Nevada baseball
via NevadaBaseball, X

Nevada Director of Athletics Stephanie Rempe has announced that Jake McKinley has accepted a position as Major League Field Coordinator with the Seattle Mariners, and that hitting coach and recruiting coordinator Jordan Getzelman has been promoted to Nevada Baseball Head Coach pending NSHE Board of Regents approval.

“Jake McKinley and his staff built an incredible foundation for our baseball program culminating in the 2025 Mountain West Championship. Jake was my first hire upon arriving at the University of Nevada. It is with bittersweet emotions that we thank him for what he has contributed to our department, congratulate him on his next chapter and wish him success. He has been an exceptional head coach at Nevada.

“As we turn the page, I am thrilled to announce that Jordan Getzelman is stepping in as our new head coach. Jordan knows our program inside and out, has put in the work, and is fully committed to leading us forward. He’s ready for the challenge, and I’m confident he will continue to elevate our program,” Rempe said.

In his three seasons at the Wolf Pack helm, McKinley brought Nevada back to the top of the Mountain West. After finishing 10-20 in conference play in his first season, McKinley took Nevada to 16 wins and a tied-for-second finish in 2024 before capturing the outright Mountain West regular season championship with a 19-11 record. He was named the Mountain West’s Coach of the Year in 2025 as Nevada finished 33-24 overall, marking its first 30-win season since 2019 and most wins since going 37-24 in 2016.

Getzelman takes over a Nevada team which enters 2026 looking to defend its Mountain West regular season title. He and returning coaching staff members associate head coach/pitching coach Mark Moriarty, assistant coach Noah Shackles, and director of pitching development Owen Sharts will oversee a Wolf Pack team which returns all five of its 2025 All-Mountain West selections, including Freshman of the Year and Freshman All-America third baseman Sean Yamaguchi.

Seven of the Pack’s everyday position players from a season ago return in 2026, including All-Mountain West selections Billy Ham, Jayce Dobie, and Jake Harvey, and senior Jackson Waller, who join Yamaguchi in bringing back five of Nevada’s top-six hitters. On the hill, All-Mountain West first-teamer Alessandro Castro leads the way alongside veteran reliever Dominic Desch.

“I want to thank President Sandoval and Stephanie Rempe for entrusting me with the opportunity to lead Nevada Baseball. I worked under Jake McKinley for seven years and learned more from him than I can ever fully capture. His impact on me and on this program is immeasurable. What we’ve built together with Coach Moriarty and Coach Shackles the last three seasons is deeply meaningful to me, and I’m honored to carry that mission forward. We have a tremendous group of young men in our program and a terrific coaching staff that is well-positioned for continued success,” Getzelman said. “I love this University and the support of the Northern Nevada community that stands behind us. Our mission remains the same: develop great men, compete with pride, and bring championships to Northern Nevada. No one will work harder than me to honor that responsibility.”

Getzelman's work with the Wolf Pack offense in 2025 played a critical role in Nevada capturing the Mountain West regular season championship. As a team, Nevada batted .296 with 79 home runs, both figures program highs since Getzelman's arrival in 2023. Four of Nevada's All-Mountain West selections in 2025 came from the batting order, with all four (Jayce Dobie, Jake Harvey on the First Team, Sean Yamaguchi and Billy Ham on the Second Team) earning the first all-conference recognition of their respective careers. 

Getzelman served in the same capacities at Middle Tennessee in 2022 prior to coming to Reno. He mentored Blue Raider hitters to a team batting average of .275 in 2022, the program’s highest figure since 2018, as Middle Tennessee wrapped the year with a 29-26 record.

He began his coaching career as a volunteer assistant at Jessup in 2018, from there heading to Dallas Baptist where he served as the Director of Hitting Development and Hitting, Analysis & Operations for two seasons (2018-19). Over his two seasons in Dallas, the Patriots hit .290 and made back-to-back NCAA Regional appearances.

Getzelman then spent two seasons (2020-21) as an assistant hitting coordinator with the Milwaukee Brewers.

(University of Nevada contributed to this report.)