Bill Kernen

William C. Kernen

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 1", Weight 185 lb.

• School University of Redlands, Columbia University
• High School San Gorgonio High School

• Born ~1948

BR Minors page

Biographical Information

Bill Kernen has been a longtime college coach.

Kernen won 11 games and had a 1.26 ERA his last year of college, 1970, winning All-Conference honors and tying the University of Redlands record for wins in a season. He was signed by the Baltimore Orioles. In 1970, he was 5-4 with 7 saves and a 3.44 ERA for the Aberdeen Pheasants. He tied Stephen Szorc for the Northern League lead in saves.

Bill went 1-1 with four saves and a 3.08 ERA for the '71 Stockton Ports, ending his career in Organized Baseball. He coached San Gorgonio High School from 1974-1976 and was at Orange Coast College in 1976-1977. From 1978-1982, he was pitching coach for Cal State Fullerton under Augie Garrido, helping them to the 1979 College World Series title.

Out of baseball from 1983-1986, Kernen returned as pitching coach for Cal State Fullerton in 1987. During his time at Cal State Fullerton, he coached four future major leaguer pitchers - Mike Harkey, Larry Casian, Gary Buckels and Jeff Robinson. He spent one year at the University of Illinois, following Garrido there.

Kernen was head coach of Cal State Northridge from 1989-1995, with a .609 winning percentage including a spot in the 1990 Division II College World Series. Cal State Northridge was ranked 10th in the country in 1991 by Collegiate Baseball, the second team ever to do that in its first year in NCAA Division I (following Garrido's 1975 Cal State Fullerton squad).

Bill took his second break from baseball at that point. With financial problems leaving the Northridge baseball program teetering on collapse, he went to Columbia University to study writing. He wrote and produced two plays during his career as a playwright, once becoming a finalist in the Olgebay Institute National Playwriting Competition.

In 2002-2003, he coached for North Carolina State University, then became a playwright again. In 2008, he came back to his old haunts at Cal State Fullerton, as a volunteer assistant pitching coach. In 2009, he was hired as the first head coach of the new Cal State Bakersfield baseball program. He retired after the 2015 season. He joined the Sac State University staff as a volunteer assistant coach in 2019.

Sources

• 1971-1972 Baseball Guides
• Cal State Fullerton bio