Report: USC baseball to round out coaching staff with former Pac-12 assistant Andy Jenkins

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USC baseball’s coaching staff is reportedly complete. The Trojans are hiring a veteran Pac-12 assistant for its final spot.

Andy Jenkins, who spent the last year as the hitting coach at Washington, is joining new coach Andy Stankiewicz’s staff in the same role, according to D1Baseball’s Kendall Rogers. Before his lone season with the Huskies, Jenkins spent two years at Cal State Fullerton following a seven-year stint at his alma mater Oregon State, going from undergraduate assistant to full-time assistant coach from 2012-19.

Jenkins played two years at Oregon State before becoming an 11th-round pick of the Florida Marlins in 2005. He embarked on a seven-year professional career before returning to the Beavers to finish his degree in 2012.

Stankiewicz took over as USC’s head coach this offseason after spending the last 11 years as the head coach at Grand Canyon. A four-time WAC Coach of the Year, he led the Lopes to five WAC regular-season titles, including a 29-7 conference record in 2021.

USC to hire Seth Etherton as pitching coach

Last month, Stankiewicz hired his pitching coach, bringing in Seth Etherton from the Cincinnati Reds organization. Etherton spent the last six years coaching in the Reds’ minor league system, going from single-A Billings to low-A Dayton to triple-A Louisville from 2016-22.

A former USC star, Etherton threw for a 3.37 ERA and gave up just 156 runs in 358 innings during his time with the Trojans. His career earned him a selection as the 18th overall pick by the Anaheim Angels in the 1998 MLB Draft. He would debut in the majors in May of 2000. Injuries forced him to play in just 23 career major league games. He made stops with the Angels, Reds, Athletics and Royals over his career.

Etherton played a critical role in USC’s most recent national title in 1998, helping lead the Trojans to a 5-4 win over LSU in the College World Series. The victory helped get the Trojans to the CWS Final where they beat Arizona State.