At the September 10th Yucaipa-Calimesa Joint Unified School District Board of Education meeting, the Board unanimously approved Yucaipa native, teacher, and Thunderbird Alumnus Phillip “PJ” Jimenez for the position of Head Baseball Coach. Coach Jimenez will not only be filling the role of Head Baseball Coach for our one-team town, but his new position will also include a baseball class at Yucaipa High as part of the baseball program.
Coach Jimenez brings extensive baseball knowledge, playing second base at Yucaipa High before graduating in 2006 and playing at Arizona Western College, eventually being recruited to play Division I baseball at Liberty University. While at Liberty University, Coach Jimenez batted .388 and fielded with a .979 percentage. Having met his future wife at Liberty, upon graduating, they decided to move back to Yucaipa, where he started coaching a summer baseball team in Palm Springs.
Shortly after beginning his coaching career in Palm Springs, Coach Jimenez joined his brother and Coach Jeff Stout, his coach in high school, at YHS as the assistant coach of the freshman baseball team. Eventually, he worked his way to head coach of the junior varsity team. In 2019, he took a brief hiatus to focus on his growing family but never left baseball. Coaching baseball remained a big part of Coach Jimenez's life, continuing to coach in different capacities and provide private lessons to players in the community.
In addition to coaching, Coach Jimenez is beginning his seventh year of teaching in the Yucaipa-Calimesa Joint Unified School District, specializing in engineering, health, and biomedical sciences.
Coach Jimenez stated in an open letter to the Thunderbird community, “I’m overjoyed to be back home and lead the YHS Thunderbirds as your new head baseball coach. I’m excited to bring my experience, passion, and dedication to the team and help build a positive and successful baseball program for our students… I’m looking forward to working with all of you and making this season one to remember!”
If you have questions about the Yucaipa High School baseball program, please contact the front office at 909-797-0106. The program can be followed on Instagram @yucaipahs_baseball.