Bio

Jake Sabol enters his fifth season as the head coach of the Northwood University baseball program. Sabol was named to the position in July of 2018, becoming the eighth head coach in program history.

In his first four seasons as head coach, Sabol has gone 98-71-1 overall. The Timberwolves have reached the NCAA Regionals in each of the three full seasons he has coached. In six overall seasons as a head coach at the collegiate level, Sabol has gone 165-130-1.

The Timberwolves turned in another successful season in 2022, going 31-23-1 overall and 15-9 in the GLIAC. Northwood was ranked No. 1 in the Midwest region in the opening poll from the NCAA and spent a pair of weeks in the top position. NU reached the NCAA Regionals and earned a dramatic 10-5 comeback win over Quincy in the opening round. Northwood had three athletes earn All-Region and nine players claim All-GLIAC honors including GLIAC Freshman Player of the Year, Myles Beale, and GLIAC Freshman Pitcher of the Year, Jayden Dentler.

Picked to finish sixth in the GLIAC Preseason poll, Northwood went 29-17 overall, 18-10 in the GLIAC in 2021. NU finished one game out of first in the conference standings and reached the semifinals of the Midwest Regionals. The team earned eleven members on the All-GLIAC teams including GLIAC Player of the Year & All-American, Cole Brooks, and GLIAC Freshman Pitcher of the Year, Derek Clark. The 2021 team also had five players named to the All-Region teams, set a school record for home runs in a season (60), and finished the season with the fourth-highest win percentage all-time at Northwood.

Sabol earned his 100th career win in 2019, leading Northwood to an NCAA Regional bid. The Timberwolves finished the year with 33 wins, the third-most in program history, while also setting the school record for runs scored in a season (438) and walks in a season (279).

In Sabol’s first season, Northwood placed seven members on the All-GLIAC teams, had three named to the All-Region teams, and one Honorable Mention All-American in Nick Palmer. The 2019 team also saw four members move on to the professional ranks, as David Vinsky was a 15^th round draft pick of the St. Louis Cardinals, Max Bain signed as an UDFA with the Chicago Cubs, & Lennon Gwizdala & Colin McClelland signed independent league contracts.

Prior to Northwood, Sabol spent the 2016-2018 seasons as the head coach at Alma College. In his three years with the Scots, Sabol led Alma to two of the three winningest seasons in the 118-year history of the program (28–2016, 24–2018). The Scots reached the MIAA Tournament twice under Sabol, marking the first time in program history the team qualified for the event. Alma won 67 games under Sabol and placed nine players on the All-MIAA team in Sabol’s tenure. It was the second time in Sabol’s career he worked at Alma, as he served as the pitching coach for the 2013 season. During the 2013 season, Sabol helped produce his first professional signee, Jose Velez, who signed with the Minnesota Twins after leading all of Division III in K/9.

A familiar face at Northwood, Sabol spent two years as a graduate assistant coach at Northwood (2014-15) following his first stint at Alma. He worked as the Northwood pitching coach under both Joe Di Benedetto and Jordan Bischel in his previous role at Northwood.

Prior to taking over at Alma, Sabol was working as the director of scouting for Prep Baseball Report-Michigan as well as an associate scout for the Toronto Blue Jays.

Sabol had a distinguished collegiate career at Central Michigan University. A four-year letter winner (2007-11) and weekend starter for two seasons, he helped lead the Chippewas to two Mid-American Conference West Championships as well as a MAC Regular Season Championship in 2010. As a senior, Sabol posted a 4-2 MAC record with a 3.18 ERA. He was a two-time MAC West Pitcher of the Week. Following his senior season, Sabol was the recipient of the Chippewa Award, symbolic of the player who best represents the Central Michigan University baseball program's mission statement.

While playing collegiately, Sabol also participated in numerous prestigious college baseball summer leagues, beginning in 2008 with the Pittsfield Dukes of the New England Collegiate Baseball League. In 2009, he was named first-team All-Jayhawk League with the El Dorado Broncos. During that same summer, he was named to the NBC World Series All-American Team and World Series MVP in Wichita, Kan., as the El Dorado Broncos were crowned the 2009 NBC World Series National Champions. Prior to his senior year, Sabol spent the summer of 2010 in the Alaska Baseball League with the Kenai Peninsula Oilers.

Sabol was drafted by the Detroit Tigers in the 2011 MLB Draft and spent parts of two seasons in the Detroit farm system between the Gulf Coast League Tigers and the Connecticut Tigers in the New York Penn League. He went 3-3 with a 3.43 ERA in 13 games with the GCL Tigers in 2011. Sabol finished 2012 as a member of the Traverse City Beach Bums, and was named to the Frontier League All-Star game in 2013. In 30 career games for the Beach Bums, Sabol was 12-6 with a 2.86 ERA in 147.2 innings pitched.

A lifelong Michigan resident and 2006 graduate of De La Salle Collegiate High School in Warren, Sabol graduated from Central Michigan University with a Bachelor's degree in Sports Management in 2011, finishing his career on the MAC Honor Roll. He also earned his Master's degree in Business Administration from Northwood University in 2015.

Sabol and his wife, Robyn, reside in Midland with their daughter, Parker.