Jeff Opalewski enters his first season at Cal State Bakersfield in Fall of 2026. He serves the Roadrunner baseball program as the Pitching Coach.
Opalewski came to Bakersfield with nearly two decades of coaching experience and a lifetime in baseball. In total, he has coached four MLB pitchers, 37 MLB draft picks, nine MLB undrafted free agents, one All-American, four freshman All-Americans, four All-Region honorees, a conference Pitcher of the Year, two conference Freshman Pitcher of the Year honorees, an ABCA Rawlings Gold Glove Winner, and 26 All-Conference selections.
Over the past five seasons, Opalewski has enjoyed stops as an assistant coach/pitching coach at UNLV, Long Beach State, and Miami University (Ohio).
In his two seasons at UNLV, Opalewski helped lead the Hustlin’ Rebels to back-to-back 30+-win seasons. In 2026, UNLV’s pitchers broke a 23-year-old program record, combing for 535 strikeouts on the season. In his first year in Las Vegas, Opalewski mentored a pair of All-Conferences Honorees in Carson Lane (First Team) and LJ Mercurius (Second Team). Mercurius, who was invited to join the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team, led the Rebels with a team-low 3.57 ERA with 58 strikeouts in 78.2 innings of work.
Opalewski spent the 2024 season at Long Beach State, helping the pitching staff rank 28th nationally in ERA (4.61), 34th in hits/9 innings (8.55), 23rd in WHIP (1.35), 34th in BB/9 innings (3.78) and 38th in K:BB ratio (2.35). The Dirtbags roster also featured one pitcher named to the All-Big West Team, with Opalewski guiding Myles Patton to an Honorable Mention spot in the Big West’s list. Mike Villlani was drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers (13th round) and Grant Cherry signed as un undrafted free agent with the Texas Rangers.
The two seasons prior to his time in Long Beach, Opalewski was with Miami (OH), where he oversaw all facets of the pitching staff and their development. In 2023, the Redhawk pitchers broke the school record for most strikeouts (594) in a single season, ranking fifth in the NCAA. The team finished in the top four of the Mid-American Conference in ERA both years under Opalewski’s mentorship.
Individually, he oversaw a historic year from Miami right-hander Jonathan Brand. He earned multiple All-American honors, All-East Region, first-team All-MAC, and ultimately an eighth-round selection in the 2022 MLB Draft. He had four All-MAC pitchers, 2 MLB draft picks and MLB UDFA signees during his two seasons in Oxford.
“Coach Ope” had a break between collegiate coaching stints, spending three years at IMG Academy, where he created the day-to-day programming for all 89 pitchers in the academy. In those three years of leading the pitching program, he saw 48 earn collegiate scholarships, 25 of which went into the Division I level. More notable, he oversaw the development of three MLB Draft selections: Jackson Ferris (second round, Chicago Cubs), Drew Gray (third round, Chicago Cubs), and Mason Albright (12th round, Los Angeles Angels).
His collegiate coaching career began in 2008 at his alma mater, Central Michigan. Spending a decade on the Chippewa coaching staff, he was the Associate Head Coach, Recruiting Coordinator, and Assistant Coach. In charge of the pitching staff, his players led the MAC in ERA twice, ranked top 70 nationally in ERA three times, and set the single-season strikeout record in 2018. He also helped guide the Chippewas to two Mid-American Conference Championships and four MAC-West Division Championships.
Opalewski also spent time coaching in the Northwoods League (2006) and the New York Collegiate League (2005), and has published numerous articles across several media platforms. As a player, he was a four-year letterwinner and 2004 MAC Champion with Central Michigan and 2000 MLB Draft selection coming out of high school.
Opalewski and his wife, Candace, have two children.
