Serra is excited to announce that Mat Keplinger has been named the new varsity baseball coach. Keplinger brings more than a decade of baseball coaching experience and a lifetime of experience as a baseball player.

Along with his role as the head varsity baseball coach, Keplinger will join Serra’s administration as the associate dean of students alongside Dean of Students Ray Baldonado.

This blended role provides an opportunity for Keplinger to make connections with the Padres on and off of the baseball diamond.

“Having this administrative seat will make me a better coach. Understanding the policies and procedures at the highest level is a great opportunity to strengthen my relationships with students and build a tighter community,” Keplinger said.

Principal Charlie McGrath said that he is particularly happy to see how well Keplinger’s coaching expertise will help him in his new role.

“This key role supports our student body as they learn what it means to embrace and live out the ideals of the brotherhood - respect, integrity, inclusion and compassion. What it means to be a Padre. Mat’s coaching experience will add tremendous value to this role.”

A Stockton native, Keplinger played youth baseball his entire life. He attended University of Nevada, Reno, where he played Division 1 baseball as a pitcher. After graduating with a bachelor’s degree in journalism, he moved to Germany to play professional baseball. Keplinger said baseball was the vehicle that propelled him to Germany, but it was the work he did with youth baseball there that crystalized his desire to dedicate his life’s work to baseball and education.

During his time at Delta, he earned a master’s of arts in kinesiology from Fresno Pacific University. After seven years at Delta as a professor, assistant baseball coach, recruiting coordinator and strength and conditioning coordinator, Keplinger went to the University of San Francisco, where he worked as the interim head baseball coach, pitching coach and recruitment coordinator. In 2022, he went to San Jose State University, where he worked as an assistant baseball coach.

Keplinger said he is thrilled to head Serra’s baseball team.

“This program is so rich in history with so many great alumni, I am looking forward to connecting with everyone who wants to be a part of what we’re building. This is a passionate baseball community and I am very excited to meet the players and connect with them,” he said. 

Serra Athletics Director Justin Ferdinand said he is very excited for Keplinger to come on board.

“We are thrilled to have Mat join us as the new baseball coach. His high-level coaching experience, coupled with his baseball acumen and his overall vision for the program, will propel the team forward and continue to produce great baseball players and even better people.”

Keplinger will begin his new role on September 18.