Former Major Leaguer Jason Ellison was named the program's next hitting coach in August 2024, as announced by head coach Willie Bloomquist.
2025 season
- In the team’s first season with Jason Ellison overseeing the hitting in 2025, ASU batted .314 as a team and finished 2nd in the Big 12 conference. The team led the Big 12 in hits, doubles and slugging percentage.
- ASU was third in the nation with its 141 doubles in the regular season last season and recorded multiple doubles in 39 games (8th in country at 2.47 per game)
- ASU batted an exceptional .399 (115-for-288) in the regular season when the team put the first ball of an at-bat into play.
- Big innings were the theme of ASU's season as the team scored in 214 halves of an inning on the year and plated two or more runs in 129 of those (60 percent).
- Five times last season ASU recorded five or more homers in a single game. That included a school record 8 homers against BYU and 6 in two other games that is tied for third. ASU’s 15 home runs in the BYU series (8 Saturday, 6 Friday and 1 Thursday) were a school record for a three-game series.
- Matt King became just the second player in the BBCOR era to finish their Sun Devil single season with a .400 or higher batting average as he clocked out the year at .403. He was the 20th Sun Devil to do so in the aluminum bat era (since 1974, min. 200 ABs). He had the highest batting average in the Big 12, giving ASU the conference batting title for the second consecutive season.
- Isaiah Jackson recorded his 12 homers in the last 17 games of the season, bringing his total to 18 for the year. He has a hit in all but 15 of ASU's 60 games this season. He has at least one RBI in 35 games. His team-leading 68 RBIs are notable as he has not batted higher than fifth in the order (once) this season.
- Landon Hairston was named to the Big-12 All-Freshman team and a freshman All-American by the NCBWA and D1Baseball after he finished the regualar season 8th in the Big 12 with his .362 average - good for 8th among all freshmen nationally and 2nd among freshmen in a Power Four conference. His .485 OBP was 4th in the league and 13th among all freshmen in the nation during the regular season and 4th among Power Four freshmen.
The Ellison file
Ellison, who spent over a decade as a scout at the MLB level, joined the program after a season as the hitting and outfield coordinator at the University of Washington.
"To say I have known Jason for a long time would be an understatement and no one was as excited as I when he got into the coaching ranks last season," Bloomquist said, "It takes someone with exceptional baseball savvy and knowledge to earn the front office's trust for as long as Jason did and for him to come in and immediately have an impact at the collegiate level was no surprise. Jason is a baseball guy and has been his whole life. His guys came in and put up 40 runs at Muni against us last season. To have that ability on our coaching staff this season will be a boom for this program and our future."
During Ellison's lone season on Montlake, he oversaw the development of All-Pac-12 honoree Aiva Arquette, who rose to stardom as a sophomore. The Hawai'ian native led the Huskies and ranked 11th in the Pac-12 in batting average (.325) and slugging percentage (.574) and was UW's leader with 68 hits and 45 runs scored, also driving in 36 runs. Under Ellison's tutelage, AJ Guerrero also experienced a power surge during his junior campaign, slugging a career-high 15 home runs to enter the top-10 on Washington's career record list.
Ellison's hitters certainly put on a show when the Huskies visited Phoenix Municipal Stadium in 2024, combining for 39 runs on 41 hits with 15 extra base hits – nine of which left the yard.
"I could not be more excited and grateful for the opportunity that comes with being a part of this historic program. I want to thank Coach Bloomquist, Graham Rossinni and the staff and players who have welcomed me with open arms,," Ellison said. "Some of my earliest memories of baseball involve Willie. We won a high school championship together and to see his continued success through his career is inspiring. His teams have taken on that rugged, never-count-us-out mentality that Willie had through his career and to be able to join him as he continues to guide this program back to the heights we know it can reach is humbling and a true honor. I can not wait to get to work."
Ellison, who enjoyed a six-season Major League career with the San Francisco Giants, Seattle Mariners, Cincinnati Reds and Texas Rangers, had been an MLB scout since 2011 prior to his time at UW, serving with the Los Angeles Angels and Pittsburgh Pirates.
Ellison, a 22nd round draft pick of the Giants in 2000, was an All-American standout and two-time national champion at Lewis-Clark State in Idaho. He moved through the minor league ranks quickly and made his major league debut with San Francisco in 2003 and emerged as a primary starter in center field as a rookie for the Giants in 2005. Ellison was traded to the Mariners ahead of the 2007 season and appeared in 63 games before being claimed off waivers by the Reds to finish out the season. He spent the 2008 season with the Rangers before retiring in 2009.
After retirement, Ellison spent two years as a youth camp director and 14U coach. He was then top of his class in the MLB Scout Development Program in 2011 and accepted the Northwest Supervisor role with the Angels. In 2016, Ellison was promoted to national hitting crosschecker for the Angels, a position he held until 2021 when he joined the Pirates organization as regional supervisor.
The relationship between Ellison and Bloomquist spans several decades as the two were high school teammates (and roommates) at South Kitsap High School in Port Orchard, Wash., leading the Wolves to a 23-0 record in 1996 and earning the Class 3A title and a No. 15 ranking nationally. The two would later reunite in Seattle with the Mariners as teammates in 2007. Ellison will be joined in the Valley of the Sun by his wife, Raelena, and two children, Ariana and Jaxon.