Carl Keiji Iwasaki (October 30, 1961 – February 7, 2024) was an American baseball coach and catcher.[1] He played college baseball at Northern Colorado for coach Tom Petroff from 1981 to 1984. He then served as the head of the Austin Kangaroos (2005–2010) and the Northern Colorado Bears (2011–2022).
 | |
| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | October 30, 1961 Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S. |
| Died | February 7, 2024 (aged 62) |
| Playing career | |
| 1981–1984 | Northern Colorado |
| Position(s) | Catcher |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 2003 | Saddleback CC (asst.) |
| 2004 | Austin (asst.) |
| 2005–2010 | Austin |
| 2011–2022 | Northern Colorado |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 321–515 |
| Tournaments | WAC: 2–8 NCAA: 0–0 |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| |
| Awards | |
| |
Early life
editIwasaki graduated from Punahou School in 1980, then played four seasons at Northern Colorado from 1981 through 1984, graduating in 1985.
Coaching career
editIwasaki spent five years coaching the Bakersfield Braves select team and three years with Hawaii Winter Baseball. He then served as an assistant coach for two seasons with the Saddleback Gauchos junior college team in Mission Viejo, California.
Next, he worked two seasons at Division III before being elevated to the top job for five seasons. He made the rare jump from Division III to newly Division I Northern Colorado in the summer of 2010.[2][3][4][5][6]
In first three seasons with the Bears, he led the team to a Great West Conference title and the championship game of the 2011 Great West Conference baseball tournament. Iwasaki earned GWC Coach of the Year honors in 2013. The Bears joined the Western Athletic Conference for the 2014 season.[1] Iwasaki retired from coaching following the 2022 season.[7]
Death
editIwasaki died on February 7, 2024, at the age of 62.[8]
Head coaching record
edit| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Austin Kangaroos (American Southwest Conference) (2005–2006) | |||||||||
| 2005 | Austin | 10–25 | 5–16 | 8th (East)[9] | |||||
| 2006 | Austin | 19–22 | 9–12 | T–5th (East)[9] | |||||
| Austin Kangaroos (Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference) (2007–2010) | |||||||||
| 2007 | Austin | 22–25 | 9–6 | 2nd (Western)[10] | NCAA D-III Regional | ||||
| 2008 | Austin | 18–24 | 7–9 | 4th (Western)[11] | |||||
| 2009 | Austin | 15–24 | 5–15 | 5th (Western)[12] | |||||
| 2010 | Austin | 19–20 | 9–11 | 3rd (Western)[13] | |||||
| Austin: | 103–140 | 44–69 | |||||||
| Northern Colorado Bears (Great West Conference) (2011–2013) | |||||||||
| 2011 | Northern Colorado | 24–32 | 19–7 | 2nd | Great West Tournament | ||||
| 2012 | Northern Colorado | 27–33 | 15–13 | 4th | Great West Tournament | ||||
| 2013 | Northern Colorado | 33–24 | 20–7 | 1st | Great West Tournament | ||||
| Northern Colorado Bears (Western Athletic Conference) (2014–2021) | |||||||||
| 2014 | Northern Colorado | 10–43 | 4–23 | 10th | |||||
| 2015 | Northern Colorado | 16–32 | 12–14 | 7th | WAC Tournament | ||||
| 2016 | Northern Colorado | 16–34 | 11–12 | 6th | WAC Tournament | ||||
| 2017 | Northern Colorado | 24–30 | 10–14 | 6th | WAC Tournament | ||||
| 2018 | Northern Colorado | 29–24 | 11–13 | 5th | WAC Tournament | ||||
| 2019 | Northern Colorado | 12–35 | 8–19 | T-8th | |||||
| 2020 | Northern Colorado | 4–13 | 0–0 | Season canceled due to COVID-19 | |||||
| 2021 | Northern Colorado | 11–36 | 7–24 | 9th | WAC Tournament | ||||
| Northern Colorado Bears (Summit League) (2022) | |||||||||
| 2022 | Northern Colorado | 12–39 | 8–16 | 6th | |||||
| Northern Colorado: | 218–375 | 125–161 | |||||||
| Total: | 321–515 | ||||||||
|
National champion
Postseason invitational champion
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References
edit- ^ a b "Carl Iwasaki". Northern Colorado Bears. Archived from the original on January 2, 2014. Retrieved January 1, 2014.
- ^ "Iwasaki Set to Take Division I Job". Austin College. August 4, 2010. Archived from the original on January 1, 2014. Retrieved January 1, 2014.
- ^ "Iwasaki Named Head Coach at Northern Colorado". College Baseball Insider. August 5, 2010. Retrieved January 1, 2014.
- ^ "Austin College baseball coach leaving for Northern Colorado". KXII. August 3, 2010. Retrieved January 1, 2014.
- ^ "UNC selects baseball coach". Denver Post. August 5, 2010. Retrieved January 1, 2014.
- ^ "Carl Iwaski to be named Head Coach at Northern Colorado". College Baseball Daily. August 4, 2010. Retrieved January 1, 2014.
- ^ Jadyn Watson-Fischer (May 22, 2022). "Northern Colorado baseball coach announces departure from program". www.greeleytribune.com. Greeley Tribune. Retrieved May 28, 2022.
- ^ Delaney, Anne. "Former Northern Colorado baseball coach, player Carl Iwasaki remembered in death". The Denver Post. Retrieved February 8, 2024.
- ^ a b "ASC_BB_All-Time_Standings (PDF) - American Southwest Conference" (PDF).
- ^ "2007 SCAC Baseball - Standings & Leaders".
- ^ "2008 SCAC Baseball - Standings & Leaders".
- ^ "Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference - Standings & Leaders".
- ^ "2010 SCAC Baseball - Standings & Leaders".