Bill Sizemore has been named Director of Pitching Development for the Brevard College Tornados Baseball program, announced Interim Head Coach Vinny Carone.
Sizemore joins the coaching staff with a wealth of baseball experience on the high school, collegiate and professional levels. Sizemore will officially begin his coaching duties at Brevard College on January 1.
“I would like to thank Director of Athletics Myranda Nash and Coach Carone for the opportunity to join the Brevard College baseball program and the Tornado family,” said Sizemore. “I am excited to continue coaching student-athletes at Brevard College. As a coach, my focus has always been the development of student-athletes, both on and off the field. I look forward to being part of the continued success of Tornado baseball.”
Sizemore arrives at Brevard after college baseball tenures at Whitman College (Wash.) and Bethany College (W.Va.). Prior to coaching at Whitman and Bethany, Sizemore spent over 20 years working with professional baseball organizations.
“Bill is a living encyclopedia of baseball knowledge and stories,” said Carone. “Not only will he challenge our players to be better, but he will challenge me to be a better coach. I’m looking forward to being alongside him in the dugout for 40-plus games this season.”
Sizemore began his coaching journey in 1979 as the Head Baseball Coach at Burroughs High School in Ridgecrest, California. After a stint at Canyon High School in Canyon Country, California, he became the Pitching Coach at Saugus (Calif.) High School where he had the opportunity to work with Roger Salkeld, the no. 1 pick (no. 3 overall) of the Seattle Mariners in the 1989 MLB draft. Sizemore then moved to Hart High School in Newhall, California in 1992 as an assistant coach.
Sizemore left Hart H.S. to become the Head Coach at Thousand Oaks (Calif.) High School where he won a Marmonte League championship and reached the state quarterfinals in 2000. While at Thousand Oaks, he coached Jack Wilson, an MLB All-Star shortstop who played for the Pirates, Mariners and Braves.
Next for Sizemore was the veteran coach’s first college baseball opportunity, serving as Assistant Coach for Moorpark College in California. In 2013, he was named Pitching Coach at Bethany College in West Virginia. From 2016-18, Sizemore was the Pitching Coach for Whitman College, an NCAA Division III school located in Walla Walla, Washington.
Sizemore’s 20-plus years in professional baseball began in 1989 as an Associate Scout for the Mariners before being hired as a minor league pitching coach for Seattle. After his time with the Mariners, he worked with Major League Baseball as a pitching coach in the Pioneer League, followed by a seven-year assignment as a minor league pitching coach for the Florida Marlins. After working in player development, Sizemore moved into scouting for the Marlins for four years. He later served as a part-time area scout for the Pittsburgh Pirates from 2007-11.
During his eight years of scouting, Sizemore spent his summers working as the pitching coach for the Rockville Express and the Bethesda Big Train in the Cal Ripken Collegiate League. The Big Train won a national championship in 2011 and was the number one ranked summer league team by Perfect Game. While in the Ripken League, Sizemore helped develop future major league pitchers Joe Smith (Angels, Astros), Justin DeFratus (Phillies), Cody Allen (Indians, Angels) and Matt Bowman (Cardinals, Reds, Yankees).
Sizemore graduated from Cal State Stanislaus with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Physical Education. At Cal State Stanislaus, he was a member of two national championship baseball teams and held the school record for career winning percentage as a pitcher.
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