July 17, 2002

RALEIGH, N.C. - Billy Jones, a volunteer coach with the NC State baseball coach this past season, has been hired as a full-time assistant coach with the Wolfpack, head coach Elliott Avent has announced.

This past season, Jones coached NC State's baserunners and defense, and served as third-base coach. He will maintain those responsibilities, and will also be involved in the team's recruiting, coordination of summer camps, and the general day-to-day operations of the program.

"I'm really excited about making Billy Jones a full-time member of our coaching staff," Avent said. "Billy has a tremendous amount of college baseball experience. He was head coach at a junior college, and has had coaching stints at Arizona State and Oregon State, so he brings a good quality experience and a little different perspective to our staff. Billy is very passionate about the game, a high-energy guy with a tremendous work ethic. He's also very personable and relates well to young people. The relationships he builds with recruits and our student-athletes will be a great benefit. He proved last season what a tremendous asset he is to our program."

Jones, who joined the Wolfpack staff last fall as a volunteer coach, has seven years of college coaching experience. He spent the 2000 and 2001 seasons as an assistant coach at Arizona State, working with the Sun Devils' infielders, and was the head coach of the Brewster Whitecaps of the Cape Cod League during the summer of 2001, serving as manager of the East Team in the Cape League All-Star Game. Later that summer, he was a finalist for the head coaching position at Western Illinois before heading to Raleigh to join Avent's staff at NC State.

Before working at Arizona State, Jones was an assistant coach at Oregon State, coaching the Beavers' infielders and implementing a conditioning program for position players. In 1997 and '98, he was the head coach at Green River (Wash.) Community College, where he won the 1998 Northwest Athletic Association of Community Colleges (NWAACC) Western Region championship. His '98 Gators batted .342 as a team and belted 60 home runs in 36 games. He coached the Western Region team to victory in the NWAACC All-Star Game, and eleven of his players were named to the NWAACC All-Western Regional team. Jones was Western Regional Coach of the Year following the season.

Jones began his coaching career with an 18-and-under AAU team. From 1992-97, his teams averaged more than 40 wins per season, won four regional championships, twice reached the semifinals of the AAU Junior Olympics, and had a pair of third-place finishes in the Continental Amateur Baseball Association (CABA) World Championships.

Jones earned his bachelor of science degree in liberal studies from Oregon State in 2001. He lives in Raleigh with his wife Tiffani and their two sons, Ryder (7) and Utah (5).