Chris Kirtland enters his sixth season as Jones' head baseball coach in 2021 where he has won 79 percent of his games.
Kirtland and the Bobcats play in the finest facility in Mississippi junior college at Community Bank Park and boast one of the nation's top attendances year in and year out.
Kirtland is 181-47 overall and 92-20 in conference play, winning 20 league games in each of his first four seasons. The Bobcats have been nationally-ranked in 43 out of 47 NJCAA Division II polls under Kirtland and spent the entire 2017 season at No. 1.
In 11 seasons with the Bobcats as head coach and an assistant, he's helped lead the Bobcats to 10 postseason appearances, three MACJC Championships (2011, 2014, 2017) the 2016 NJCAA National Championship and a national runner-up finish in 2011.
Kirtland led JC to a 37-12 record in 2019, a playoff series win over Hinds and region tournament berth. The Bobcats were nationally-ranked in 11 straight polls and closed the season with one of the country's top ERA's (3.66) and batting average (.326).
The Bobcats finished 46-4 and were rated No. 1 for the entire 2017 season en route to a conference championship and runner-up finish in the region tournament. Jones went 38-11 and finished as MACJC runner-up in 2018.
In his first season as head coach in 2016, Kirtland guided the Bobcats to a sterling 54-9 record and their first-ever NJCAA Division II National Championship. It was also the first baseball national championship for a team from the MACJC. He was named the Coach of the World Series, Region 23 Coach of the Year and was also a finalist for the prestigious Skip Bertman National Coach of the Year Award.
Since being named head coach, Kirtland has helped 37 players continue their careers at the four-year level, with 28 of those signing with Division I programs.
Kirtland served six years as an assistant coach under Christian Ostrander, working primarily with catchers and outfielders and serving as the lead recruiter. The Bobcats posted a 255-109 record with two MACJC championships, one Region 23 title and a national runner-up finish in the 2011 NJCAA World Series.
Kirtland has helped develop many successful Bobcat players over the years, including NJCAA All-American catchers Tyler Graves (2014) and Mason Irby (2015-16). Graves was named the NJCAA DII Defensive Player of the Year in 2014. Other notable players include All-American Tyler Gardner (2010), 9th round MLB draft pick Chris Lofton (2010), Carter Polles (2014) and Chris Morgan (2014).
Kirtland came to JCJC from the University of Southern Mississippi, where he served as Director of Baseball Operations for the Golden Eagles in 2009. Southern Miss won the 2009 Atlanta Regional, Gainesville Super Regional and advanced to the College World Series in Omaha, Neb., for the first time in school history.
Kirtland was a utility player for legendary coach Corky Palmer and received his bachelor's degree in sports administration from Southern Miss in 2008, with a minor in business. He earned his master's degree in sports management from Southern Miss in 2009.
A New Orleans native, Kirtland is married to the former Amanda Nettles of Hattiesburg and the couple have two sons, Blake and Jordan.
