January 21, 2021
Barstow Community College Welcomes Head Baseball Coach
Barstow, CA; Amid an uncertain season, Barstow Community College moves forward with optimism welcoming a new Head Coach for the Men’s Vikings Baseball team. Receiving the approval by the Board of Trustees on December 16, 2020, James Stellino officially began his position as Head Coach on January 11, 2021, coinciding with the start of the spring 2021 semester.
With over 26 years of baseball coaching experience, Coach Stellino comes to Barstow with hopefulness and gratitude during these uncertain times. Hailing from Cypress, CA where he lives with his wife, Christine, and their two boys, Coach Stellino began his coaching career in 1994 at Mary Star High School. He became assistant coach at Los Angeles Harbor College in 2012, helping with hitting and outfielders. In the fall of 2015, Coach Stellino became an assistant coach at Golden West College. During his time there, they earned the school’s first ever trip to the CCCAA Baseball State Championships, finishing State runner-up in 2016. During his 12 years of coaching at the community college level, he has succeeded in helping commit over 200 student-athletes to the next level; 60 of which went to Division I programs.
When asked if he had any hesitation taking on the coaching position during a pandemic, Coach Stellino responded that “after working 20 plus years in the logistics business, the current pandemic paved the way for me to pursue my second career and life's passion of teaching and coaching baseball at the Community College level. I have coached baseball for 25 years, with the last 12 of those years at the Community College Level. Getting hired on during the height of a pandemic, enlightened the situation, not only for my family and me but also the student-athletes at a loss since the beginning of March 2020. With the installation of hope, excitement, and gratitude during these uncertain times, I remain optimistic that the student-athletes can get back on the field soon. However, I am prepared for the challenges and will provide a continuous effort to build a more robust program and strengthen the bond between the remaining student-athletes. The Viking's primary goal is to get back in the classroom and on the baseball field, work hard on and off the field, compete for a conference title and help move our student-athletes to the next level academically and athletically. I am truly honored and humbled to be a Viking and look forward to starting my new career with Barstow Community College.”
BCC Vikings Baseball, Head Coach, James Stellino
Currently, due to state and county regulations, all BCC athletics have been placed on hold. Athletic Director, Dr. Mynor Mendoza, stated that “after several weeks of deliberation, discussion, and research, we as a college have made the difficult decision not to offer Spring Sports at BCC. This includes our Baseball, Men’s Basketball, Softball, and Women’s Basketball programs. The decision was not painless and was not what we expected for our athletics program at BCC. Unfortunately, the difficult course of the COVID-19 pandemic has forced us to go in this direction, to ultimately keep our student-athletes, coaches and Athletics staff safe. In saying this, we will continue working with the student-athletes to help them determine what is the best plan of action for them moving forward. For our first- year students, our goal is to get them ready for next year of their sport and to continue to support them academically. For our second- year students, our goal is to assure they are prepared to graduate and successfully transfer to a four-year college or university.”
For additional information please contact Amanda Simpson – Director of Public Relations at 760-252-2411 ext. 7348 or by email at: asimpson@barstow.edu
For more information about Barstow Community College: www.barstow.edu
