Bio

JAKE VICKERSON

Assistant Coach (Ninth Season)

Shelton State, 2013

Mississippi State, 2015

One of the brightest young coaches in the state of Alabama, Jake Vickerson begins his ninth season as the Bucs assistant coach. He is the recruiting coordinator and hitting coach for the Bucs. On game day, he serves as the third base coach.

Overall, the 2024 season will be his 11^th with the Shelton State program. Vickerson was the Bucs starting centerfielder in 2012 and 2013. The 2012 team posted a 40-13 record and advanced to the NJCAA World Series in Grand Junction, Colo.

In 2024, Vickerson was named the NJCAA Division I Assistant Coach of the Year. The Bucs posted 43 wins, including a school-record 28 ACCC victories. Shelton State led the ACCC with 17 triples, 637 hits and 938 total bases. The Bucs ranked second in the league in batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, runs scored, doubles, home runs, RBI, stolen bases, hit batters and extra base hits.

Shelton State’s .328 batting average in 2024 was the second highest in school history, trailing only the 1986 team that posted a school record .333 batting average. Shelton State infielder Kyle Morrison was a first-team All-American and won the ACCC batting title with a .450 average.

Vickerson mentored two players that set career school records last season. Jordan Evans is the Bucs all-time leader with 129 runs scored and Morrison is the all-time leader in home runs (19) and doubles (31).  Evans and Morrison set the single season record with 69 runs scored in 2024.

During his tenure as assistant coach, the Bucs have posted 265 wins, including seven 30-win seasons. The Bucs have averaged 26.8 wins per season in ACCC play. The Bucs have advanced to the NJCAA World Series three times in the last four seasons. The 2021 team posted a 40-19 record en route to the ACCC state championship and the school’s fifth trip to the NJCAA World Series. In 2023, Shelton State went 32-30 and won the ACCC State championship and earned the school’s sixth trip to the NJCAA World Series. The 2024 team won 43 games en route to the World Series.

The 2021 team posted a 40-19 record en route to the ACCC state championship and the school’s fifth trip to the NJCAA World Series. Honorable mention All-American catcher Colby Smelley had a terrific career under Vickerson’s watch. Smelley wrapped up his career second on the school’s career charts with 161 career hits and 114 career RBIs. He was third in career at-bats (431), third in career doubles (30) and fifth in career runs scored (99). In 2021, Smelley posted the third-highest batting average in school history (.438) and was fifth in home runs (9), sixth in hits (78) and eighth in runs scored (57).

Smelley was the highest drafted JuCo player in the state of Alabama in the 2021 MLB Draft. He was selected in the 13^th round by the Chicago White Sox.

The 2022 team featured three-year players Drake Logan and Walt Bailey, who both finished in the Top 10 in school history in several offensive categories. Logan finished second all-time with 106 career runs scored. He ranks fourth all-time in doubles (26), fifth in hits (142), sixth in at-bats (395) and seventh in RBIs (77). Bailey is third all-time in home runs (15), fourth in doubles (26) and sixth in RBIs (84).

For the second straight year, Shelton State had the highest drafted JuCo player in the state of Alabama in the 2022 MLB Draft. Logan was selected in the 19^th round by the Chicago White Sox.

Vickerson also has a connection to all seven Shelton State teams that have advanced to the NJCAA World Series. His cousin Jonathan Smart was an All-American pitcher for the Bucs and played the first two NJCAA World Series teams in 2007 and 2008.

His brother, Nick, played baseball at Hillcrest, Shelton State and Mississippi State. Nick played heled the Bucs to the 2009 NJCAA World Series. At MSU, Nick blasted a famous walk-off, three-run home run to force the deciding game at Florida in the 2011 Gainesville Super Regional. Jake has been a part of two NJCAA World Series teams as a player (2012) and assistant coach (2021).

Vickerson was standout centerfielder for the Bucs in 2012-13. He earned first-team all-region and all-state honors after hitting .371 in 33 games as a sophomore in 2013. He finished with 45 runs scored, 23 RBIs and 23 stolen bases in 24 attempts.

He was named first-team all-region and second-team all-state after leading the Bucs to a 40-win season as a freshman in 2012. Vickerson played an integral role on a team what won the Alabama Community College Conference Tournament and advanced to the NJCAA World Series.

Vickerson was the Bucs leading hitter at the 2012 NJCAA World Series. In four games, he batted .471 (8-for-17) with two runs scored, two doubles and two RBIs.

As a freshman, he batted .392 and scored 59 runs in 42 games. He ranks third on the school’s single-season charts with 80 hits and fifth with 59 runs scored.

He still ranks third on the school’s career charts with 150 career hits. He ranks sixth with 34 career stolen bases, and seventh with 397 at-bats and seventh with 100 career runs scored.

Vickerson played in 111 games at Mississippi State in 2014-15. He started 80 games and finished with a .280 (89-for-318) average with 59 runs, 13 doubles, two triples, one home run 32 RBIs. He also recorded 36 career walks. He wrapped up his career with a .990 fielding percentage and six outfield. Vickerson was a two-time member of the SEC Academic Honor Roll.

A native of Tuscaloosa, Vickerson graduated from Hillcrest High School. He was 2011 Rawlings Southeast Region Honorable Mention selection. He was an AHSAA Class 6A 2011 all-state selection. He was also tabbed a 2010 Perfect Game Underclassmen Honorable Mention All-American. He played on two American Legion State Championship teams for Tuscaloosa Post 34 in 2009 and 2010.

Vickerson is married to the former Kelbey Reynolds. The couple has two sons, Jax and Linc.