Former Bobcat standout infielder Zach Allen, who has the unique distinction of winning an NJCAA national championship ring as a coach and making it to the national finals as a player at Jones, returns to coach alongside Chris Kirtland for the 2021 season.
"We are very pleased to have Zach joining our coaching staff once again," Kirtland said. "He is the perfect fit for what we are looking for in a coach for our program. Zach played and coached at a very high level at Jones in the past, and I know that our players will benefit from his knowledge and experience."
The Pascagoula native spent the 2019 season as an assistant at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College and 2018 season at Harrison Central High School.
Allen last coached at Jones during the 2015-17 seasons, helping the Bobcats to a combined 130-31 record (.807), including the program's first national championship.
Working mainly with infielders, hitters and baserunners, the 2016 team won a school-record 54 games, batted .352 with 60 home runs and stole a record 195 bases. Every Bobcat starting infielder finished the season with an NCAA Division I offer.
Allen played at Jones during the 2011-12 seasons under Christian Ostrander, winning a pair of division titles, a conference championship and region championship. As a freshman, he was the team's leading hitter (.366) and starting second baseman and guided the Bobcats to their first-ever NJCAA World Series.
He extended his baseball career at both Point Loma Nazarene University and William Carey before re-joining Jones in 2015 as a graduate assistant. He received his masters from USM in 2016.
Allen also served as a volunteer assistant at Stone High School in 2013-14.
Allen is married to the former Devin Allen and the couple welcomed their first child Elizabeth in August.
