Mizzou baseball hires Kerrick Jackson as new coach. More on his ‘vision for success’

Missouri baseball has its next coach.

Kerrick Jackson, who previously held the same position at Memphis, will take over for Steve Bieser, who was fired following a first-round exit in the SEC Tournament. The program announced the hiring Saturday evening.

“It’s a great honor to come back to the University of Missouri and lead the baseball program,” Jackson said in a press release. “I have seen this program at its championship best and understand both what it takes to get there and the importance of baseball to the state, region and within the Southeastern Conference. My family and I are looking forward to returning to a University and community which we love. I am grateful to Desireé Reed-Francois and the search committee for trusting me with this tremendous opportunity.”

Jackson took over the Memphis job in May of 2022. He took those Tigers to a 29-28 record last season (10-14 in the American Athletic Conference), Memphis’ most successful year since 2017.

Before Memphis, Jackson had been the head of the MLB Draft League, a college summer league that serves to showcase the top draft-eligible prospects. Before that, he was head coach at Southern from 2017-2020.

Jackson has plenty of connections to both the state of Missouri and its flagship university’s baseball program. He served as an assistant coach for the Tigers from 2011 through 2015 under former head coach Tim Jamieson.

During that time, Jackson oversaw recruiting. The Tigers brought in multiple nationally ranked classes and won their first Big 12 championship in 2012.

“We set out to find a leader of high character with success rejuvenating a program, and we certainly found that in Kerrick Jackson,” MU athletics director Desiree Reed-Francois said in the release. “He’s a tireless recruiter, fierce competitor and a coach with deep roots in the Midwest. Coach Jackson knows what success looks like in college baseball, specifically at Mizzou. He has a vision for success and a tremendous amount of experience at all levels of baseball. I look forward to him building on our traditions and returning us to the national stage.”

Blair DeBord, who was hired as MU’s associate AD for development and strategic initiatives, served as Memphis’ baseball administrator when Jackson was hired there.

The new coach also is a native of Missouri. He hails from St. Louis and played his high school baseball at Kirkwood before heading to St. Louis Community College-Meramec, where he helped the team to a third-place finish in the JuCo world series in 1995.

Jackson later played at Bethune-Cookman in Florida before finishing off his college career at Nebraska. He started his coaching career with assistant stops that included Fairfield, Emporia State and Nicholls State, among others.

He’ll take over a Missouri job that’s one of the most difficult in the SEC. The Tigers have languished as one of the league’s doormats for years and have never had a winning record in SEC play.

They haven’t reached the NCAA Tournament since Jackson helped them to a regional in 2012. Missouri spent less on the sport than any other SEC school in fiscal year 2022 according to NCAA revenues and expenses reports obtained by the Tribune and the USA Today Network.

Bieser was fired after seven seasons at the helm. Missouri was the No. 12 seed in the SEC tournament in 2023, its first appearance in the Hoover, Ala. event since 2019, but fell to Auburn in the single-elimination game.

Jackson became Reed-Francois’ sixth head coaching hire since she took over as AD in 2021. Her other hires include Dennis Gates (men’s basketball), Dawn Sullivan (volleyball), Lindsey Anderson (cross country), Caroline Westrup (women’s golf) and Bianca Turati (women’s tennis).

Contract terms for Jackson were not immediately available.

The Star has partnered with the Columbia Daily Tribune for coverage of Missouri Tigers athletics.