Travis Janssen begins his third season on the Gamecock coaching staff and has been a part of the winningest team in the Ohio Valley Conference and a berth in the NCAA Regionals in 2006.
Janssen, who joined the JSU staff in the summer of 2005, will again coach third base, while also working with the infielders, assisting with the hitters, coordinating camps and recruiting.
The Gamecocks placed 10 players on the OVC All-Conference team in 2007 after posting a 33-27 record and an 18-9 mark in the OVC.
Clay Whittemore was also named the OVC Player of the Year and became the school’s first-ever Division I All-American.
In Janssen’s first year, Jax State won the OVC Tournament with a dramatic 8-7 final at-bat win over Samford in the OVC Championship game to advance to the NCAA Regionals in Tuscaloosa.
Janssen joined the JSU staff after one year at Hawaii, where he was an assistant coach. He also was the third base coach and assisted with recruiting, hitting, infielders and base running. At Hawaii, he helped the Rainbows to a third place finish. It marked the highest finish in the Western Athletic Conference since 1992.
Five position players earned All- WAC honors including Freshman All American Joe Spiers who led the WAC in stolen bases with 31. Janssen also was instrumental in Hawaii's Major league drafted player in Issac Omura. Omura was drafted in the 17th round by the Oakland A's and hit .369 (third in WAC) with 19 doubles (third in WAC).
Before his stint at Hawaii, Janssen was an assistant coach at Northwestern State and was responsible for recruiting, hitting, outfielders and base running for three years, while also serving as the third base coach. At NSU, he helped the team to a Southland Conference championship in 2002, and helped NSU accumulate a 111-62 record in his three years there. In 2004, NSU finished sixth in the country in stolen bases with 131 in 56 games.
Prior to his time at Northwestern State, Janssen spent three years as a volunteer assistant coach at the University of Arkansas. In 1999, Janssen was part of a Razorback squad that finished the season 42-23, winning the SEC championship, finishing runner-up at the SEC Tournament and earning a berth in the NCAA Regionals.
He also spent a year as assistant coach at Butler County Community College, finishing with a 41-21 record and was runner-up in the Jayhwak Conference, and as a student assistant at Kansas State. Janssen also served as the head coach of the Elkhart Dusters in the Jayhawk Summer baseball league in 2000 and 2001, leading the Dusters to two NBC National Tournaments. In 2001, the Dusters finished 35-22 overall and took third in the NBC, both the highest finishes in program history.
Janssen graduated from Kansas State in 1997 after playing two years at New Mexico State and two years at Butler County Community College. He was a third- team All-American at NMSU in 1995, earning first team all- district and first team All- Big West Conference.
During the 1995 NCAA season, the Manhattan, Kansas, native finished second with a .403 batting average, to current major league and Golden Spikes Winner Mark Kotsay for the Big West Conference batting title. He hit over .400 for two years at New Mexico State.
He also played for the prestigious Cape Cod League for the Falmouth Commodores in the summer of 1995.
In 1994, he helped Butler County place third in the National Junior College World Series and was a first-team All-Conference selection, an All-Region performer and was named Academic All-America.
Following his collegiate career, Janssen played independent professional baseball for the Adirondock Lumberjacks (NY) of the Northeastern Independent League before starting his coaching career.
Janssen is a 1992 graduate of Manhattan High School in Manhattan, Kan., where he led his team to a 6A state championship and he was an All-State shortstop selection for all classes.
He is married to the former Christy Brown of Springdale, Arkansas. The couple has one daughter, Avery Catherine, and one son, Tate Alan.
PLAYING EXPERIENCE
HIGH SCHOOL: Manhattan (Kansas)
COLLEGE:
Played four years (1993-94) for Butler County (Kansas) Community College (1993, 1994) and New Mexico State (1995, 1996)
COACHING CAREER1996-97 – Kansas State University – Student Assistant Baseball Coach
1997-98 – Butler County Community College - Assistant Baseball Coach
1998-2001 – University of Arkansas – Volunteer Assistant Baseball Coach
2001-03 – Northwestern (La.) State - Assistant Baseball Coach
2004-05 – University of Hawaii - Assistant Baseball Coach
2005-current - Jacksonville State University – Assistant Baseball Coach
PERSONALBorn: July 5, 1974 in Manhattan , Kansas
Married: former Christy Brown of Springdale, Ark.
Children: Daughter, Avery, son, Tate
College: Kansas State University (1997)
