Jack Rhodes

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Jack Rhodes
(Dusty)

BR Minors page

Biographical Information[edit]

Jack "Dusty" Rhodes won over 1,000 games as a college coach and coached for three different countries on the international stage.

He started off as an assistant at Florida Southern College in 1969, then was assistant coach (1974) and head coach (1975-1981) at Palm Beach Junior College. He was 303-118 at PBJC, his team being ranked #1 in the nation in 1979. He next was assistant at the University of Florida from 1982-1987. Rhodes coached the University of North Florida from 1988 to 2010, building the program from scratch. He started them in the NAIA then built them up to NCAA Division-I status. He led the school to the NAIA World Series in 1991 and the Division II World Series in 2000, 2001, and 2005 (finishing second in the country). He was 879-420 at UNF. He was named Peach Belt Conference Coach of the Year in 1999, 2000, 2001, 2004 and 2005 and won district coach of the Year in the NAIA in 1988, 1989, 1990 and 1991. When he retired from UNF, he was succeeded by Smoke Laval, who had been on the same staff as him at Florida in 1982-1983.

Additionally, Rhodes coached for the 1982 Greensboro Hornets, managed the Helena Brewers in 1988-1989 and coached for the 1990 Beloit Brewers. He worked with three different national teams. He coached for Team USA in the 1993 Intercontinental Cup and 1994 Baseball World Cup, for the Australian national team in the 1996 Olympics and for Team USA in the 2001 Baseball World Cup (they won Silver). He then coached the Greek national team to a Silver Medal at the 2003 European Championship and managed them in the 2004 Olympics and 2005 European Championship.

After leaving the college ranks, Rhodes became a coach for the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers in 2011-2013.

Primary Source: UNF retirement notice

Related Sites[edit]