The Jordan baseball team will be under new leadership this spring.
Brandon Arnold is taking over the Hubmen program for Brent Goracke, who resigned last fall after 12 seasons leading the team.
“Coach Arnold will bring a new-school approach to our baseball program and will work hard to increase our participation numbers at the youth levels,” Jordan Athletic Director Joe Perkl said. “He already has a diverse background as a player and coach for his age, and truly is a man of baseball. I’m excited to see him grow in this new role.”
Arnold has been a language arts teacher in the Jordan school district for six years and has also been part of the coaching staff for the Hubmen football team for three seasons.
A 2012 graduate of Chanhassen High School, Arnold was an assistant baseball coach at Chaska High School for the last six years. He also still plays as a member of the Chanhassen Red Birds, a townball team that has won four of the last five Class B state titles.
Arnold is looking forward to the opportunity to take over the Jordan program.
“Baseball is a huge passion of mine,” he said. “To be able to give back, create memories, work with student athletes and be around the game of baseball in the Jordan School District; I’m thrilled to get to work. This is a job that I have wanted, so to have that want become a reality I’m super excited.”
Arnold will inherit a Jordan team that finished 10-9 overall last spring, including 5-5 in the Wright County East Conference.
Last season was Jordan’s third in Class 3A and its first in Section 2AAA, finishing with a 1-2 playoff mark. The Hubmen were in Section 1AAA in 2021, going 3-2 in the postseason.
There was no 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Jordan has made the state tournament four times in program history with the last time coming in 2018. Its other three appearances came in 1978, 1985 and 2007.
Baseball was two classes from 1976 to 1999 and three classes from 2000 to 2016 before a fourth classes was added in 2017.
There’s no doubt Arnold would love to get his Hubmen to a state tournament, but first things first.
“With it being a brand new coaching staff and new philosophies, the No. 1 goal is to get better,” Arnold said. “Our mindset this year is 1 percent. Each drill, each rep and each day, practice or game, (the goal) is to get 1 percent better.
“We are going to be a team that is extremely passionate and competitive, but will be a team that is detail oriented with some new school philosophies,” he added. “We want to be able to create some excitement around the sport of baseball for not only our school, but for the town as a whole.”
Arnold said he learned a lot under Chaska coach Craig Baumann, which will help him in his first time leading a program.
“Taking some things from Chaska, and implementing those with ideas from not only myself, but my staff as well, will allow us to be successful on and off the field in year one, and beyond,” Arnold said.