Utah Baseball Coach Bill Kinneberg Announces Retirement After 18 Seasons

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – University of Utah head baseball coach Bill Kinneberg announced that he will retire at the end of the season, his 18th with the Utes.

Bill Kinneberg has coached baseball for 37 years and spent the last 18 years as the head coach of Utah. He earned Pac-12 Coach of the Year in 2016 when he led the team to the Conference Championship. During his time with the Utes, Kinneberg has won 381 games. Over the course of his career, he has won 625 games.

Kinneberg released the following statement on Monday morning.

“There are so many people in my life that I need to thank, starting with Dr. Chris Hill who believed in me twice, hiring me in 1995 and then again in 2004,” Kinneberg said. “Also, thank you to Mark Harlan who has allowed me to coach these last three years under his guidance. To all the assistant coaches for their tireless work and for their loyalty to me and the program, I can’t thank you enough.

Thanks to the Utah Baseball fans for their support of me and the student-athletes all of these years. The support staff within the athletic department are so generous with their time and effort and are such a pleasure to work with.  I will miss them all. But, the group I will always be indebted to and miss the most are all the student-athletes who played for me over the years, going back to UTEP, Wyoming, Arizona State, University of Arizona, and the University of Utah. They have touched my life in so many ways and given me so many thrills that I will never forget.

I want to thank my family, starting with my Mom and Dad, my siblings, and naturally my wife Janet and my sons, Joe and David. They have enjoyed the journey with me but have sacrificed so much for me over the years. I am anxious for the next chapter of my life, spending time with my family, traveling, playing some golf, but most of all, being the best Ute fan I can be. Thanks for everything the University has done for me and my family.”

After 37 years of coaching and 18 years as our head coach, Bill Kinneberg has announced he will retire after this season! Congratulations on a great career!

Story: https://t.co/UExAr9LwbS pic.twitter.com/DxryCpuvew

— Utah Baseball (@utahbaseball) May 24, 2021

Back in 2009, Kinneberg and the Utah baseball team won the Mountain West Tournament Championship and received their first NCAA Tournament bid since 1960. Kinneberg started his coaching career as an assistant at UTEP from 1981-84 before serving as the head coach in 1985. Then he went to Laramie to be the head coach of Wyoming from 1986-92. Following his time with the Cowboys, he went to Arizona State as an assistant from 1993-94 before becoming the head coach of the Utes for the 1996 season.

Kinneberg left Salt Lake City to become an assistant for Arizona from 1997-01 before making his return to Utah in 2005.

“First and foremost, I want to congratulate Bill on a remarkable career,” said Director of Athletics Mark Harlan. “His care for his students has been second to none. I worked with Bill and was fortunate to know him back in the day when we both worked at the University of Arizona, and I am grateful to have worked with him again here at Utah for the last three years. He is a terrific coach but an even better person. I want to thank Bill, Janet and their entire family for all they have done for this program, and wish them all the very best. Utah Baseball and Bill Kinneberg will forever be connected, and I look forward to having Bill remain closely associated with the program in his retirement.”

During his time at Utah, Kinneberg has coached 11 players that have been drafted in the first 10 rounds. Those players include C.J. Cron, who was the first Utah player to be drafted in the first round in program history back in 2011. Also, Stephen Fife (third round in 2008) and Tyler Wagner (fourth round in 2012) have reached the Major Leagues.

The Utes are 16-31 on the season and 6-21 in Pac-12 play. They have one last series remaining in the season and it’s a three-game set against USC in Ogden from May 27-29.

Trevor Allen is a Utah Utes Insider for KSLSports.com and host of the Crimson Corner podcast. Follow him on Twitter: @TrevorASports. You can download and listen to the podcast, here.