NC State Wolfpack

56  Billy Jones
	Hometown: Kent, Wash. Position: Assistant Head Coach Birthdate: 02/28/1969 Alma Mater: Oregon State (2001)

In just his third year with the program, his first as assistant head coach, Billy Jones has had a dramatic impact on the NC State baseball program, helping the Wolfpack greatly improve its performance on the field, while establishing himself as one of the top young assistant coaches in the country.

As the only full-time assistant on the NC State coaching staff for much of the 2003 season, Jones played a major role in the Wolfpack's incredible success last spring. As the Pack ascended in the polls and then made its heart-stopping run in the NCAA Tournament, the word steadily spread throughout college baseball that Billy Jones is a man on the rise.

Jones serves as the Wolfpack's recruiting coordinator, works with the team's defense and baserunners, and also serves as third-base coach. As the program's lead recruiter, he has put together two outstanding recruiting classes. Already, one of his recruits -- relief pitcher Joey Devine -- has earned All-America honors, and Jones has gained a reputation nationally for his relentless work on the recruiting trail.

His work with the team's defense has produced tangible results as well. In just two seasons working with Jones, NC State has improved its fielding percentage from .952 in 2001 to .958 in 2002 to .966 a year ago. The Wolfpack reduced its errors in that time from 118 in 2001 to 91 in 2002 to just 83 in 2003, a two-year reduction of 30 percent. On the basepaths, the Wolfpack increased its stolen-base output from 67 in 2002 to 84 in 2003, and improved its success rate in stealing from 69.8 percent to 75.0 percent.

That kind of success cannot go unrewarded, and Jones began to reap the benefits of his hard work following the 2003 season. First of all, he was promoted to assistant head coach. Then, this past fall, Baseball America named Jones as one of just five finalists for its National Assistant Coach of the Year award.

Jones came to NC State in the fall of 2001 after coaching the previous seven years on the West Coast. He spent the 2001 season as an assistant coach at Arizona State, where he worked with the Sun Devils' infield, and then worked the summer of 2001 as head coach of the Brewster Whitecaps of the Cape Cod League, also serving as manager of the East team in the Cape League All-Star Game. Jones joined the staff at NC State after being a finalist for the head coaching position at Western Illinois University.

Prior to working at Arizona State, Jones spent two years as an assistant coach at Oregon State, coaching the Beavers' infielders and implementing the team's strength-and-conditioning program for position players. He helped the Beavers to improve their fielding percentage both years he was there, and helped walk-on third baseman Brian Barden become a 2000 Freshman All-American in Collegiate Baseball magazine.

In 1997 and '98, Jones was head coach at Green River (Wash.) Community College. Jones's Gators won the Northwest Athletic Association of Community Colleges (NWAACC) Western Region championship in 1998 after batting .342 as a team with 60 home runs in just 36 games. Green River had 11 players named to the NWAACC's All-Western Region team, and Jones was named Western Region Coach of the Year. He also coached the Western Region All-Stars to victory in the NWAACC All-Star Game.

Jones began his coaching career in Redmond, Wash., coaching an 18-and-under AAU team. From 1992-97, his clubs averaged more than 40 wins per season, won four regional championships, twice reached the semifinals of the AAU Junior Olympics, and had a pair of third-place finishes in the Continental Amateur Baseball Association (CABA) World Championships.

Jones began his collegiate playing career at Lower Columbia Community College, batting .433 as a freshman reserve. Following his two years of junior college, Jones finished his playing career at Southwest Texas State University in San Marcos, Texas.

Jones earned his bachelor of science degree from Oregon State in 2001. He lives in Raleigh with his wife Tiffani and their two sons, Ryder (8) and Utah (6).