Staff Directory
- Title:
- Associate Head Coach
- Email:
Brad Wilkerson enters his second season as associate head coach for North Florida baseball after joining the staff in August of 2024.
Wilkerson is currently leading the North Florida hitters. Prior to UNF, Wilkerson worked as assistant hitting coach with the New York Yankees during in 2023. Preceeding his time with the Yankees, Wilkerson also spent three years as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator for Jacksonville.
During the 2020-21 season, he helped lead JU to an ASUN Conference Championship. Prior to joining Jacksonville, Wilkerson was the head coach at The King’s Academy in West Palm Beach, Fla. He has also served as a coach for USA Baseball where he was named the “Volunteer Coach of the Year” by the organization in 2014.
The Owensboro, Ky., native was a dominant two-way player at Florida. With the UF, Wilkerson earned three first-team All-American honors while leading the Gators to College World Series appearances in both 1996 and 1998.
In 1998 Wilkerson became the first player in college baseball history to post 20 home runs, 20 stolen bases and 10 wins on the mound in the same season. He was inducted into the UF Hall of Fame in 2010 and as the National College Baseball Hall of Fame in 2012.
Wilkerson was selected 33rd overall in the 1998 MLB Draft by the Montreal Expos and went on to play eight years in the MLB. He set the Expos’ rookie home run record with 20. In 2000 he helped the United States to a gold medal at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.
During his Major League career, Wilkerson hit .247 (788-for-3,187) with 500 runs, 193 doubles, 28 triples, 122 home runs, 399 RBI and 492 walks in 972 games over eight seasons with the Montreal Expos/Washington Nationals (2001-05), Texas Rangers (2006-07), Seattle Mariners (2008) and Toronto Blue Jays (2008).
Wilkerson notched double-digit home runs in six straight seasons from 2002-07, reaching the 20-home run plateau three times (20 in 2002, 32 in 2004 and 20 in 2007). Wilkerson was tabbed the Sporting News National League Rookie Player of the Year and finished second in National League Rookie of the Year voting in 2002 after leading all NL rookies in hits (135), runs (92), home runs (20), RBI (59), walks (81) and games played (153).
During the 2004 season, Wilkerson posted career bests in hits (146), runs scored (112), home runs (32), walks (106), slugging percentage (.498), OPS (.872) and games played (160). He hit for the cycle twice in his MLB career.
