Jay Sullenger is entering his sixth season as the coach at Biola University in 2019. He was named the ninth coach in program history in April 2013. Sullenger came to Biola after spending 14 years at the NCAA Division I level as a player and coach.
Sullenger led the Eagles to a .682 winning percentage over Biola's final two years in the NAIA and helped the team re-establish expectations of reaching championship play year in and year out. Additionally, Sullenger has helped the Eagles prioritize away from the baseball field, resulting in a 3.0 cumulative GPA on the team in 2016-17 and community engagement work in Mexico and at local high school and middle schools.
In 2018, his Eagles played their first PacWest Conference campaign, and it was a successful one with the team finishing above .500 and in fourth-place overall. With Biola ineligible for NCAA postseason his squad participate in the National Christian College Athletic Association World Series and won three games before bowing out in the semifinals to the eventual national champions. That year, six of his players earned All-PacWest honors, more than any other Biola team managed in 2017-18. Daniel Jang became the institution's first-ever NCAA Division II All-American and was also one of four Eagles to earn NCCAA All-American recognition.
| Sullenger's Record at Biola |
Year
2014
2015
2016
2017
Biola
2018
TOTAL |
Overall
15-39
22-31
31-27
35-18
Joins
34-22
137-137 (.500) |
GSAC
11-25 (6th)
16-26 (5th)
15-15 (5th)
19-11 (2nd)
The PacWest
21-19 (4th)
82-96 (.461) |
Playoffs
N/A
N/A
GSAC Tourn. Final
GSAC Tournament
Conference
NCCAA Semifinals_ |
|
His first season in the Golden State Athletic Conference was a difficult one, as the Eagles worked their way to a 15-39 overall record as Sullenger began to work the roster into his kind of team. The team placed sixth in the conference that season, and finished ahead of just Arizona Christian with an 11-25 conference record.
Season two of the Sullenger era saw a positive swing, as Biola's overall record was improved by 7.5 games and it added five more Golden State Athletic Conference victories to move from a sixth place finish to a fifth place mark.
The third season Sullenger's team continued to improve and took massive steps. The team went 31-27 to record the first winning season and first 30-win season since 2011. The team also qualified for the Golden State Athletic Conference tournament for the first time since 2012 and made quite the run. Led by Sam Thorne, Alec de Watteville and JD Meyer and stron starts from Eric Diomartich, Jimmy Gallarda and Micah Beyer the team won its first three games to exit the winner's bracket and earn a berth in the GSAC Tournament finals.
During Biola's final season in the NAIA, Sullenger led the Eagles to their best season 2011. The team went 22-9 at home and played the last two months of the regular season without consecutive losses. The Eagles earned an NAIA Top-25 ranking for the first time since the 2012 Preseason Poll with their No. 24 ranking on the April 25 poll. The rotation of Micah Beyer, Jimmy Gallarda and Wyatt Haccou collected 16 GSAC wins to help Biola to a second-place finish in GSAC while the offense averaged over six runs a game.
Sullenger was named GSAC Coach of the Year after the Eagles finished with a 19-11 record in conference play in 2017.
Prior to coming to Biola, Sullenger spent 11 seasons coaching at James Madison after reaching three NCAA Regionals as a player at Liberty University. He joined the JMU squad in 2001 as a volunteer assistant coach, becoming a paid assistant in 2004 and moving into the associate head coach role in 2008. He stayed at JMU through the 2011 season when he left to become the Minister of Recreation Outreach at Idlewild Baptist Church in Tampa.
As an associate head coach at James Madison, Sullenger was the third-base coach and hitting coach. He carried additional responsibilities off the field as the program's recruiting coordinator while also assisting with scheduling and budget management. Under Sullenger's tutelage, the Dukes routinely ranked among Colonial Athletic Association leaders in various offensive categories. Most notably, that was the case for the 2011 season when JMU led the nation in slugging percentage (.517) and runs per game (8.9) en route to its second league championship and a trip to the NCAA Regionals.
As chief recruiter for the Dukes, Sullenger landed classes honored nationally as among the top 100 by Collegiate Baseball four of the last five years. Sixteen JMU hitters have signed professional contracts under Sullenger's direction with the majority developed at JMU after going undrafted out of high school. Those players have included National Co-Player of the Year Kellen Kulbacki (2005-07), National Hitter of the Year and Johnny Bench winner Jake Lowery (2009-11) and two-time CAA Player of the Year Eddie Kim (2000-03).
Sullenger began his collegiate career at Division II Florida Southern before then transferring closer to his Shenandoah Valley home at Division I Liberty University in Lynchburg. He was a second-team All-Big South selection as a senior infielder at Liberty. He turned in the best season of his career as a senior, hitting .327 (50-for-153) with 12 doubles, five triples, two home runs and 26 stolen bases.
Sullenger worked one year for the Tampa Rays in facility and event management before beginning his coaching tenure with the Dukes. He earned his bachelor's degree in sports management from Liberty in 2000 and his master's in sports administration in 2002 at JMU. Jay and his wife, Erin, have four children: Eli, Hannah, Reagan and Macy Grace.
Coach Sullenger on Biola Baseball:
