Biola Athletics announced Jeff Calhoon as its 11th head baseball coach in July 2019. He came to Biola after spending the 2019 season as recruiting coordinator and assistant coach at Point Loma. The Spring 2022 season marked Calhoon's third at the helm of the Biola Boys.
"We are thrilled to have Jeff Calhoon as the next leader for this Biola Baseball program," said Associate Athletic Director Eddie Shepard at Calhoon's hiring. "He brings with him a fire for coaching and mentoring young men, and he's been groomed for this position with years of experience as an assistant coach in some very successful programs."
| Calhoon's Record at Biola |
| Year
2020
2021
2022
TOTAL
|
Overall
12-2
14-19
22-27
48-48
(.500)
|
Conference
1-1
10-14 (3rd*)
18-14
29-29
(.500)
|
Playoffs
-
-
-
|
Calhoon's 2022 baseball squad ended the season with a fourth-place finish in the PacWest, an one-slot improvement from the last conference standings published in 2019.
Senior transfer Oscar Serratos played a major role in the Eagles 2022 success and even made program history when he hit for the cycle on April 8. Serratos went on to rack up awards such as PacWest Newcomer of the Year, First Team All-PacWest and All-Region honors from the NCBWA and ABCA/Rawlings.
As a team, the Eagles had three All-PacWest selections (including Serratos) and one player go pro. Left-handed hurler Connor Butler was selected as the Boston Red Sox's 609th pick in the 2022 MLB Draft.
The 2021 season was a challenge as the PacWest Conference split into pod play to accomodate the continued COVID-19 crisis. Biola played a 33-game regular season with 24 of those games coming against Southern California pod opponents Azusa Pacific, Point Loma and Concordia Irvine. The Eagles would finish third among the four teams with a 10-14 PacWest mark.
RobertAnthony Cruz was again a highlight for Calhoon's squad. He earned Biola Male Student-Athlete of the Year honors, PacWest Conference Baseball Scholar-Athlete of the Year honors and was named to the 2021 NCBWA All-America team and CCAA All-American honorable mention.
Cruz was one of five Eagles to earn All-PacWest in 2021 and he and Larson Kindreich both had all-region campaigns.
Biola Baseball’s start to the 2020 season was a great testament to the personality and culture its new coaching staff wanted to instill in the Eagles. Coach Calhoon picked up his first win, first series win and first PacWest win as a head coach in just over a month and led the newly-dubbed Biola Boys to their first national ranking as a NCAA DII program on February 19, 2020.
The Eagles would hold down the No. 2 spot in the West Region poll all four weeks new rankings were released and would eventually climb to a No. 8 national ranking in the final poll of the season before 2020 came to an untimely end due to COVID-19.
The year started with a series sweep of Cal State Monterey Bay punctuated by a walk-off homerun from Ben Smith on February 1. Then the Eagles would go on a seven-game win streak that began when Biola won all five games it played over a three-day span from February 13-15.
Eagles players picked up six weekly awards before the 2020 season was halted by the COVID-19 pandemic: RobertAnthony Cruz won PacWest Player of the Week after the first weekend of the season, Andrew Beauvais was named Freshman of the Week on February 17 and Larson Kindreich won three PacWest Pitcher of the Week awards of the first three weeks of the season and a NCBWA West Region Pitcher of the week nod after striking of 15 in a seven-inning shutout of Colorado Springs on February 14.
Kindreich would strikeout 48 batters over 30 innings and set two NCAA-Era program records: 25.2 consecutive scoreless innings and a 0.00 ERA over his 30 frames of work.
Prior to his year at Point Loma, Calhoon was an assistant coach at UC San Diego for three seasons and Westmont College the two years before that. Calhoon's teams went 232-114 over his six years as an assistant coach. In his four years with NCAA Division II programs, the teams made NCAA postseason three times, including twice advancing to the NCAA Division II Baseball Championship. Both of his seasons at Westmont he helped the Warriors to NAIA postseason berths, including a 2014 Golden State Athletic Conference tournament championship.
Calhoon played his college ball at NCAA Division I Niagara University. He was a catcher for the Purple Eagles, appearing in 59 games over his two seasons with the program. Prior to his time at Niagara he was an all-conference player at Skagit Valley College in Mount Vernon, Washington. He's originally from Snohomish, Washington.
As an assistant coach Calhoon worked with a lot with the catchers on his teams, grooming at least one of his catchers to all-conference honors in each of the last three seasons.
On Dec. 3, 2016, Calhoon was chosen to be among the speakers at San Diego State as part of the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) Barnstormers 2016 West Coast Clinics, presenting a session on base running. He's also presented on catching at the same clinic. In 2019 he was invited to speak on catching at the ABCA national coaches convention. In 2021 he was tabbed to work with USA Baseball on a special Team USA task force created to identify and select national team players.
Calhoon earned a B.S. in communication studies while playing at Niagara and then went on to attain an M.A. in coaching and athletic administration from Concordia Irvine.
"Coach Calhoon really understands baseball, and he understands how to help his players reach their full potential," said Shepard. "This is evidenced by all the awards his catchers have won and the double-digit numbers of MLB draft picks coming from his previous stops. We look forward to him helping Biola Baseball reach new heights."
WHAT BASEBALL LEADERS SAY ABOUT COACH CALHOON
“It has been apparent over the past six years while recruiting alongside, working camp, and sharing ideas with Jeff Calhoon that he is a rising star in the baseball world. His technical acumen when it comes to baseball is extremely sound, especially with hitters and catchers. However, it is his ability to relate to colleagues while sharing his true self and faith with others that makes him shine. Biola University knocked it out of the park with this hire and Jeff Calhoon will be extremely successful on the field, but more importantly, in leading men of faith.”
Andrew Bartman, Director of Coaching Development USA Baseball
"“Winning and player development have seemed to follow Jeff around and it is apparent after you spend time with him that he played a central role in that. His dedication to learning, his insatiable drive on the recruiting trails, and his unique ability to get the most from his players makes Biola a program to watch under his guidance and leadership.”
Jeremy Sheetinger, former Assistant Executive Director for the American Baseball Coaches Association and current Head Coach at Georgia Gwinnett College
“Jeff Calhoon is a great choice for Biola Baseball and the future of that program. Jeff is an up and coming coach who has been around successful programs his entire coaching career. His reputation to recruit successful student athletes is well known in the coaching community and especially at the NCAA DII level over the last four years. Jeff will combine a passion for his faith, and for baseball that will get Biola baseball ready for success.”
Eric Newman, Head Coach at UC San Diego
“I believe that Coach Calhoon is a tremendous hire for Biola University; he is a solid person and will match well with the mission of Biola University. He has most recently worked under two great people and baseball men in Justin James and Eric Newman, is a proven recruiter, and has an energy level that is difficult to beat. I am confident his players will like his style and benefit from his baseball knowledge and the resources he will bring to the table. He is absolutely ready to be a head coach, and I look forward to following his progress with the Eagle baseball team!”
Ed Mathey, Head Coach at North Central College and record-holder for most wins at Northern Illinois and NCC
