For a second year, Mitch Karraker has won the Central Valley Conference Coach of the year award due to his coaching during the 2023 to 2024 season. Karraker heavily attributes the award to those surrounding him such as staff and his fellow colleagues and peers.
“I was very honored and grateful for it but to me, it’s just a reflection on our program and how well it’s been run the last couple of years,” Karraker said.
Prior to joining Fresno City College Baseball, Karraker served as an assistant coach working with the Baylor Bears and running a baseball camp for them. In 2021, Karraker developed Baylor into one of the top hitting teams in the country, as Baylor led the Big 12 with a .302 batting average.
He then went on to Loyola Marymount University in 2022 as an assistant coach, helping their team in becoming a top offense in the conference, according to Fresno City College Athletics.
To Karraker one of the most memorable games to come out of the season was the conference win at Reedley College.
“The guys were really excited for that opportunity and I think we would have liked the playoffs to go a little bit better than it did, but those games were really fun, super competitive, and even though we came up short, like the atmosphere was great, the support was great,” Karraker said.
According to a player of the team, JP Acosta, what made Karraker winner of coach of the year was the way he would carry himself and how it carried over to the players
“He has a great way of going about his business and he sheds that on everybody in the program, and he allows us to play the game that we know how to play,” Acosta said.
During the Reedley game Fresno City had won 17-3, but their best showcase during the season was their game against Sequoias where they won 30-0. Some of their other notable games were against West Hill Coalinga where they won 7-5, and against Cabrillo winning 10-9.
When asked about what challenges that season presented him, Karraker mentioned how it can be a struggle to deal with injuries, managing the team such as working with every individual player, but also the fundraising hurtle. He talks about how big of a challenge that is not just for this season but any season.
“It’s an expensive sport, and we have a lot of guys,” Karracker said. “We don’t have a fundraiser committee or anything like that. It falls on me and the coaching staff to fundrise.”
They do a few minor fundraisers during the fall and conduct a big dinner in January. The community is their main supporter, it is how they are able to get the appropriate gear, equipment, and various facilities for the players in order to engage in their sport.
At the end of the day despite challenges, on and off the field, and his high praises – Karracker continues to push a player first mindset. Preaching that the players are the reason why he and the team reach great success.
“I want our focus to always be on the players, it’s about the players. We’re good because of the players,” Karracker said.
