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Arizona Christian University

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2024 ACU Baseball Coaches' Reveal

Baseball Payne Moses

New Additions, MLB Ties On 2024 Coaching Staff

Glendale, Ariz.- ACU Baseball and head coach Joe McDonald officially announced the additions of Jacob Carson and Matt West to their 2024 coaching staff. Carson will enter the role of Prospect Development Pitching Coach and West will be the Pitching Coach. Mike Kinkade returns for his second season as Hitting and Catching Coach, with 14 years of professional baseball experience.

Mike Kinkade

A standout from Washington State University, Kinkade was a utility player who went on to play in the MLB from 1998-2003 for the New York Mets, Baltimore Orioles and Los Angeles Dodgers. He recorded a .256 batting average and 13 home runs while in the MLB and was a member of the USA Baseball Team that won gold at the 2000 Summer Olympics. In 2004, Kinkade played for the Hanshin Tigers in Japan.

A few years passed before Kinkade transitioned into coaching, joining the Seattle Mariners' coaching staff for four years (2011-2014). He left the organization to spend more time with his family before taking up coaching again in 2019, where he spent a year as assistant coach for CSU Bakersfield. With the COVID-19 pandemic shortening the season, Kinkade decided to find an opportunity elsewhere.

He ultimately discovered his current position at ACU because of conversations with Matt Magill, a pitching coach with ACU Baseball for the 2023 season. Kinkade also had a past connection with Coach McDonald, having played high school baseball with McDonald's brother. Once through the interview process, the decision to come aboard was an easy one.

With the upcoming season fast approaching, Kinkade said he looks forward to continuing to learn as a coach, especially with a bunch of new faces on the team.

"That was the biggest thing last year, I came in just getting a relationship with all the guys (which) helps me be able to coach," Kinkade said. "Now we got a bunch of new guys… (I) want to kind of build on that as well."

While he was all about getting his individual job done as a player, Kinkade said being a mentor has shifted his mindset to the bigger team picture where relationships are supreme.

Kinkade said the makeup of the 2024 team is completely different, with only two returning from last year's starting lineup. He is excited to see a very young squad prepare for and develop throughout the season.

Matt West

Born in Houston, Texas, West was drafted by the Texas Rangers in the second round of the 2007 MLB Draft out of Bellaire High School. West began his professional career as an infielder for the Arizona League Rangers, hitting .301 in 29 games. After grooming his game in the minors and being converted to pitcher in 2011, West was elevated to the MLB on July 10, 2014 by the Rangers.

West appeared in three MLB games that 2014 season before being designated for assignment and being picked up by the Toronto Blue Jays soon after. He filtered through the ranks of the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Orix Buffaloes of Japan, and Detroit Tigers before ending his professional career playing independent ball from 2018-2021.

With a 14-year journey behind him, West said he wanted to stay a part of a locker room environment, so he ended up getting his EMT. After getting nationally certified, West was one phone call away from taking a job in New Mexico, but said it did not feel right. Coaching was not remotely on his radar, but one day his wife was looking at job opportunities and came across an opening at ACU for a Pitching Coach.

West applied for the position and translated recent experience with youth baseball into a spot on the coaching staff of ACU Baseball.

"What really changed my opinion… about coaching was I started coaching my son," West said. "When I actually started seeing… realization (on) the kid's faces, understanding what I've been trying to teach them, it was a different type of reward feeling."

Heading into this season, West said he wants to pass on the sea of knowledge he has acquired over the years to the team, especially hard fundamentals and prep work. The biggest difference he has seen between collegiate and professional baseball is consistency in performance, preparation and mindset. Working specifically with pitchers, West wants to close the gap between these levels by approaching everyone as an individual rather than lump them together.

Jacob Carson 

A Seattle, Washington native, Carson played collegiate baseball at Oklahoma City University and graduated in 2016. Post-college, Carson had the opportunity to extend his baseball career on the  professional stage, when he spent two seasons playing in Germany. 

He moved to Arizona just over three years ago and taught history and coached baseball at Tolleson Union High School. During his stint at Tolleson, Carson also split time coaching at Brophy High School, which he would do for two seasons. 

An opening on ACU Baseball's staff came up on his Indeed account and Carson said he applied instantly when he saw the notification.

"I just thought it was a good fit, location was wonderful," Carson said. "You know, being Christ-centered was also a big part of it, and then once I met Coach McDonald… I was just like, it's a good spot to be."

His overall goal is to bring a young tenacity to the team, being that Carson is just 31 years old. Self-labeled "hard-nose player's coach," Carson wants to use his closeness in age to create unity inside Firestorm Baseball. 

2024 ACU Baseball Coaching Staff
  • Joe McDonald - Head Baseball Coach (6th Year)
  • Mark Flatten - Associate Head Coach (4th Year); Former MLB Scout with Toronto Blue Jays and Pittsburgh Pirates
  • Mike Kinkade - Hitting and Catching Coach (2nd Year); Former MLB player with the Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Mets, and Baltimore Orioles; Player on 2000 Gold Medal Olympic Team
  • Matt West - Pitching Coach (1st Year); Former MLB player with Texas Rangers and Los Angeles Dodgers
  • Don Mitchell - Assistant Coach (6th Year); Former Director of Scouting with Atlanta Braves and Arizona Diamondbacks; Former MLB player with Cincinnati Reds
  • Danny Avey - Analytics and Player Development (3rd Year)
  • Tom Francis - Head Prospect Development Coach (11th Year); Former MLB player with San Francisco Giants and San Diego Padres
  • Trevor Santor - Associate Head Prospect Development Coach (3rd Year)
  • Jacob Carson - Prospect Development Pitching Coach (1st Year)
  • Easton Babe - Assistant Prospect Development Coach (2nd Year)
Firestorm Baseball is thrilled to welcome Carson and West with opening day of the 2024 season a little more than three months away. 


Roll Storm!


 
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