Aug. 30, 2010

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ---- Samford head coach Rod Tiffin recently hired former Alabama track and field standout Keith Baker as the newest addition to the Samford track and field coaching staff. He joins the team as the Bulldogs' newest assistant coach and will be working with the Bulldog throwers.

"I am extremely excited about joining the Samford Track and Field Team," Baker said. "Samford has the potential to grow into a nationally recognized program and I feel lucky to be a part of it. I am really looking forward to building the throws squad into a conference power."

Baker comes to Samford after spending three years at UC Santa Barbara as an assistant, working with the men's and women's throwers, high jumpers and pole vaulters. As an experienced decathlete, he also helped develop the UCSB multi-events program.

Among the accomplishments of Baker's athletes at UCSB were a school record from Scott Anderson in the shot put, at 59-4.25. Anderson captured the 2009 Big West Championship with that performance. In his first season at UCSB, Baker coached high jumpers Jane Doolittle and Christina Nowak to substantial personal bests and their first appearances at the NCAA Regionals. At the 2010 NCAA Championships, Doolittle finished fourth to earn All-American status.

While at UCSB, Baker coached school records in the men's pole vault, women's high jump, women's shot put, women's discus and men's shot put along with 13 regional qualifiers and two national qualifiers. Twenty-four of his athletes posted top ten marks in the school's record books.

As a collegiate athlete for the Alabama Crimson Tide from 2003 - 2006, Baker became the school record-holder in the indoor heptathlon with a personal best of 5332. A national qualifier, Baker still sits third on the University of Alabama outdoor list in the decathlon with a best of 7315. He was a two-time medalist in the SEC.

Upon graduation, Baker stayed with the team as a graduate assistant coach, working closely with Tiffin, during the 2006-07 season.

"This is one of the hires that I have been thinking about since taking the position here at Samford," Tiffin said. "Coach Baker will bring an immense knowledge base and emotional fire to our program. In our time as coach and athlete at the University of Alabama, I learned his passion for the sport and his ability to instruct other athletes and motivate them to surpass even their own goals. I can see nothing but upside for our program with the hiring of Keith."

Before competing for the Crimson Tide, Baker was a junior college All-American and team captain at Lane Community College in Eugene, Ore. In addition to track, Baker also played basketball for the Titans.

Baker graduated from Alabama in 2006 with a B.S. in human environmental studies and a minor in business management.