nick Owens - 2nd Team

2017 Justin Smith - 1st Team
Pearson McMahan - 1st Team
Nick Owens - 1st Team
Nick Koslowski - 1st Team
Michael Koenig - 2nd Team
Jimbo Reemsnyder - 2nd Team
Kerry Carpenter - 2nd Team
Scott Kobos - 2nd Team

2018 Joey Bellini - 1st Team
Kerry Carpenter - 1st Team
Jagger McCoy - 1st Team
Nick Romano - 2nd Team
Elijah Gill- 2nd Team
Luke Sutko - 2nd Team
Matt Marini - 2nd Team
Riley Wash - 2nd Team