In addition to overall State Coach of the Year John Donohue, we have additional state coaching honors for the 2015 season going to Mike Mitchell from Christian of El Cajon and Nelson Randolph from Capital Christian of Sacramento.
For more on State Coach of the Year John Donohue, CLICK HERE.
MEDIUM SCHOOLS STATE COACH OF THE YEAR
Mike Mitchell (Christian, El Cajon)
It was just last year when James Davis of nearby Granite Hills was selected as the overall State Coach of the Year, but despite a desire to spread around coaching honors as much as possible it just can’t be avoided to go with Mitchell for one of this year’s slots.
We could have realistically gone with Mitchell in either the medium schools or small schools classifications based on which division the Patriots played in for medium or their enrollment for small.
Since they did finish 29-2 and No. 1 in the final Division III state rankings, however, medium it is. Mitchell, who already has been named as the San Diego Section Coach of the Year, completed his 24th season of high school baseball coaching and is approaching his 500th career win.
Mitchell earned his 400th milestone win in the 2013 season. He began his coaching career with four seasons at Coronado and has been at Christian of El Cajon for 20 years.
This year’s team edged Del Norte of Poway 5-4 in the CIF San Diego Section Division III championship. The Patriots won their last 18 games and one of their two losses came in extra innings to a Francis Parker of San Diego squad that was later defeated. Mitchell’s team featured four .400 hitters, led by senior William Hail (.473) and sophomore Justin Ledgerwood (.440), and pitching leaders such as senior Nathan Jarvis (8-0 record) and junior Camden Bessone (.0.50 ERA).
Last 10 State Medium Schools Coaches of the Year: 2015 – Mike Mitchell (El Cajon Christian); 2014 – Ollie Turner (Torrance); 2013 – Wilmer Aaron (Gardena Serra); 2012 – Steve Vickery (Lakeside El Capitan); 2011 – Gary Remiker (San Diego Cathedral Catholic); 2010 – Rich Sciutto (Burlingame); 2009 – Bob Anderson (Lake Shasta Central Valley); 2008 – Hondo Arpoika (Oakdale); 2007 – Sandy Whitol (Los Altos); 2006 – Aaron Kavanaugh (Quartz Hill).
SMALL SCHOOLS STATE COACH OF THE YEAR
Nelson Randolph (Capital Christian, Sacramento)
A well-known and popular coach in the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section, Randolph collects another statewide honor for the Cougars, who just sent off the 2014-15 State Grid-Hoop Player of the Year (Justice Shelton-Mosley) to Harvard University.
Randolph’s squad in 2015 won its third straight Division V section title and won 25 games or more for the third straight time. The 27-5 record wasn’t easy to get, either, since it required two playoff wins over 19-2 Hughson plus a win over Dixon in the final. Earlier in the season, Dixon had won twice in three previous meetings. In the title game, however, Capital Christian won 9-2.
Randolph has been coaching at Sacramento area high schools since a stint that began in 1998 at Kennedy. He’s been at Capital Christian since 2003 and has won more than 250 games. As a player, he developed under the legendary Jerry Weinstein at Sacramento City College, but injuries prevented a rise upward in the minor leagues. In 1998, he did play for a California team at the Nike World Games and had a .600 batting average.
Last 10 State Small Schools Coaches of the Year: 2015 – Nelson Randolph (Sacramento Capital Christian); 2014 – Jay Preuss (Kerman); 2013 – Gil Ruiz (Pacific Grove); 2012 – Greg Largent (Escalon); 2011 – Craig Schoof (Atherton Menlo School); 2010 – Glen Prater (Riverside Woodcrest Christian); 2009 – Brad Gunter (Roseville Valley Christian); 2008 – Gary Galloway (Petaluma St. Vincent de Paul); 2007 – Rick Zepek (San Jacinto); 2006 – Mike Glines (Modesto Central Catholic).
Mark Tennis is the co-founder and publisher of CalHiSports.com. He can be reached at markjtennis@gmail.com. Don’t forget to follow Mark on the Cal-Hi Sports Twitter handle: @CalHiSports
