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BASEBALL COACHING STAFF
DOUG JUMELET, HEAD COACH Doug Jumelet is back for his 10th season coaching at American River College. After having spent three seasons as an assistant to Coach Higgins and one under Jason Dana, he returns for his fifth season at the helm. In his seven previous seasons, the Beavers have made four trips to the postseason, including a trip to the Final Four in 2000. In that time the Beavers have had 9 players drafted, over 70 have gone on to play at four-year schools, and 11 have gone on to play professionally, including two in the big leagues. In addition to his duties as the head coach, Coach Jumelet also runs the offense from the 3rd base coaching box and handles the infield coaching duties. Under Coach Higgins, he was the outfield coach for one season and handled the catchers and was the assistant pitching coach for another. In 1990, he was a 1st team All-Metro 2B his senior year at San Juan High School, also earning 1st team All-Capital Athletic League honors while winning the league batting title for Head Coach Bill Richardson. As a junior, he played mostly 1B for the Spartans. At American River College, playing for ABCA Hall-of-Famer Kevin Higgins, Jumelet was a first baseman and shortstop, and he helped lead the Beavers to the 1993 playoffs in the old Camino Norte Conference. He still holds a share of the school record for at-bats in a game with seven, versus Merced College. After leaving ARC, he went to U.C. Riverside, where he played for Hall-of-Fame Coach Jack Smitheran and current UCR Head Coach Doug Smith. As a shortstop his junior year, the Highlanders went to the D-II College World Series in Montgomery Alabama, finishing 8th in the nation. As a senior, he started the season at third base, before moving back to shortstop, earning honorable mention all-conference honors. He helped the Highlanders to a CCAA crown and a #2 national ranking, before being eliminated by UC Davis in the playoffs. He was named to the All-Regional 1st Team in 1995. As a coach he began his career as a volunteer assistant at UCR in 1996, then was out of baseball until 1999, when he returned to UCR as a volunteer assistant. After earning his Master’s Degree from California Baptist University in 1999, Coach Jumelet returned home to Sacramento to help out Coach Higgins and lead the Beavers to their first ever Final Four appearance in 2000. That summer, Jumelet coached the Kenai Peninsula Oilers in the prestigious Alaska Baseball League, helping the Oilers to the ABL championship and a 5th place finish at the NBC World Series in Wichita Kansas. Five players from that team have made it to the major leagues. He also serves as an associate scout for the Cincinnati Reds organization. Coach Jumelet is very happy to be back here at his alma mater, hopefully leading the Beavers to another post-season berth. Doug and his wife Keri and their new baby girl, Molly, live in Citrus Heights. ASSISTANT COACHES JACE DENNIS Jace Dennis returns to his alma mater for his second stint as an assistant coach. In 2006 Jace helped out with the infielders. This season he is the infield coach and has taken on a bigger role working with the hitters. He will also assist Coach Jumelet and Coach Vargas as the bullpen coach during games. He played his high school ball at Woodland High School where he was All-Delta League as a third baseman in 2000. Jace was an outstanding all-Bay Valley Conference performer for the Beavers in 2002 and 2003, where he was one of the most versatile players to play for Coach Higgins. In 2002 Jace played LF, 2B, 3B, and also saw some action behind the plate catching Manny Parra. In 2003 he moved full-time to SS where he was a unanimous 1st team All-Conference selection at SS after hitting .364. In 2002 Jace led the Beavers with 5 home runs, and in 2003 he led the team with 15 stolen bases. After finishing at A.R.C. Jace went on to Missouri Valley College and then played professionally in the Frontier League with the River City Rascals. Jace is currently finishing his degree at A.R.C. and lives in Woodland. JOE FINN Joe is another Beaver alumnus who returns home to begin his coaching career at A.R.C. Joe will work with the catchers this season as well as be the first base coach. He has also done a very good job of assisting hitting coach Johnny Zepeda; he enjoys working with the hitters. A graduate of El Camino High School, Joe played for former Beaver player and coach Jim Bennett at El Camino, then came over and had a fine career at A.R.C. He was named 2nd team All-Big 7 Conference catcher in 2006 after hitting .280 and leading the team in home runs with 5. A stellar defensive catcher Joe was a leader behind the plate as well as off the field. He carried a 3.0 grade point average while at American River. After graduating from A.R.C. Joe earned a scholarship to Chico State where he was a catcher on two nationally ranked teams. The Wildcats finished the 2007 season ranked 7th and they ended the 2008 campaign with a #9 ranking. While at A.R.C. Joe had a game tying pinch-hit three run home run to tie the game versus Sierra College in the 8th inning in 2005. While at Chico State Joe hit a walk-off pinch-hit grand slam versus Sonoma State. He is currently finishing his bachelor’s degree in History. He lives in Sacramento. TONY VARGAS Tony takes over the pitching coach duties this season as he replaces former Beaver player Matt Padilla who had his second child, Xavier, this fall. Tony started this fall as a pitching coach at Granite Bay High School where he had been for the past five years and was volunteering at A.R.C., trying to learn from Coach Padilla to take some new ideas back with him to Granite Bay. When Coach Padilla had to step down to spend more time with his family, Tony stepped right in and the transition has been seamless. Tony has spent 28 years in coaching at various levels from Little League to high school all the way through adult summer leagues. He has worked with several future professional players along the way as well as future Beavers. He has also been fortunate enough to be able to coach with several former professional players including Leon Lee, Steve Sax and Fred Breining. Tony began his high school coaching career at his alma mater, Roseville High School, as the freshman pitching coach. After moving over to Granite Bay he spent three years as the Head Coach for the Junior Varsity, winning three league championships. Tony and his wife Debbie live in Roseville. JOHNNY ZEPEDA Johnny Zepeda is back to his alma mater for his second year to coach the outfielders and hitters for the Beavers this season. He has already made an impact on the hitters, as many of the hitters have taken to his hands-on approach. In 2007 he was a graduate assistant at Abilene Christian University where he helped guide the Wildcats to a school record in regular season wins with 47 and a team batting average of .351. Johnny will also work with the hitters during the game and their mental approach before their at-bats. Johnny is also working in the Student-Athlete Support Program at A.R.C. where he is in charge of grade checks, setting up tutors and study groups, and scheduling for the baseball, softball, and soccer teams. Johnny prepped at Rio Linda High School where he was an All-CVC performer and still holds the Rio Linda school record for doubles in a season with 19. He came to A.R.C. as a shortstop but played mostly 2B and LF in his two years for the Beavers. In 2003 he played 2B and led the team with a .377 batting average. He finished the season with 13 doubles and 35 RBI, both second most on the team that season. He struck out a measly 13 times in 180 plate appearances. In 2004 he hit .363 and was 2nd on the team with 20 RBI in a season that was shortened to 36 games. He would finish his career at A.R.C. as one of the best pure hitters ever to play for the Beavers. He finished his career 6th on the Beavers all-time list for batting average with a career average of .365. At Abilene Christian Johnny led the Lone Star Conference with a .448 batting average in 2005 with 5 home runs and 48 RBI. For his efforts he was named to the All-South Region Team. In 2006 he was once again named to the All-Lone Star Conference first team after hitting .388 with 55 RBI and a team leading 35 walks and 20 doubles. He was also named to Abilene’s top 100 players of all-time. Johnny graduated from Abilene Christian University in 2007 and now lives in Sacramento with Maggie and their daughter Eliza.
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