Vince Maiocco
Head Baseball Coach

Coach Maiocco begins his fourth year as the Cougar’s head baseball coach. In his short time as the Cougars head coach there have been some significant accomplishments. The vast majority of his graduating sophomores have been placed at the 4-year level, while at Taft College and at College of the Siskiyous. Maiocco takes a lot of pride in placing his players to the next level. Cougar Field has undertaken some improvements over the past few years. The facility has newly remodeled dugouts and the "hillside" that overlooks Cougar Field has newly planted trees, a picnic area, and lawn to make Cougar Field a more pleasant environment for spectators who attend the games. This spring new bleachers are expected to arrive to allow Cougar fans a more pleasant seating area to view the “black & gold” in action. Coach Maiocco had extensive head coaching experience before coming to Taft College as an assistant coach in 2001. He was the head coach at College of the Siskiyous in Weed, California from 1992-1998. He served as an assistant coach from 1988-1992 to California Community College Hall of Fame coach, Dennis DeRoss at College of the Siskiyous. He also played for Coach DeRoss from 1982-1983. Coach Maiocco was the head coach for the Humboldt Crabs summer collegiate baseball club from 1993-1995 in Arcata, California. Maiocco has extensive high school coaching experience as well. He was the varsity coach at Delano High School in 2000, where he turned a struggling program into a "respected" East Yosemite League team. From 1984-1986 he coached at his high alma mater, Corning High School and during the 1987 season he coached under Colorado Rockies scout, Marty Coil at Orland High School. Maiocco’s wife Tami is a Physical Education Teacher at Bakersfield High School. They have two daughters; Mary a senior, playing volleyball at Bakersfield High School and Laurynn a fifth grader at Stockdale Christian School.

Jeremy Wedel        Pitching Coach

Jeremy enters his third year as the Cougars pitching coach. Jeremy played professionally in the Philadelphia Phillies organization from 1998 to 2004. He was on the Phillies 40-man roster during Spring Training in the 2003 & 2004 seasons. An arm injury forced him out of baseball after the 2004 season. Jeremy is best known locally for his two outstanding seasons at Bakersfield College in 1996 & 1997. He was a two-time all Western States Conference pitcher. In 1996 he was selected the W.S.C. "Pitcher of the Year." After playing two seasons for coach Tim Painton at Bakersfield College, in 1997 he transferred to Armstrong Atlantic University in Armstrong, Georgia where he was a NCAA Divison II "All-American." He was then drafted in the 20th round by the Phillies after the 1998 baseball season. Jeremy played for coach Leonard Ortiz at Wasco High School from 1991 to 1994. Jeremy and his wife Amanda both live in Taft. He attends the University of Phoenix, where he plans to finish his degree and obtain a teaching credential.

Aaron Harlan        Pitching Coach

Aaron is a Taft native who graduated from Taft Union High School in 2004. A former Cougar who pitched at Taft College from 2005-2007, he led the Cougars in saves in 2005 and 2007. His 8 saves in 2005 was fourth in the state of California. Aaron’s pitching career at Taft College was interrupted in 2006 due to “Tommy John” surgery. Aaron will help with the Cougars pitching staff and his game day duties will include bullpen coach and occasionally coach first base. Aaron is finishing his BA degree from Cal State Bakersfield.

Ryan Watson Outfield and Hitting Instructor

Ryan comes to Taft College with a great amount of baseball playing and coaching experience. Watson served as an assistant baseball coach at Butte College for three years, 2004-07 working primarily with outfielders and hitters. Prior to his arrival at Butte College, he served as an assistant coach at NCAA D-2 power Chico State for three seasons from 2001-2004. During his playing days, Ryan played for Lindsey Meggs at Chico State from 2000 to 2001. While at Chico State he was an offensive “force”, hitting .365 and hitting 4 home runs during the 2000 season. That year the Wildcats finished with a 45-12 record. Before transferring to Chico State, Watson played at Canada College in Redwood City for CCCBCA hall of fame coach Mike Garcia for two seasons. In 1998, Canada made it California Community College final four in Fresno finishing third in the state of California. Watson’s duties at Taft College will include outfield and hitting instructor, recruiting, and teaching some physical education courses as well. Watson and his wife of two years Kastle live in Bakersfield. Kastle is teacher at Fruitvale Middle School in Bakersfield teaching 8th grade English.

Jeff Twist Assistant Coach

Jeff is starting his second year as the Cougars catching instructor where he works tirelessly with the catchers. Coach Twist also serves as the varsity baseball coach and Physical Education teacher at Foothill High School in Bakersfield. A graduate of Highland High School, Coach Twist played baseball at Bakersfield College in the early 1990’s and from there received a baseball scholarship to Oklahoma City University. After attending and playing baseball at Oklahoma City University, he was drafted and signed with the Colorado Rockies as a catcher. He played in the Rockies organization for two years and then signed and played with the San Francisco Giants organization for two additional seasons. After finishing his professional baseball career, he then came back to finish his degree at Cal-State Bakersfield. He received a B.S. in Kinesiology and is currently completing his Master’s in Kinesiology from Fresno Pacific University. Jeff and his wife Krista live in Bakersfield. Krista works for the Kern High School district. They have two boys; Tristan 6 and Toby 2.