Everett, WA - Trojan head baseball coach, Parker Guinn announced to his team on Tuesday that he has been offered and has accepted a coaching position at an NCAA Division I school. The school cannot yet be named until it is finalized but will be announced publicly in the coming weeks.
Coach Guinn took over the program almost a year ago today, where he left the University of Utah to take his first collegiate head coaching job with Everett. Guinn had some big shoes to fill, succeeding JoJo Howie who amassed a 99-44 record with two north region championships and a trip to the Championship game in 2019 after three full seasons as the head coach at EvCC (2020 season cancelled due to COVID-19).
"Parker came in, and did not miss a beat maintaining the culture of success and excellence within our baseball program, said athletic director Garet Studer. This program has a rich history and brotherhood that spans decades and coach Guinn embodied what it means to be a part of the Trojan Nation."
Guinn did not shy away from the challenge and scheduled a gauntlet of a non-conference schedule, playing 18 of 22 games against eventual playoff teams. A 13-9 non-conference record prepared the Trojans for a tough start to the north region schedule opening with Bellevue and Edmonds (both playoff teams as well). Everett went 4-4 in that stretch but then went on to win 14 of 15 games to close out the regular season and clinched the 3rd consecutive North Region Title and their 7th in the last ten years.
Everett outscored opponents 270 runs to 156 and while their offensive numbers consistently ranked inside the top 10 in the NWAC, but it was on the defensive side that they really stood out. The pitching staff combined for an earned run average of 2.32 which ranked the best in the NWAC, and their combined 428 strikeouts is the most all time in a single season at EvCC. They were led by starting pitcher Kenji Miller who's 1.69 ERA ranked 3rd among pitchers that threw 80 or more innings. Closer Devin Macwatters was as good as they come, making 14 appearances, recording 8 saves (the most all time at EvCC in a single season), and a lights out 0.46 ERA giving up just one earned run all season.
Several Trojans had impressive individual stat lines and gained respect from the league with post season accolades. Dylan Matsuoka, Preston Moritz, Sheehan O'Conner, and Braeden Terry made 2nd Team All North Region. Kenji Miller, Ben Steck, and Xavier Ulrich made 1st Team All North Region. And Konnor Palmeira was named the North Region Most Valuable Player and was a second team All American. Palmeira, Steck, and Jonathan Kumai also earned Gold Glove Honors.
In addition to all of the accomplishments on the field this team also performed very well in the classroom. Twenty one athletes made the academic honor roll, including five on the dean's list with 3.6 or higher GPA's and eight on the President's list with 4.0 GPA's. Overall the team GPA is 3.1 and many athletes have already made their commitments to continue their education and playing careers at 4-year colleges and universities.
In his first and only season at the helm, Parker Guinn was named the North Region Coach of the Year posting an overall record of 34-12, and a north region record of 18-5 claiming the North Region Title. The baseball program was named the EvCC team of the year, and Konnor Palmeira was named the EvCC Athlete of the year.
"The search for the next head coach of Trojan baseball will begin immediately, said Studer. We will explore options, both internally and externally, to find the best candidate to move this program forward and continue the tradition of success and excellence."