A member of head coach T.J. Bruce’s initial staff, Jake Silverman begins his fourth season as an assistant coach with the University of Nevada baseball program in 2018-19. Silverman serves as the recruiting coordinator and works with Nevada’s catchers while assisting with hitting and base running.
Silverman helped the Pack haul in the 35th ranked recruiting class in 2016 as selected by Collegiate Baseball. It is the first nationally ranked recruiting class in school history.
This upcoming season will feature two freshmen who were drafted in the 2018 MLB Draft in Julian Boyd and Owen Sharts. Boyd was selected by the Chicago Cubs in the 26th round and Sharts was selected by the Texas Rangers in the 32nd round.
Nevada boasted one of the most prolific offenses in the Mountain West on its way to winning the regular-season title in 2018. In conference play, the Wolf Pack posted a .338 team batting average to lead the MW. Freshman of the Year Joshua Zamora led the Mountain West with a .427 batting average in conference play, followed by MW Tony Gwynn Player of the Year Grant Fennell with a .405 average. In conference play, Nevada held the top four spots in on-base percentage, with Fennell in first (.479), Zamora second (4.77), Mike Echavia third (.464) and Kaleb Foster fourth (.457).
The 2017 Wolf Pack squad went 19-36 and finished fourth in the MW with a 13-16 record. The Pack won two-of-three games at New Mexico, the regular season champions, the final weekend to secure the final spot in the conference tournament. The team was involved in several close games going 6-10 in one-run contests during the season. The difficult non-conference schedule included a three-game series at No. 6 Clemson where Nevada won the middle game 7-5 and dropped the other two games in hard fought contests.
Senior shortstop Justin Bridgman earned second-team All-MW honors and was selected in the MLB draft by Tampa. Junior infielder Jordan Pearce was also drafted and signed with Detroit. Junior outfielder Michael Echavia was selected to the American Baseball Coaches Association All-Region second team. Echavia was named to the MW All-Tournament team and was selected as the MW Player of the Week after batting .600 with eight RBI in the final series of the season at UNM.
Always making academics a priority the Pack had six players earn All-MW academic honors in 2016 and nearly doubled that with 11 in 2017. In 2016 two players earned MW Scholar Athlete recognition and three in 2017.
In his initial season in 2016 the Pack posted a 37-24 overall record with a 20-10 mark in Mountain West play to finish in a tie for second. Nevada advanced to the finals of the MW Tournament and in the process knocked off top seed Fresno State 25-6. In the Pack’s first ever MW Tournament title game the Pack fell but earned second place.
Offensively the Pack tied for second in the MW with a .319 batting average and led the conference fielding .977. The .977 field percentage set a school record and ranked in the top 25 nationally.
Three members of the 2016 squad earned All-MW honors led by outfielder TJ Friedl who garnered first team honors. Infielders Jordan Pearce and Miles Mastrobuoni were named to the second team. Friedl batted .401 for Nevada in 2016, becoming the first player to eclipse .400 at Nevada since 2001.
Nevada had three position players selected in the 2016 MLB Draft with Mastrobuoni (14th round – Tampa Bay Rays) and Trenton Brooks (17th round – Cleveland Indians). Additionally, Friedl was named to the ABCA/Rawlings West All-Region second team before being named to the final roster for the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team. Friedl was one of 10 position players in the nation to make the USA collegiate team, joining the squad for international competition over the summer. Friedl went on to sign the largest contract by a domestic non-drafted free agent player with the Cincinnati Reds.
Silverman spent the past five seasons with UCLA as an assistant coach with coach Bruce, helping the Bruins compile a 202-103-1 record in that span with four postseason appearances. Silverman and UCLA earned two trips to the College World Series while capturing the 2013 NCAA Championship.
A native of Tustin, Calif., Silverman is a former collegiate player at Fullerton College (2006-07) and Cal State Fullerton (2008). His coaching career began as an undergraduate assistant coach with the Titans during the 2009 and 2010 seasons before his stint at UCLA.
In his final year at UCLA Silverman helped guide the Bruins to a 45-16 overall record, a Pac-12 title and a 3-2 record at regionals. Silverman’s work with the catchers paid dividends in 2015 as UCLA’s 28 successful steals allowed ranked third in the league. The Bruins’ catching corps only allowed one passed ball and handled a UCLA pitching rotation which boasted the nation’s top ERA. Silverman helped sophomore catcher Darrell Miller Jr. earn honorable mention All-Pac-12 honors.
In 2014, UCLA’s defense ranked fourth in the Pac-12 in fewest stolen base attempts against while the Bruin catchers threw out 22-of-56 attempted base stealers. The Bruins posted a 25-30-1 mark overall, the only sub-30-win season during Silverman’s time with the program. Junior catcher Shane Zeile was named to the All-Pac-12 first team and was later drafted in the fifth round of the 2014 MLB Draft by the Tigers.
The Bruins posted a 49-17 record in 2013, which ranked second most in a season in program history, and matched a school record with 21 league wins. UCLA went 10-0 in the postseason and won the program’s first national championship. Zeile posted a .991 fielding percentage while the pitching staff boasted the sixth-lowest ERA in the nation.
Silverman had two catchers drafted following the 2012 season, which concluded with a 48-16 record, a Pac-12 title and a trip to the College World Series. Tyler Heineman and Trevor Brown combined to throw out 19 of 33 attempted base stealers while catching for a pitching staff that posted the second-best ERA in the conference. Heineman was drafted in the eighth round by the Astros while Brown went in the 10th round to the Giants.
In his first season with UCLA, the Bruins posted a 35-24 record in 2011 and won its first outright Pac-10 title since 1986. Catcher Steve Rodrigues threw out base stealers at a 40.7 percent clip before being selected in the 15th round by the Diamondbacks.
In two seasons as an undergraduate assistant coach at Cal State Fullerton, Silverman helped the Titans advance to the College World Series in 2009 and to an NCAA Super Regional in 2010. He also served as an assistant coach in the summer of 2010 for the Peninsula Oilers of the Alaska Collegiate Summer League.
A graduate of Foothill High School in Tustin, Calif., Silverman attended Fullerton College. He batted .350 in 16 games as a freshman in 2006. In 2007, he earned the Art Nunn Award for exemplary acts on and off the field while seeing action in 14 games. Silverman attended Cal State Fullerton in 2008 and saw action in one game as a catcher.
Silverman earned an associate’s degree from Fullerton College before earning a bachelor’s degree in communications from Cal State Fullerton in 2009.
