NC State Wolfpack

17  Bill Kernen
	Hometown: New York, N.Y. Position: Assistant Coach Experience: First season Alma Mater: The Redlands (1970)

Bill Kernen, in his second season as pitching coach at NC State, brings a wealth of experience to the coaching staff after serving as a successful head coach at Cal State-Northridge and an assistant coach at Cal State-Fullerton and Illinois under the legendary Augie Garrido, one of college baseball’s all-time winningest coaches.

Kernen, who began his coaching career at San Gorgonio (Calif.) High School and served one year as an assistant coach at Orange Coast (Calif.) Community College, brings extensive credentials to the Wolfpack program. In addition to coaching Cal State Northridge to a 240-154-3 record and four NCAA Tournament appearances in seven seasons as head coach, he also served an an assistant coach for seven years under Garrido at Cal State Fullerton and Illinois.

Kernen joined Garrido as pitching coach at CSUF in 1977, and from 1977-81 the Titans won five consecutive Southern California Baseball Association championships, and in 1979 won the national championship with a 60-14-1 overall record. Those five Fullerton teams went a combined 244-77-2. Following a four-year absence to pursue private business interests, Kernen rejoined Garrido at Cal State Fullerton in 1987 and helped lead the Titans to a 44-17 record and the Pacific Coast Athletic Association championship. Garrido and Kernen left Fullerton following the 1987 season to revive the program at the University of Illinois.

After one season with the Illini, Kernen left to become the head coach at Cal State Northridge. In 1990, his second season there, Kernen led the Matadors to a 39-22 record and the championship game of the NCAA Division II College World Series. The following year, in the program’s first season at the Division I level, Kernen guided Northridge to a 44-18-1 record, the finals of the NCAA West II Regional, and a No. 10 national ranking in the final Collegiate Baseball poll, the highest ranking ever for a baseball program in its first year of Division I play.

Cal State Northridge made three consecutive Division I NCAA Regional appearances under Kernen, who picked up his 150th victory as a head coach with an 8-3 win, ironically, over NC State in the 1992 Carolina Invitational at Chapel Hill. He picked up his 200th career win wth an 8-5 triumph over the University of San Diego in 1994. Kernen left Northridge following the 1995 season to move to New York City, where he worked as a playwright for five years.

Kernen is a 1970 graduate of the University of Redlands, where he received a degree in psychology with a minor in business administration. He capped his four-year playing career at Redlands by setting school records for wins and ERA and leading the nation in both categories. He pitched professionally in the Baltimore Orioles organization from 1970-73, and then began his coaching career as head coach at San Gorgonio (Calif.) High School in 1974.