Former Husky Jordan Tabakman returns to UConn baseball

On Wednesday, UConn baseball announced that former pitcher Jordan Tabakman would be joining Jim Penders’ staff as the Director of Player Development and Baseball Operations.

“It’s so great to have Jordan back in Storrs,” Penders said. “He’s always been a proud member of the UConn Baseball family and I can’t wait for our team to benefit from his loyalty, competitiveness, diligence and determination. He did a great job for Coach Hamm at Amherst College and we are very lucky to have him back home at UConn.”

Tabakman pitched for the Huskies for four years, accruing 269 1/3 innings in 59 appearances, 41 of which were starts. He was also a part of the 2013 Big East Championship team that participated in the Blacksburg, Virginia Regional.

Once Tabakman graduated in 2015, he was hired by Amherst College as their pitching coach, where he spent two years. He also was the pitching coach for the Bourne Braves in the Cape Cod Baseball League for the last three summers.

Amherst College is one of the top Division III programs in the country. While there, Tabakman helped Drew Fischer get drafted in the 35th round of the MLB First-Year Player Draft by the Pittsburgh Pirates.

“I am extremely excited and grateful to return to Storrs and be part of the UConn baseball team,” Tabakman said. “I want to thank Coach Penders, Coach MacDonald, Coach Hourigan and Coach Podeszwa for this tremendous opportunity to join the coaching staff and allowing me to continue to grow as a coach. I can’t wait to go to work with this group.”

Tabakman was successful in a UConn uniform and got a player from a Division III college drafted as his pitching coach. To put it in perspective, there were 12 Division III players drafted in 2017 out of 1,215 total selections, so it’s not a regular occurrence. Penders added a tremendous asset from within the Husky family to his coaching staff.