Mizzou head baseball coach Tim Jamieson named Jerry Zulli as the program’s new assistant coach and recruiting coordinator. Zulli (pronounced ZOO-lee) will join Mizzou after an incredibly successful stint as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at South Alabama, where he was the key architect to three top-50 recruiting classes, one 40-win season and two Sun Belt Conference Championships.
“Jerry is a tireless worker and is someone that I think embodies what we take pride in here at Mizzou,” Jamieson said in a press release of Zulli. “When I began to look to fill this position, I leaned on people in the business that I trust and Jerry’s name kept coming up as someone who had a tremendous work ethic and had established so many relationships throughout the southeast in the SEC footprint. He has helped improve programs everywhere he’s been and that is a true testament to his character. He brings great energy and enthusiasm every day and is a man with great family values. We place a great emphasis on player development here at Mizzou, and on top of being a great recruiter, he is a great coach and someone I feel confident will be able to mentor our student-athletes.”
“I’m extremely excited to join the Mizzou baseball program,” Zulli said. “Having an opportunity to join Coach Jamieson’s staff is the opportunity of a lifetime for me. I can’t wait to do my part of helping our student athletes achieve success in the classroom and on the field. The University of Missouri and the entire Mizzou family is one of the most respected nationally and there is not a better time to be at Mizzou than right now. I also want to express my gratitude to South Alabama head coach Mark Calvi for giving me the chance to work at South Alabama and enhance my career.”
Zulli brings to Mizzou the reputation of being a tireless recruiter. In three of his four seasons at South Alabama, he put together top-50 recruiting classes, including a 2013 recruiting class that ranked 29th overall by Collegiate Baseball Newspaper. That class was a key contributor to last season’s South Alabama team that won 37 games and the Sun Belt Conference Championship, the program’s second in three years. He has forged recruiting ties all across the SEC footprint after assistant coaching stints at South Alabama, Memphis and Middle Georgia College and routinely turned in top-rated recruiting classes despite battling SEC schools for the same prospects. His reputation as a diligent recruiter will undoubtedly help Mizzou continue to compete in the SEC as he will serve in the same role.
In 2013, the Jaguars finished as Co-Champions of the Sun Belt Conference at 43-20 overall (20-10 in league play) while advancing to NCAA Regional play for the first time since 2006. During his four years at South Alabama, Zulli saw nine of his hitters earn All-Sun Belt Conference honors and he coached one conference player of the year, one All-American and one Freshman All-American.
Prior to his stint at South Alabama, Zulli spent seven seasons at Memphis in the same position, coaching the program’s hitters while serving as the recruiting coordinator. At Memphis, Zulli helped the Tigers lead Conference USA in hitting and on-base percentage, while ranking in the league’s top five in virtually every hitting category.