FIU head baseball coach Turtle Thomas has announced a new addition to the staff, hiring Mark Kertenian as an assistant coach. Kertenian joins the Panthers after spending last season with the University of Nevada.
"Mark has been the recruiting coordinator at two outstanding Universities, the University of Nevada and Cal State Northridge, and in his college career he has been very instrumental in bringing in tremendous recruiting classes, as well as, doing a great job of developing players," said Thomas. "That obviously is the biggest thing you are looking for from your student-athletes, which is bringing in student-athletes and developing them into outstanding college baseball players. That's what Mark has shown over the years in which he has been in college baseball."
"Wow, I am beyond excited to be here at FIU," said Kertenian. "Coach Thomas has been incredible to me and I am very thankful for this amazing opportunity. Turtle Thomas is the coach and recruiter every aspiring coach attempts to model themselves after. This is a great personal opportunity that I am eager to perform in. Add to it the FIU experience. This campus and its people are first-class.
"The players in this program have been very well coached and my goal is to assist them in their daily development and beyond," Kertenian continued. "They are a tight-knit group that enjoys working hard together. This team has the right approach to working hard and playing the game with trust and courage, I am lucky to join them."
Kertenian spent last season at Nevada, serving as the program's recruiting coordinator and assistant coach. With a coaching background in collegiate baseball, summer league baseball and private instructing, Kertenian has coached five Major League players, 60 drafted players and 15 players signed to independent or overseas leagues.
Kertenian and the Wolf Pack hit the ground running for the 2014 season. He helped Nevada to a 31-win season, a 17-6 record at Peccole Park and a third-place finish at the Mountain West Tournament in Las Vegas. Nevada went on six, three-game win streaks in the 2014 season, including consecutive wins over San Jose State, Fresno State and New Mexico at the MW Tournament in Las Vegas. The Wolf Pack ranked first in the league in home runs (34), and fourth in team batting average (.283) and team ERA (3.94).
Kertenian coached six student-athletes that batted over .295 on the season and five All-Mountain West selections in first-team picks Austin Byler and Brad Gerig, and second-team selections Kewby Meyer, Colby Blueberg and Trenton Brooks. Additionally, Brooks was named to the Louisville Slugger Freshman All-America team, and Byler was selected to the ABCA/Rawlings West Region second team.
Prior to joining Nevada, Kertenian spent nine years on the Cal State Northridge staff from 2001-10. He worked his way up the hierarchy with the Matadors, spending his final three seasons as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator. A pair of Kertenian's Cal State Northridge signing classes ranked in the top 40 nationally. In Kertenian's first season in 2002, the Matadors won the Big West title with a 41-17 overall record.
Kertenian has spent some time coaching in summer collegiate baseball leagues. He coached the East Texas Pump Jacks of the Texas Collegiate League in Kilgore, Texas, in 2013. He also was the head coach of the Oahu Paddlers of the Hawaii Collegiate Baseball League from 2005-06, leading the team to the 2005 championship.
As a utility player and pitcher, Kertenian played three years of college baseball, beginning with two years at Los Angeles City College under head coach Steve Rousey, who would later hire Kertenian to be a part of his Cal State Northridge coaching staff. Kertenian finished his collegiate career at Point Loma Nazarene.
Kertenian received a bachelor's degree from Cal State Northridge and a Master's of Science degree from Azusa Pacific.
