Grant Kukuk joined the Pioneers as an assistant coach in August 2018 after spending the previous two years as an assistant coach at College of Southern Idaho (CSI), where he helped the Golden Eagle baseball program achieve impressive results on an off the field.
In 2017, CSI boasted the second-highest grade point average of any junior college team in the country. The following year, Kukuk helped guide the squad to a 50-win season, conference and regional championships, and a trip to the NJCAA Junior College World Series.
During the summers, Kukuk has also served as an assistant coach for the Yakima Valley Pippins of the West Coast League and the Neptune Beach Pearl of the California Collegiate Summer League.Â
A native of Reno, Nev., Kukuk began his own collegiate playing career at CSI as well. He pitched for the Golden Eagles for two seasons, earning All-Conference honors as a sophomore. He transferred to Sacramento State, a Division I program, and spent two years as both a starter and reliever for the Hornets, tossing 107.2 innings in 33 career appearances.
Kukuk was also an exemplary student-athlete in the classroom. He was an Academic All-American at CSI, then at Sacramento State won the Scholar Student-Athlete Award for posting the highest GPA of any student-athlete in any sport. Kukuk earned a bachelor's degree in communications from Sac State, then while coaching at CSI, obtained a master's degree in Human Resource Development from Idaho State.
