Jake Little will begin his second season as an assistant coach at Metro State in 2012. The Roadrunners finished second in the Mountain Division in 2011, Little's first season, with a record of 29-17 overall, including 25-14 in the RMAC. However, the team was snubbed out of the NCAA Tournament, dropping out top six in the region when tournament field was selected. The squad was strong offensively, ranking in the top-10 in Division II in slugging percentage (.503) and scoring (8.30). David Fox was named RMAC Player of the Year, the first Metro State player to win the award. Fox also was named third team All-America and was signed by Joliet (Ill.) of the independent Frontier League after the completion of the season. He finished his two-year career second all-time at Metro State in batting average and slugging percentage.
The team was also strong in the classroom as six players were named academic all-conference. David Kaplan was named RMAC Academic Player of the Year.
Prior to joining the Metro State coaching staff, Little served as an assistant coach at Thomas Jefferson High School in Denver under fellow Roadrunners assistant Tory Humphrey. At TJHS, Little helped the team reach that state 4A finals in 2007 and 2008. Little and Humphrey went 136-67 (.670) in nine years at Thomas Jefferson.
Little also brings NCAA Division I collegiate playing experience as he was named second team All-Mountain West Conference as a catcher in 2000 at the University of New Mexico, where he graduated in 2000 with a bachelor's degree in sociology. He also earned his master's degree in real estate & construction management from the University of Denver in 2005.
A native of Grand Junction, Colo., Little also played two years of baseball at Mesa State College.
