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The dedcated and personable Bill Kinneberg is in his sixth season at the helm of the University of Utah baseball team. He was named head coach of the program on Sept. 15, 2004, marking his second go-around in the Utes' dugout.
Utah made a strong run at the end of the 2008 season to finish third at the Mountain West Conference Tournament finishing with a 26-28 record.
Since his return to Utah, Kinneberg has infused a winning mentality in the clubhouse. He has had several players drafted, including All-American Ryan Khoury, three-time All-MWC selection Jay Brossman and most recently all-conference player Stephen Fife in 2008.
His teams have steadily moved up in the conference standings each year and several have rewritten the record books. Brossman holds records for hits, doubles, RBI and total bases. Khoury holds the school record for career runs scored.
Kinneberg's first stint as the head coach was in 1996, leading the Utes to a 30-22 record. His squad tied for third place in the Western Athletic Conference's Northern Division.
Kinneberg has also made his mark on the national scene. In the summer of 2007 he was invited to join the US National Team as its pitching coach. Kinneberg worked with some of the country's brightest collegiate stars. That staff turned in a 25-12 mark in international competition, and finished with a scant 1.93 earned-run average.
In 14 seasons as a head coach at the NCAA Division I level, Kinneberg has a record of 372-328. He has coached collegiate baseball for 26 years. His teams established school records for victories in a season at UTEP in 1985, Wyoming in 1990 and Utah in 1996.
Prior to joining the Utah staff, Kinneberg was working for the Chicago White Sox organization as a minor league pitching coach. He also worked with USA Baseball, as director of the organization's athlete development program.
From 1996 through 2001, Kinneberg was the associate head baseball coach at the University of Arizona. The Wildcats were 124-102 with Kinneberg as their associate head coach. Arizona also advanced to an NCAA Regional Tournament during Kinneberg's tenure with the Wildcats.
He served as the pitching coach for USA Baseball's national team in the summer of 1999.
Kinneberg was the head coach at Utah from May 1995 through July 1996.
Kinneberg coached three All-Western Athletic Conference athletes during the 1996 season at Utah. The Utes also set four school records, which are still intact today, during Kinneberg's first stint with the Utes.
Prior to his time with the Utes, Kinneberg was an assistant baseball coach at Arizona State from 1992 through 1994. During the 1993 and 1994 seasons, Kinneberg helped lead the Sun Devils to back-to-back appearances in the College World Series. Kinneberg was the head baseball coach at Wyoming from 1986 through 1992. While in charge of the Cowboys' program, Kinneberg guided his team to the WAC playoffs in five of his seven seasons. In 1990, he earned Western Athletic Conference Coach of the Year honors, leading Wyoming to a 37-18 record. Kinneberg coached 16 All-Western Athletic Conference players during his seven seasons in Laramie.
Kinneberg served as head coach at UTEP in 1985. Kinneberg's coaching career began in 1980, when he became an assistant coach at UTEP. He served in that capacity for four seasons.
In addition to his duties with USA Baseball, Kinneberg worked with the Italian Olympic team in 1984, serving as pitching coach.
Kinneberg is a 1980 graduate of the University of Arizona. He attended graduate school at UTEP from 1980-1982.
Kinneberg and his wife Janet reside in Sandy, Utah. They have two children, Joe (8) and David (6).
