MOBILE, Ala. – Former University of South Alabama baseball head coach Steve Kittrell was inducted into the American Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame at the ABCA Hall of Fame Class of 2019 Ceremony on Fri., Jan. 4, in Dallas. 

Kittrell coached baseball for 29 seasons, with 28 of those at South Alabama, and finished with a 1,084-663-1 career record. At USA, Kittrell went 1,052-644-1 and helped lead the Jaguars to 18 NCAA Tournament appearances, 14 Sun Belt Conference regular season and division titles, and eight league tournament championships.

"First of all, I have a tremendous amount of respect for the ABCA," Kittrell said. "I was on the All-American committee for seven years, and I got to see first-hand the hard work and diligence they put into baseball in general, not just college baseball, so I am truly honored.

"The first thing I think every coach knows is that it's a reflection of a lot of hard work from a lot of people – great assistant coaches, outstanding players both on and off the field, and support staff. It's a reflection of the program and the hard work a lot of people put in, so I am truly honored and I share this with them. To go in with Skip Bertman, Ron Polk and guys like that, it's a tremendous honor for me."

Induction into the ABCA Hall of Fame is the highest honor bestowed by the organization. The ABCA was founded in 1945 and the Hall of Fame began in 1966. Kittrell was joined in the 2019 Hall of Fame class by Joe Carbone (Ohio), Gary "Bo" Collins (SIU-Edwardsville), Ron Davini (Corona del Sol [Ariz.] High School), Pat Doyle (San Joaquin [Calif.] Delta College), Dave Grant (Glendale [Ariz.] CC) and Scott Pickler (Cypress [Calif.] College).

"They (ABCA) treated us extremely well all weekend," Kittrell said. "They gave my wife a nice pendant, and the coaches each got a beautiful ring. The ceremony was professional; it was just an outstanding time and fun to be a part of."

Kittrell's Jaguar teams finished with a winning record 25 times during his tenure, won 40 or more games on 14 occasions while advancing to within one win of making a College World Series appearance in six seasons. Fourteen South Alabama teams under Kittrell's command ended the year ranked in the top 30 of either the Baseball America or Collegiate Baseball final polls.

He was named the region coach of the year by the ABCA twice, and was voted the SBC Coach of the Year six times in addition to being named the all-time head coach on the league's 30th anniversary team in 2006. During his tenure, Kittrell had 22 student-athletes earn All-America honors, 41 all-region selections and 79 individuals who received all-SBC accolades; that group included five SBC Players of the Year as well as the conference Pitcher of the Year in 2006. Kittrell also coached a pair of Academic All-Americans.

More than 100 Jaguars played in the professional ranks following the conclusion of their careers under Kittrell, including 17 who would go on to reach the Major Leagues. Former Jags who played under Kittrell and achieved success in the majors include Gonzalez — who provided the game-winning hit for the Arizona Diamondbacks in game seven of the 2001 World Series — and 2011 World Series and National League Championship Series Most Valuable Player David Freese as well as All-Stars Lance Johnson and Jon Lieber. In addition, Juan Pierre finished 10th in voting for the National League's MVP in 2004 while Adam Lind was 15th in the vote for the '09 American League MVP, with Marlon Anderson, Mike Mordecai and Turner Ward all playing in the majors for 10 or more years.

Kittrell — a 1971 South Alabama graduate with a degree in health, physical education and recreation — still holds the program record for four-year players with a career .368 batting average.  He was inducted into the school's Athletic Hall of Fame in 1993, inducted into the Mobile Sports Hall of Fame in 2004 and had his No. 3 retired by South Alabama in 2016 following his retirement at USA at the conclusion of the 2011 season.

Kittrell joins former New Orleans head coach Ron Maestri, who was inducted in 1991, as the only ABCA Hall of Fame inductees from the Sun Belt Conference.

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