IMG Academy alum to lead athletic department at New College

A former Team USA baseball coach and IMG Academy alum has been named athletic director and head baseball coach at New College of Florida.

The four-year liberal arts college in Sarasota named Mariano Jimenez to lead its new intercollegiate athletics department. The department will be an addition to its existing intramural sports. 

“We are confident that this hire will continue to elevate student life at New College of Florida and attract scholar-athletes to our campus to take part in competitive sports from baseball to softball to soccer and basketball,” interim President Richard Corcoran says in a release.

Most recently, Jimenez was the president of baseball operations at Bradenton-based Inspiration Academy and professional consultant for Major League Baseball players.

“We’re looking forward to building a culture that emphasizes academic and athletic excellence,” Jimenez says in the release. “We’re going to bring in outstanding people to contribute to this amazing community.”

Jimenez played and coached at both IMG Academy, for a decade, and at his alma mater Palm Beach Atlantic University. Originally known as the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy, IMG Academy is a youth sports training facility in west Bradenton. 

“I’ve had many hitting coaches over my 13-year professional career, none better than Mariano Jimenez,” Chris Coghlan, the former National League Rookie of the Year and a World Series Champion with the Chicago Cubs, says in the release. “Under his leadership, New College will have a commitment to mentoring the next generation. I would trust my son under his leadership.”