Jared Gates

Biography

Jared Gates enters his first season at Western Kentucky as the Director of Player Development. In addition to his operational duties, Gates works directly with the position players, assisting with both hitting and defensive development. Gates brings four years of experience training and coaching high school level athletes and helping many of those athletes achieve their dream of playing collegiate baseball. Before working in the high school travel ball landscape, he served as a volunteer assistant at the University of Central Arkansas during the 2019-20 season. He began his coaching career as a student assistant at the University of Arkansas in spring 2019. A standout player on the diamond, Gates competed at the highest levels of collegiate baseball. He began his career at Iowa Western Community College, where he played two seasons under head coach Marc Rardin. An All-American selection his sophomore year, he helped lead the Reivers to two NJCAA World Series appearances. He then transferred to the University of Arkansas, where he played in the Men's College World Series during his senior season. Following his collegiate career, Gates signed as a free agent with the Baltimore Orioles organization and played a short stint in Rookie Ball. Gates earned his degree in Criminal Justice from the University of Arkansas. He is a native of Wichita, Kansas.