Reggie Christiansen, the Hornets’ hitting coach during the 2009 season, was promoted to associate head coach for the 2010 season by head coach John Smith on Aug. 20.

Christiansen came to Sacramento State last year from South Dakota State University, where he served as head coach of the baseball team for four years.

Christiansen said many of his duties will remain the same, despite the promotion.

“It’s a very nice gesture from Dr. (Terry) Wanless and (head) coach (John) Smith,” Christiansen said. “It’s more of a show of appreciation for what I’ve done here in the short time I’ve been here, more than anything.”

According to a Hornets Sports release, the team hit .318 and had 63 home runs in 2009 – both good for fourth-best in school history. Christiansen also helped former Hornet outfielder Tim Wheeler become the highest-drafted baseball player in school history. Wheeler was selected 32nd overall by the Colorado Rockies in June.

Christiansen said his duties as associate head coach are not dissimilar from the duties he had as the hitting coach.

“I do the majority of the recruiting,” he said. “On the field, I coach the hitters and this year, I’ll coach the infielders. I coach third base and on game days, I call the pitches. I guess I’m much more involved than most assistant coaches.

“(Head coach John Smith) has really given me a lot of latitude and freedom to do a lot of things on the field and off the field.”

Assistant coach Jim Barr, a 12-year Major League Baseball veteran, said he supports the move.

“I think it’s a good deal,” Barr said.

Barr feels Christiansen’s organizational skills are going to be an asset to the team.

“He is very well organized in the things he wants to do,” he said. “He demands the players to be detail-oriented, which you always want.”

Smith said he chose Christiansen for a number of reasons, but one reason is his previous head coaching experience.

Smith said he had tried to hire Christiansen in the past before he finally accepted an offer to join the Hornets’ coaching staff last year.

“I had met him prior at the University of Kansas baseball camp,” Smith said. “I really enjoyed our conversations and I knew he was a true baseball guy, he cared about kids and was going to be successful down the road.”

Smith said Christiansen is not just a good baseball coach, but a good person, which Smith recognized in his first meeting with Christiansen.

“My first impression of him was that he was very on top of not just baseball, but life,” Smith said. “He had goals, which I was very impressed with. He knows where he wants to be at in life when he’s 40 and he also has the patience to get there.”

University of Kansas baseball head coach Ritch Price said if Christiansen ever becomes a head coach again, the best piece of advice he would give him is to be patient.

“The hardest thing to do is see the big picture,” Price said. “You have to have a two, three, or even a five-year plan.”

Price has known Christiansen for eight years and said he still talks to him almost daily.

Christiansen said he and Smith share a special bond and a relationship that is not typical of a head coach and assistant coach.

Smith reaffirmed Christiansen’s statement.

“I think it’s more of a father-son relationship, than a head coach-assistant coach,” he said. “That’s because our philosophies are so similar.”

Smith said Christiansen goes about things the right way.

“He’s one of the finest young men in college baseball right now,” he said. “I also think he’s one of the finest young coaches in America, period. I think that’s a great combination.”

“You have a lot of guys who are really good young coaches, yet they haven’t figured out life. He’s figured it out,” Smith said.

Dustin Nosler can be reached at [email protected]