Who is Dave Serrano? A closer look at the longtime college baseball coach and career highlights

Born on June 28, 1964, in Torrance, California, Serrano has spent more than 3 decades in the baseball universe. He played college baseball as a pitcher before moving into coaching, where he built a large legacy at many universities across the U.S. Today, he is the head baseball coach at Johnson University in Knoxville, Tennessee. Serrano’s baseball career began after he graduated from Cerritos College and Cal State Fullerton, where he pitched and demonstrated strong leadership on the field.

Dave Serrano’s career highlights and major achievements in baseball

Serrano became the head coach at UC Irvine in 2005. In only his third season, he led the team to its first College World Series appearance in 2007. The breakthrough year earned him Baseball America’s National Coach of the Year Award and put UC Irvine on the national baseball map.


Serrano then returned to Cal State Fullerton as head coach from 2008 to 2011. His teams qualified for the NCAA Tournament every year, and in 2009, they reached the College World Series again. Under his leadership, Fullerton won the Big West Conference championship three times (2008, 2010, 2011). He was also named Big West Coach of the Year in 2010 and 2011.

In 2011, Serrano was hired as head coach at the University of Tennessee, a major program in the Southeastern Conference. He coached the Volunteers for six seasons.

After Tennessee, Serrano continued his career at West Virginia University as a pitching coach and later returned as a head coach at Cal State Northridge from 2020 to 2022 before briefly retiring. In 2023, he returned to coaching as head coach at Johnson University, where he has been working to grow the program and help players succeed. Throughout his career, Serrano has been part of 16 NCAA Tournament appearances and 7 College World Series appearances, and has coached dozens of players who were drafted into professional baseball.

Impact on players and the college baseball world

Dave has not only focused on his game and winnings, but has also helped his junior players grow as athletes and people. Throughout his coaching career, he has guided many players who went on to play professional baseball.

His work on recruiting and player development has left a lasting mark on college baseball, especially in the Big West Conference, one of the sport’s strongest leagues. Now at Johnson University, Serrano is using his decades of experience to help a smaller program grow and compete.

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