BOONE, N.C. — Justin Aspegren, who helped lead Santa Barbara City College to three championships in the ultra-competitive Western State Conference over the last five seasons, has been named an assistant baseball coach at Appalachian State University, head coach Billy Jones announced on Wednesday. Aspegren will coach the Mountaineers' pitchers.

“We are extremely excited to have Justin join our staff at Appalachian State,” Jones said. “He is highly respected for his ability as a developer of young arms, a teacher of the game and a great communicator. He is an impressive person that gets the very most out of a student-athlete's athletic ability while, at the same time, falling in line with our belief that it is our responsibility as coaches to also teach lessons that will help our student-athletes succeed in the game of life. His track record speaks for itself — he has worked extremely hard at perfecting his craft and that hard work has translated in to him being regarded as one of the top pitching minds at any level of college baseball.”

Aspegren comes to Appalachian State after eight seasons as associate head coach and pitching coach at Santa Barbara City College in Santa Barbara, Calif., where he helped establish SBCC as one of the nation's top junior-college programs.

He helped lead the Vaqueros to a 192-134 record (.589) over eight seasons and three Western State Conference championships in the last five years (2011, 2014 and 2015). After finishing higher than fourth place in the WSC only twice in the 26 years prior to his arrival, SBCC finished in third place or better in all eight seasons with Aspergen on its staff.

In addition to winning its third conference championship in five years in 2015, SBCC finished 33-11 overall (good for the second-most wins and second-best winning percentage in the program's 46-year history), took fifth in the state of California for the second-straight year and posted a school-record 2.21 team ERA. 

Individually, 32 pitchers that Aspegren coached at SBCC received all-conference recognition, six were named all-Southern California and two earned all-America honors. He also coached four WSC Pitchers of the Year in eight seasons and one Southern California Pitcher of the Year.

Thirty-five of Aspergen's pitchers at SBCC went on to sign with four-year institutions, including 21 at the NCAA Division I level. Twelve signed professional baseball contracts, including eight Major League Baseball Draft picks.

In addition to his time at SBCC, Aspegren has also coached in some of the nation's most prestigious collegiate summer leagues, including stints in the Cape Cod Baseball League (pitching coach, Brewster White Caps - 2009-10), Valley Baseball League (head coach, Haymarket Senators - 2011-12) and California Collegiate League (pitching coach, Santa Barbara Foresters - 2014-15). The 2014 Foresters, which included former Appalachian State baseball student-athletes Jaylin Davis and Dillon Dobson, won the National Baseball Congress World Series in Wichita, Kan.

He has also served as an associate scout for the Chicago Cubs since 2013.

Before joining the coaching ranks, Aspegren was a baseball student-athlete at SBCC (2004-05) before transferring to NCAA Division I UC Santa Barbara for his final two collegiate seasons (2006-07). At SBCC, he was a two-year member of the Vaqueros' starting rotation, winning13 games and earning all-conference accolades twice. As a sophomore in 2005, he was part of an SBCC pitching staff that led the state in ERA and led the Vaqueros to the postseason for the first time in 27 years.  

“I couldn't be more excited about the opportunity that Coach Jones has given me,” Aspegren said. “My family is just as excited as I am and I'm thrilled to be able to work at a great University alongside a great group of coaches. A new pitching staff is like Christmas morning for me and I can't wait to roll up my sleeves and get to work with everybody involved with Mountaineer baseball.”

A Napa, Calif. native, Aspegren graduated from UC Santa Barbara in 2007 with a B.A. in business economics (exercise and sports studies minor) and earned a M.S. in exercise science (sport psychology concentration) from California University of Pennsylvania in 2013.

Aspegren replaces Michael Rogers, who left Appalachian State after three seasons this summer to return to private business in his native New Jersey.

WHAT THEY'RE SAYING ABOUT JUSTIN ASPEGREN:
“I've had the chance to watch closely as Justin started a great career at SBCC. He has established a tremendous track record of taking under-the-radar pitchers and turning them into frontline Division I performers. I have been impressed with his dilligence, worth ethic and knowledge of pitching. He will do a fantastic job at Appalachian State.”
— Andrew Checketts (head coach, UC Santa Barbara)

“Appalachian State is getting a good pitching coach. He did an outstanding job for us and he will do an outstanding job at App State. I wish Justin and his family nothing but the best.”
— Jeff Walker (head coach, Santa Barbara City College)

“I've coached for many years and worked with a lot of coaches and Justin Aspegren is the most prepared and detailed-oriented of them all. He truly cares for student-athletes, not only on the field but off the field as well. Coach Jones and Appalachian State are getting a terrific pitching coach in Justin Aspegren.”
— Bill Pintard (head coach, Santa Barbara Foresters; scout, New York Yankees)