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| Position:
Associate Head Coach/Recruiting Coord.
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| Experience:
4th year
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03/23/2013
QUOTES: Ryan Kellogg No-Hitter March 23
Kellogg did not allow a walk and the only two base runners came on errors
11/15/2012
Baseball Announces Signing Class For 2014
Sun Devils sign seven student-athletes to National Letters of Intent
09/26/2012
Baseball's 2012 Freshman Class Ranked Third In Nation
Six of the Devils' 16 newcomers were selected in the 2012 MLB Draft
06/07/2012
Head Baseball Coach Tim Esmay's Success From The Field To The MLB Draft
Coach Esmay has separated himself from the pack in three seasons at ASU
Ken Knutson enters his first season as Associate Head Coach/Recruiting Coordinator after spending the previous three as pitching coach at Arizona State. Knutson came to ASU after spending 17 seasons as the head coach at the University of Washington.
Knutson guided a pitching staff that finished in the top 10 in Div. I in both walks allowed per nine innings and WHIP in 2012, and mentored one of the top pitching duos in the country that season. Brady Rodgers and Trevor Williams both placed in the top four in the Pac-12 in ERA and walks allowed, and in the top six in innings pitched and wins. Rodgers finished his three-year career with the school's second-lowest ERA and Williams was the conference's only 12-game winner in 2012 and just the 25th Sun Devil in the aluminum bat era to record 12 wins in a season.
His second season with the Sun Devils featured five pitchers who earned Honorable Mention All-Pac-10 honors (Alex Blackford, Kramer Champlin, Mitchell Lambson, Rodgers and Williams), as well as a Collegiate Baseball Freshman All-American (Williams). He was instrumental in helping Lambson become only the third Sun Devil with 20+ wins and 10+ saves, guiding him to a combined 15 wins and 12 saves in 2010 and '11, and helped a trio of Sun Devil pitchers get drafted by the MLB (Champlin, Lambson and Kyle Ottoson).
In his first season handling the Sun Devil pitchers in 2010, Knutson oversaw a staff that featured three 10-game winners (Seth Blair 12, Jake Borup 11 and Merrill Kelly 10), a closer who set a new school record for single-season saves (Jordan Swagerty, 14) and the top two ERA pitchers in the Pac-10 Conference (Rodgers, 2.11, and Mitchell Lambson, 2.16). Blair earned Pac-10 Pitcher of the Year, the third time a pitcher coaches by Knutson has received the award (Tim Lincecum, 2004 and 2006).
During Knutson's time at the helm of Washington, he compiled a career record of 584-399-2, including a 240-189 record in Pac-10 play. He is Washington's all-time leader in coaching victories and won four Pac-10 Northern Division titles and two overall Pac-10 titles during his tenure. He led the Huskies to six NCAA Tournaments and was three times named the Pac-10 Coach of the Year (1996, 1997 and 1998).
Knutson coached 31 All-Americans at Washington, including 2006 Golden Spikes Award winner and current San Francisco Giant Tim Lincecum, as well as closers Will Fenton and Brett Merrick. Merrick is the school's all-time leader in saves with 31, while Fenton is second with 23, including the 2003 season where he did not allow a run while recording 12 saves. While at Washington, Knutson spent much of his head coaching career as the UW's pitching coach, coaching at least one All-Pac-10 pitcher every year he served in that capacity.
Prior to being named Washington's head coach in 1993, Knutson spent nine seasons with the Huskies as both a player and an assistant. In 1981, the lefty Knutson compiled a 5-2 record with a 2.89 ERA, helping lead Washington to the Pac-10 Northern Division title, their first since 1959. He was a First Team All-Pac-10 selection that season after transferring from Seattle University, where he was an all-league performer.
From 1982 to 1986, Knutson was in charge of the Husky pitching staff, including the 1985 season when UW led the nation with a 2.80 ERA. After coaching semi-pro ball in the Seattle area, Knutson returned to Washington as the lead assistant coach and pitching coach from 1990 to 1992 before being named head coach.
Born in Sisseton, S.D., Knutson was raised in Seattle. He was an all-state pitcher at Seattle's Evergreen High School in 1976 and also quarterbacked the football team.
Knutson was married on August 31, 1991, to his wife Pam. They have three children - Halie, Andrew and Camille.
KEN KNUTSON HEAD COACHING CAREER
| Year |
School |
Overall |
Pac-10 (Finish) |
Notes |
| 1993 |
Washington |
39-19 |
22-8 (1st) |
Pac-10 North record for conference wins |
| 1994 |
Washington |
46-18 |
20-10 (2nd) |
UW wins record; NCAA Tournament |
| 1995 |
Washington |
24-30 |
16-14 (2nd) |
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| 1996 |
Washington |
30-28 |
16-8 (1st) |
Pac-10 North Coach of the Year; Second Pac-10 North title |
| 1997 |
Washington |
46-20 |
20-4 (1st) |
Pac-10 North Coach of the Year; Pac-10 Champions; NCAA
Tournament |
| 1998 |
Washington |
41-17 |
17-7 (1st) |
Pac-10 North Coach of the Year; Pac-10 Champions; NCAA
Tournament |
| 1999 |
Washington |
33-23 |
12-12 (5th) |
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| 2000 |
Washington |
26-30 |
7-17 (8th) |
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| 2001 |
Washington |
29-23 |
7-17 (8th) |
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| 2002 |
Washington |
33-27-1 |
15-9 (3rd) |
NCAA Tournament |
| 2003 |
Washington |
42-18 |
15-9 (3rd) |
NCAA Tournament |
| 2004 |
Washington |
39-20-1 |
15-9 (2nd) |
NCAA Tournament |
| 2005 |
Washington |
33-22 |
12-12 (6th) |
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| 2006 |
Washington |
36-25 |
11-13 (5th) |
Coach Golden Spikes Winner Tim Lincecum |
| 2007 |
Washington |
29-27 |
11-13 (5th) |
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| 2008 |
Washington |
33-22 |
11-13 (6th) |
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| 2009 |
Washington |
25-30 |
13-14 (8th) |
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| Totals |
17
years |
584-399-2 |
240-189 |
Two Pac-10 titles; 4 Pac-10 North titles; 3 Coach of the Year awards
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