Oakland Names Colin Kaline & Jacke Healey Baseball Co-Head Coaches

ROCHESTER, Mich. - Colin Kaline and Jacke Healey have been named Oakland University’s co-head baseball coaches, announced Director of Athletics Jeff Konya on Tuesday. Kaline, grandson of Major League Baseball and Detroit Tigers Hall of Famer Al Kaline, spent the last three seasons at Florida Southern, while Healey remains on Oakland’s staff after being the team’s top assistant for the past three seasons and was given the interim head coach title in June.

“Colin and Jacke bring unique skill sets to the table and will mesh well with one another in terms of their joint leadership roles and also will collectively mesh well with this generation of student-athletes,” said Director of Athletics Jeff Konya. “Our Athletics Ethos states to be innovative and creative in seeking once unimaginable accomplishments and we believe that we have taken steps towards that with our baseball program with the hiring of our new co-head coaches. I recognize that the nature of this announcement may be viewed by some as non-traditional but is exactly the type of hire that we are not afraid to make because it will positively impact our culture and student-athlete experience.”

During his time at Florida Southern, Kaline coached the hitters and infielders, helping the team reach as high as No. 7 in the country in 2016 while making a Regional Final appearance in 2014. He has coached eight all-conference and all-region players, including two All-Americans and one Gold Glove recipient. Each of the last two seasons at FSC the team has finished with over a .300 batting average and scored over eight runs per game.

Healey joined the Golden Grizzlies in 2013 as the hitting and infield coach and helped raise the team’s batting average by 30 points in his first season. Healey has coached 12 all-league honorees with seven players signing professional contracts since joining Oakland. In 2014, Healey helped Robby Enslen become Oakland’s first all-region selection since 2000, followed by Mike Brosseau earning the same honor in 2016.

“We had an incredible candidate pool to lead our baseball program,” said Senior Associate Athletics Director for External Affairs Padraic McMeel. “As we evaluated what is best for our student-athletes, Jacke and Colin bring outstanding qualities to Oakland baseball that we could not pass on. We are excited to have them lead our program and young men now, and into the future."

Kaline was drafted in the 26th round by the Detroit Tigers in 2011 out of Florida Southern where he spent two years in the organization before joining the coaching staff for the Gulf Coast League Tigers. At FSC, he led the team in walks his last three seasons, batting .287 his senior year. The Tigers also drafted him in the 25th round out of Birmingham Groves High School, where as a senior, he batted .535 with just three strikeouts in 187 at-bats.

Healey came to Oakland from the University of Pittsburgh where he coached the infielders and helped the team to a program-best 42 wins. He was drafted in the 27th round by the Houston Astros in 2010 and helped lead the TriCity Valleycats to a league championship. He graduated from Youngstown State as a two-time All-Region and All-Conference selection and in just two years ranks in the top-10 in program history in batting average, home runs and RBIs. Healey started his career at Potomac State College in West Virginia where he was named a NJCAA All-American in 2008 and was a Rawlings Silver Slugger Award recipient.