Quick Facts
Biography
Bill Kernen (born August 1, 1948 in Boise, Idaho) is the current head coach of the California State University, Bakersfield baseball team. Prior to that position he was the head coach of the California State University, Northridge baseball team from 1989–1995, and the pitching coach for the California State University, Fullerton baseball team from 1978–1982. In addition to his baseball coaching achievements, Kernen is also an accomplished playwright, as well as a former baseball player.
Kernen is 376–295 as a collegiate head coach.
Playing career
Kernen started his college baseball playing career in 1966 at University of Redlands. A four-year letterman for the Bulldogs, Kernan had a successful playing career as a pitcher. In 1970, his senior season, he won 11 games with a 1.26 ERA in 106 innings, earning him first-team All-SCIAC, Player of the Year, and Athlete of the Year honors. Additionally, his 11 victories tie him with Gary Sherman (1965) for the most in a single season at Redlands.
Kernen completed his undergraduate degree requirement in Psychology at University of Redlands in 1970, graduating cum laude. He played three seasons of minor league baseball after being drafted into the Baltimore Orioles organization, before beginning his coaching career in 1974.
Coaching career
San Gorgonio High School
Kernen began his head coaching career for his alma mater, San Gorgonio High School, spending two years with the program from 1974 to 1976.
Orange Coast College
He moved on to coach at Orange Coast College in 1976, leading the Pirates of Costa Mesa for a season.
Cal State Fullerton
Moving to Cal State Fullerton in 1978 to coach pitchers under renowned head coach Augie Garrido, Kernen helped to turn the Titans into a perennial postseason contender winning the Big West tournament 5 straight seasons, including trips to the College World Series in 1979 and 1982, with the Titans winning the national championship in the 1979 season. Kernen left the Titans after the 1982 season, only to return to the team for the 1987 season. After his coaching hiatus, he spent another six years at Fullerton, coaching 14 pitchers who were selected by Major League Baseball in the amateur draft, four of whom reached the big leagues in Gary Buckles, Larry Casian, Jeff Robinson, and No. 1 draft pick Mike Harkey.
Cal State Northridge
Kernen's first major college head coaching position was at Cal State Northridge, where he led the Matadors in their transition from Division II to Division I. The Matadors, who had been successful at the Division II level, having won national titles in 1970 and 1984, transitioned between the two divisions over a four-year period under Kernen's auspices. 1990 was the last year of Division II play for the Matadors, and in this final year Kernen guided the team to the NCAA Division II title game. This effort earned Kernen the Division II West Region Coach of the Year honors. In 1991, the first year of Division I play for the Matadors, Kernen led CSUN to a 44–18–1 record, the West Regional championship game and a top 10 ranking in the final NCAA Division I poll. In seven seasons with the Matadors, Kernen's record was 240–154–3.
Cal State Bakersfield
Kernen was selected to coach the Cal State Bakersfield Roadrunners in August, 2008. As the founding coach of the Roadrunners team, he was responsible for the selection of the initial recruits, as well as the hiring of pitching and hitting coaches. He put together a 25-man team roster for the Roadrunners, which is small by college baseball standards, which has a maximum roster of 35
Head coaching records
Below is a table of Kernen's yearly records as an NCAA head baseball coach.
| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cal State Northridge Matadors (California Collegiate Athletic Association (DII)) (1989–1990) | |||||||||
| 1989 | Cal State Northridge | 30–19–1 | 16–12–1 | ||||||
| 1990 | Cal State Northridge | 39–22 | 21–9 | College World Series | |||||
| Cal State Northridge Matadors (Independent (DI)) (1991–1992) | |||||||||
| 1991 | Cal State Northridge | 44–18–1 | NCAA Regional | ||||||
| 1992 | Cal State Northridge | 38–16–1 | NCAA Regional | ||||||
| Cal State Northridge Matadors (Western Athletic Conference) (1993–1995) | |||||||||
| 1993 | Cal State Northridge | 36–20 | 13–11 | t-2nd (West) | |||||
| 1994 | Cal State Northridge | 25–30 | 12–12 | 3rd (West) | |||||
| 1995 | Cal State Northridge | 28–29 | 14–15 | 3rd (West) | |||||
| Cal State Northridge: | 242–154–3 | 76–59–1 | |||||||
| Cal State Bakersfield Roadrunners (Independent) (2009–2012) | |||||||||
| 2009 | Cal State Bakersfield | 13–37 | |||||||
| 2010 | Cal State Bakersfield | 26–30 | |||||||
| 2011 | Cal State Bakersfield | 33–22 | |||||||
| 2012 | Cal State Bakersfield | 25–30 | |||||||
| Cal State Bakersfield Roadrunners (Western Athletic Conference) (2013–present) | |||||||||
| 2013 | Cal State Bakersfield | 37–22 | 18–9 | t-1st | WAC Tournament | ||||
| 2014 | Cal State Bakersfield | 26–33 | 15–12 | 5th | WAC Tournament | ||||
| Cal State Bakersfield: | 160–174 | 33–21 | |||||||
| Total: | 402–307 | ||||||||
National champion Postseason invitational champion | |||||||||
Playwright
After coaching at Cal State Northridge, Kernen left college baseball to pursue a career in theatre. He attended the dramatic writing program at Columbia University in New York City. As a playwright, Kernen produced multiple plays. In 1997, Kernen wrote and produced And Other Fairy Tales and A Graveyard Symphony; in the next years, Kernen followed these with the more ambitious Galleria degli Angeli (1998) and Musica de Mariposa (1999), the former of which was honored as a finalist in the Oglebay Institute National Playwriting Competition.