BILL WHITE AND PAT COTTRELL JOIN UT MARTIN BASEBALL STAFF AS ASSISTANT COACHES
9/7/2021 4:02:00 PM | Baseball
MARTIN, Tenn. – University of Tennessee at Martin head baseball coach Ryan Jenkins has announced the hiring of Bill White and Pat Cottrell as assistants on his coaching staff.
"I have known both Bill and Pat for a long time and they both have great baseball minds," Jenkins said. "They have experienced a ton of success in their playing careers and followed that with each of them winning a national championship as a coach. We are looking forward to our staff helping our players reach their goals."
White comes to the Skyhawks from Chattahoochee Valley Community College in Phenix City, Ala. He spent four seasons as an assistant under head coaches Adam Thomas and Hunter Vick, helping the Pirates to a 138-56 overall record with an 81-23 mark (.779 winning percentage) in the Alabama Community College Conference. During White's tenure, CVCC won a pair of ACCC regular season championships (2018, 2021), two ACCC tournament championships (2018, 2019) and advanced to the NJCAA World Series twice – claiming a pair of victories at the 2019 event. Overall, White coached two All-Americans and 13 All-ACCC selections at CVCC.
Working primarily with the Pirate pitchers, White presided over a staff that combined for a 3.35 ERA, 1.29 WHIP, a .228 opponent batting average, a 2.6:1 strikeout-to-walk ratio a 9.61 strikeouts-per-nine-innings average and 33 shutouts in his four years at CVCC. The 2021 CVCC hurlers ranked in the top-two nationally in ERA (2.63, first) and shutouts (11, second) while the 2018 Pirate squad ranked in the top-four in the country in shutouts (15, second) and ERA (2.65, fourth). He mentored 2021 ACCC Pitcher of the Year Jordan Armstrong (11-0, 1.65 ERA in 71 innings) and 2018 All-American Cole Ganopulos (10-0, 1.62 ERA in 89 innings).
Before his stint at CVCC, White spent the 2013 campaign working under head coach Wynn Fletcher at Central Alabama Community College in Alexander City, Ala. The Trojans captured the program's first-ever national championship that season, finishing 43-14 after their victory over Palm Beach State in the NJCAA title game.
White spent nine seasons playing professionally, culminating with 17 MLB relief appearances with the Texas Rangers in 2007-08. He went 2-0 with three holds out of the Ranger bullpen as a rookie in 2007. He was selected in the MLB Draft on two separate occasions, being picked in the third round (99th overall) by the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2000 and in the 33rd round (992nd overall) by the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1997.
As a collegiate pitcher, White starred at Jacksonville State University (2000) and Meridian Community College (1998-99). The southpaw still holds the JSU Division I school record for most strikeouts in a game (16 against Samford on March 17, 2000) and in a season (136) – leading all of Division I baseball with a 16.0 strikeouts-per-nine-innings ratio. He fired the program's first no-hitter of its Division I Era when he accomplished that feat against Alabama A&M on March 12, 2000. As a freshman, he helped MCC to a third-place finish at the 1998 NJCAA World Series.
Hailing from Alexander City, Ala., White graduated from Jacksonville State in 2014 with a degree in liberal studies.
Cottrell joins UT Martin out of Pensacola State College in Pensacola, Fla., where he was an assistant under Bryan Lewallyn from 2017-20. He coached eight All-Panhandle Conference honorees, four players who went on to play professionally and 26 student-athletes who moved on to the NCAA Division I ranks.
Prior to that, Cottrell was part of a record-setting run at the University of South Carolina Beaufort in Bluffton, SC. He was an assistant for two years under Lewallyn, helping the 2016 Sand Sharks to a national No. 8 ranking and a school-record 42 victories on their way to the first Sun Conference regular season championship in program history and national tournament appearance. USCB went 20-4 in league play in 2016, shattering the program record in eight single-season offensive categories while ranking in the top-25 in the NAIA in hits per game (10.7, 14th) and runs per game (7.8, 22nd). In Cottrell's first season with the Sand Sharks, he coached an offense that ranked in the top-20 nationally in hits per game (10.7, 10th) and runs per game (7.4, 17th).
Cottrell spent three years as an assistant at Alabama Southern Community College in Monroeville, Ala. During the 2014 campaign, the Eagles collected a 36-16-1 record with a 23-7 mark in conference play, hitting .325 as a team and ranking ninth in the country in stolen bases (141).
Cottrell started his coaching career assisting with the infielders at Pensacola State College and the University of West Florida, his alma mater. He was on the Argonauts staff in 2011 when UWF won the 2011 NCAA Division II national championship, breaking school records for wins (52), conference victories (17) and longest winning streak (22 games). That team earned the program's first No. 1 national ranking and ranked in the top-10 nationally in runs scored (449), ERA (2.71) and fielding percentage (.971).
After Cottrell was selected by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in the 33rd round (975th overall) of the 2004 MLB Draft, he spent five seasons in the minor leagues. The right-handed slugger was an ABCA/Rawlings All-South Central Region and All-Gulf South Conference first team honoree as a senior at West Florida in 2004 – finishing his two-year career in the school's top-10 in doubles (35, third), slugging percentage (.512, fourth), triples (seven, fifth), batting average (.345, sixth), RBI's (71, eighth), total bases (196, eighth), hits (132, ninth) and runs scored (81, 10th). That followed an all-conference career at Jefferson Davis Community College in Brewton, Ala.
A Chatom, Ala. native, Cottrell graduated from West Florida in 2011 with a degree in physical education.
"I have known both Bill and Pat for a long time and they both have great baseball minds," Jenkins said. "They have experienced a ton of success in their playing careers and followed that with each of them winning a national championship as a coach. We are looking forward to our staff helping our players reach their goals."
White comes to the Skyhawks from Chattahoochee Valley Community College in Phenix City, Ala. He spent four seasons as an assistant under head coaches Adam Thomas and Hunter Vick, helping the Pirates to a 138-56 overall record with an 81-23 mark (.779 winning percentage) in the Alabama Community College Conference. During White's tenure, CVCC won a pair of ACCC regular season championships (2018, 2021), two ACCC tournament championships (2018, 2019) and advanced to the NJCAA World Series twice – claiming a pair of victories at the 2019 event. Overall, White coached two All-Americans and 13 All-ACCC selections at CVCC.
Working primarily with the Pirate pitchers, White presided over a staff that combined for a 3.35 ERA, 1.29 WHIP, a .228 opponent batting average, a 2.6:1 strikeout-to-walk ratio a 9.61 strikeouts-per-nine-innings average and 33 shutouts in his four years at CVCC. The 2021 CVCC hurlers ranked in the top-two nationally in ERA (2.63, first) and shutouts (11, second) while the 2018 Pirate squad ranked in the top-four in the country in shutouts (15, second) and ERA (2.65, fourth). He mentored 2021 ACCC Pitcher of the Year Jordan Armstrong (11-0, 1.65 ERA in 71 innings) and 2018 All-American Cole Ganopulos (10-0, 1.62 ERA in 89 innings).
Before his stint at CVCC, White spent the 2013 campaign working under head coach Wynn Fletcher at Central Alabama Community College in Alexander City, Ala. The Trojans captured the program's first-ever national championship that season, finishing 43-14 after their victory over Palm Beach State in the NJCAA title game.
White spent nine seasons playing professionally, culminating with 17 MLB relief appearances with the Texas Rangers in 2007-08. He went 2-0 with three holds out of the Ranger bullpen as a rookie in 2007. He was selected in the MLB Draft on two separate occasions, being picked in the third round (99th overall) by the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2000 and in the 33rd round (992nd overall) by the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1997.
As a collegiate pitcher, White starred at Jacksonville State University (2000) and Meridian Community College (1998-99). The southpaw still holds the JSU Division I school record for most strikeouts in a game (16 against Samford on March 17, 2000) and in a season (136) – leading all of Division I baseball with a 16.0 strikeouts-per-nine-innings ratio. He fired the program's first no-hitter of its Division I Era when he accomplished that feat against Alabama A&M on March 12, 2000. As a freshman, he helped MCC to a third-place finish at the 1998 NJCAA World Series.
Hailing from Alexander City, Ala., White graduated from Jacksonville State in 2014 with a degree in liberal studies.
Cottrell joins UT Martin out of Pensacola State College in Pensacola, Fla., where he was an assistant under Bryan Lewallyn from 2017-20. He coached eight All-Panhandle Conference honorees, four players who went on to play professionally and 26 student-athletes who moved on to the NCAA Division I ranks.
Prior to that, Cottrell was part of a record-setting run at the University of South Carolina Beaufort in Bluffton, SC. He was an assistant for two years under Lewallyn, helping the 2016 Sand Sharks to a national No. 8 ranking and a school-record 42 victories on their way to the first Sun Conference regular season championship in program history and national tournament appearance. USCB went 20-4 in league play in 2016, shattering the program record in eight single-season offensive categories while ranking in the top-25 in the NAIA in hits per game (10.7, 14th) and runs per game (7.8, 22nd). In Cottrell's first season with the Sand Sharks, he coached an offense that ranked in the top-20 nationally in hits per game (10.7, 10th) and runs per game (7.4, 17th).
Cottrell spent three years as an assistant at Alabama Southern Community College in Monroeville, Ala. During the 2014 campaign, the Eagles collected a 36-16-1 record with a 23-7 mark in conference play, hitting .325 as a team and ranking ninth in the country in stolen bases (141).
Cottrell started his coaching career assisting with the infielders at Pensacola State College and the University of West Florida, his alma mater. He was on the Argonauts staff in 2011 when UWF won the 2011 NCAA Division II national championship, breaking school records for wins (52), conference victories (17) and longest winning streak (22 games). That team earned the program's first No. 1 national ranking and ranked in the top-10 nationally in runs scored (449), ERA (2.71) and fielding percentage (.971).
After Cottrell was selected by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in the 33rd round (975th overall) of the 2004 MLB Draft, he spent five seasons in the minor leagues. The right-handed slugger was an ABCA/Rawlings All-South Central Region and All-Gulf South Conference first team honoree as a senior at West Florida in 2004 – finishing his two-year career in the school's top-10 in doubles (35, third), slugging percentage (.512, fourth), triples (seven, fifth), batting average (.345, sixth), RBI's (71, eighth), total bases (196, eighth), hits (132, ninth) and runs scored (81, 10th). That followed an all-conference career at Jefferson Davis Community College in Brewton, Ala.
A Chatom, Ala. native, Cottrell graduated from West Florida in 2011 with a degree in physical education.
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