Tai.Mitchell@menlo.edu I 650-543-3766
A graduate of Cupertino High School in 2005, Tai Mitchell lettered two years in high school at Cupertino High School. He was named SCUAL All-League as well as team-MVP during his senior year. From there he spent two seasons playing baseball at De Anza College where he excelled at the junior college level. He earned Male Scholar of the Year honors in 2007 and then transferred over to Kansas University in 2008 to catch for the Jayhawks. His two year-stint as a player culminated with him serving as a student manager during the 2009 season. Upon earning his degree in Sport Science at Kansas, he returned to De Anza College to begin his official coaching stint as an assistant coach.
His coaching experience extends much beyond his time at De Anza College as he quickly returned to Kansas University in 2011 to enroll in a graduate program for his Master of Science in Sport Science. While getting through the two-year program, Tai was a graduate student manager for the Jayhawks where he reported to the Head Coach in assisting with administrative tasks and student-athlete management. Staying with the Jayhawks after his graduation, he became the Director of Baseball Operations for Kansas University. During his one-year stint in this position he oversaw every angle of the baseball program while assisting coaches with administrative and on-field tasks. He was also heavily involved with recruiting for the Jayhawks and organized youth baseball camps and tournaments.
In June of 2013, Tai accepted the role of assistant coach for the Chillicothe Mudcats of the MINK Summer Collegiate League. His one year as assistant quickly evolved into him becoming the head coach of the baseball team starting in 2014, a spot that he would hold for three summers. At the same time Tai accepted a position as the assistant baseball coach for Fort Scott Community College in 2014. Tai is a native of Santa Clara, California.
About Tai, Coach McKinley says, “I feel so lucky that we have added Tai to our staff. He comes highly recommended by some of the most respected names in college baseball, and he will fit right in to our culture. His experience recruiting in the Midwest and being a summer collegiate head coach makes him a unique get for us. He's definitely a guy people should keep their eye on as he has an extremely bright future as a college baseball coach.”
