title image via XULA Baseball
Courtesy XULA Athletics
Xavier University of Louisiana announced Wednesday the hiring of Dave Yamaneas baseball head coach. He will begin his duties Thursday (Aug. 1, 2024).
Yamane has 22 years of college experience as a coach and director of operations, including associate head coach at two-year Los Angeles Harbor College in Wilmington, Calif., the past three seasons. Yamane has NCAA Division I experience: three years (2016-19) as assistant coach at Siena College and five years (2010-15) as director of operations at Long Beach State.
“Thank you to VP Curtis Wright, AD Pat Kendrick and the search committee for entrusting me with the head baseball coaching position at Xavier. I look forward to leading Xavier baseball with the same energy, compassion and standards that have made Xavier athletics competitive on the playing fields and in the classroom.”
Yamane also said, “I want to thank my family, friends, coaches and mentors that have supported me throughout my life. This opportunity is possible because of the support and unwavering belief you had in me. Thank you.”
Los Angeles Harbor’s 2023 team received its first American Baseball Coaches Association Team Academic Excellence Award for achieving an overall two-semester GPA of 3.17, then the Seahawks did it again in 2024 with a 3.27 GPA — 3.34 during the spring semester. Every LAHC player who earned an associate’s degree in 2023 received an offer to play from four-year colleges.
Yamane also was recruiting coordinator at Long Beach City College and assistant coach at West Los Angeles College and Santa Ana College. As an assistant at Santa Ana he helped the Dons win the Orange Empire Conference championship in 2005 and reach the California Community College Athletic Association super regionals twice. Yamane in 2009 helped Long Beach City College win the South Coast Conference championship and reach the CCCCA super regionals. At Long Beach State he was on the staff of the 2014 team that was an NCAA regional runner-up.
“We are very excited to have Coach Yamane join the Xavier family,” said Kendrick, XULA’s executive director of athletics and recreation. “Dave brings a great deal of experience and knowledge to Xavier baseball, and we look forward to seeing the team’s success under his leadership.”
Yamane (pronounced yuh-MAH-nay) grew up in Hilo, Hawaii. He received an associate’s degree from Lake Washington Technical College, a bachelor’s from the University of Washington and a master’s in kinesiology — with a focus on sport psychology — from Cal State Fullerton.
During the mid-1990s, Yamane at UW became good friends with Donald Watts, a Huskies basketball standout and the son of 2022 XULA Athletic Hall of Fame inductee Donald “Slick” Watts.
Yamane replaces Adrian Holloway, XULA’s head coach the past four seasons. Darrion Smith, XULA’s assistant coach the past two seasons, will retain his role for the 2024-25 academic year.
This is the second era of XULA baseball. The program competed in 2021 for the first time since 1960. The Gold Rush in 2024 were 18-23 overall and 11-19 in the NAIA’s Red River Athletic Conference.
What They’re Saying About Dave Yamane
Troy Buckley, Fresno State assistant baseball coach
“So very pleased to hear that David will be leading the baseball program at Xavier. David will bring a fantastic work ethic, commitment and stewardship to the university and program. He is very detailed, diligent and has a tremendous amount of baseball and life knowledge that will be an asset to the young men in the program. He will work tirelessly to develop the student-athletes on and off the field, and I look forward to watching the journey.”
Devielle Johnson, actor and two-time Grace Award winner
“I have known Dave Yamane for more than 20 years. We are both former collegiate athletes and have had many discussions regarding the mental skills and mindset approach to performance that I’m sure Dave will bring to your institution and the athletes he will have the pleasure of working with. As an African-American man I can say Dave’s mindset/mental skills approach has been impactful for me as an award-winning artist. The focus and grounding element of the process has become an invaluable tool in my creative preparation. It goes beyond sports, and for Xavier’s student-athletes I think it will lead to something special in their journey.”
Tony Rossi, Siena College head baseball coach from 1970-2023
“Coach Yamane is the most knowledgeable and talented assistant coach that I have had in all of my years here at Siena. That’s saying a lot with all of the assistant coaches that I have had, over 60 of them. He is experienced, along with his coaching and recruiting acumen. Being able to communicate with today’s student-athlete cannot be ignored as a top trait in a coach. He has it all. He is extremely organized and knowledgeable in all skill areas of the game. Dedicated and highly motivated. He was also our liaison to our academic adviser, so he was our go-to person to stay on top of our student-athletes in our program. Organized, organized, organized is David. He has nothing that will pull him away from his job. It’s very difficult to get REAL workers in this day and age, and I can emphatically say that David is an extremely hard worker.”
John Savage, UCLA head baseball coach
“David is a very conscientious person who is fully prepared to take on this opportunity. He has been around a lot of good baseball people and understands the development and growth of a player as well as a program. David will be fully
