Page 47 - DBU Baseball 25 Media Guide

CLIFF PENNINGTON–RECRUITING COORDINATOR
Cliff Pennington is in his fourth season as the Recruiting Coordinator and Assistant Coach for the DBU Baseball team. In 2024, Pennington was named the Conference USA Assistant Coach of the Year and has helped lead the Patriots to the NCAA postseason in each of his previous three seasons with the Patriots. A first round selection and the 21st overall pick by the Oakland Athletics in the 2005 Major League Draft, Pennington spent 11 seasons in the Big Leagues from 2008- 2018. He joined the DBU coaching after spending two years as an assistant coach at Texas A&M.
Pennington’s impact on the DBU program has been immediate and significant. In 2024, he played a pivotal role in shaping an explosive Patriot offense that ranked in the top 25 nationally in six categories, including 12th in home runs (115), 13th in slugging percentage (.542), 14th in doubles (134), and 24th in hits (625). His work with the infield has been equally influential, helping guide a defense in 2024 that ranked fourth nationally in fielding percentage (.982) and led college baseball with 56 double plays.
Pennington’s work with the running game has also been a defining feature of his time at DBU. The Patriots’ 134 stolen bases in 2023 ranked as the seventh-most in the nation and helped to produce the 19th-highest scoring average (8.3 runs per game) in all of college baseball. Over the past three seasons, DBU has stolen 305 bases, ranking 18th nationally, showcasing Pennington’s emphasis on speed and aggressive baserunning.
In three seasons at DBU, Pennington has helped develop three All-Americans, including Grant Jay, Ryan Johnson, and Ethan Mann, and three Conference Freshman of the Year honorees: Luke Heefner (2022 - Missouri Valley Conference), Grant Jay (2023 - Conference USA), and Luke Pettitte (2024 - Conference USA), all of whom also earned Freshman All-American honors. Under Pennington’s guidance, 28 players have also received All- Conference recognition.
Pennington was a standout at Texas A&M from 2003-05 where he was a three-time All-Big 12 selection and earned All-American honors in 2005. In one of the most decorated careers in Aggie baseball history, Pennington ranks in the top 10 on the Aggies’ career list for hits (246), triples (10) and stolen bases (53). Pennington finished his collegiate career with a .346 batting average in 182 games.
Following his junior season at Texas A&M, Pennington was
selected by the Oakland Athletics as the 21st overall pick in the
first round of the 2005 Major League Baseball Draft. Three years
later, Pennington made his Big League debut with the Oakland A’s
on August 12, 2008. Pennington spent five seasons in Oakland and completed his 11-year career in the Majors with four other teams including the Arizona Diamondbacks, Toronto Blue Jays, Los Angeles Angels, and Cincinnati Reds.
The Corpus Christi, Texas, native finished his MLB career with 678 hits, 121 doubles, 21 triples, 36 home runs, 242 RBI, and 84 stolen bases in 971 games. His finest seasons came between 2010 and 2012. In 2010, he set career-highs in five categories including games (156), doubles (26), runs (64), triples (8), and stolen bases (29), while hitting six home runs and collecting 46 RBI. The following year, Pennington batted .264 with a career-best eight home runs and 58 RBI, while matching his career-high in doubles (26).
Pennington was a part of two teams that reached the postseason during his Major League career. In 2012, Pennington and the Oakland A’s won the American League West and played in the American League Division Series. Three years later, Pennington was a key part of a Toronto Blue Jays team that clinched the AL East and reached the American League Championship Series. Pennington also made history as the first position player to pitch in an MLB playoff game, appearing on the mound in the ninth inning in Game 4 of the 2015 ALCS against the Kansas City Royals.
Cliff and his wife Missy have three children, Brady (14), Hudson (10), and Kinsley (8).
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