Kevin Kopple enters his eighth season at the controls for Bruin baseball in 2027 after first joining the program as an assistant in 2007.
In his first year as the Bruins' head baseball coach, Kopple led the Bruins to an 11-4 (.733) overall record and a 7-2 record against Northwest Conference opponents in a COVID-19-shortened season. Prior to the pandemic, the Bruins notched a perfect weekend against Texas Lutheran, Concordia-Texas, and Hardin-Simmons (Texas) to start their 2020 campaign and Kopple's career on an undefeated note.
Six Bruins were named All-Northwest Conference in 2021 during Kopple's first full season at the helm. The Bruins just missed the postseason in 2021 after finishing a game below .500 at 19-20 overall, but there were flashes of brilliance throughout the year that the team can build on in 2022.
In Kopple's third year at the helm, the Bruins qualified for the Northwest Conference tournament for the first time since 2018, finishing with a 13-11 NWC mark and earning the three seed. Though the Bruins bowed it in two games, four Fox players earned All-NWC awards, while Noah Meffert earned the Bruins their first ever NWC Rookie of the Year award for his play under Kopple.
His fourth season saw the Bruins battle through injury, finishing the year 15-21 overall and 9-15 in the NWC. The team began the season with a win over No. 8-ranked Chapman, and finished their final home series with a seven-run Senior Day comeback, the largest in 11 years. Four Bruins were named to All-NWC teams, with Jeremy Sangalang and Jared Miller being named to the Second Team.
In his fifth season, Kopple led the team to a 22-18 overall record, finishing NWC play 11-13. The team picked up early wins over Schreiner and Concordia Texas, before taking two games from Division II Central Washington. The Bruins finished their season strong with a series win over No. 21 Willamette and a win over No. 15 California Lutheran. Seven Bruins were named to the All-NWC teams - the most since 2014. The Bruins will look to improve on a 2025 record of 12-28 in 2026.
Kopple's sixth season saw a solid first half and a dip in conference play. An overall record of 12-28 was highlighted by two solid trips to Arizona, finishing 5-1 in the Grand Canyon State. Despite a 6-18 record in NWC play, the team still finished with five All-Conference honorees.
Kopple was a catcher for the Bruins under Pat Bailey, the renowned former George Fox skipper. As a player, Kopple helped lead his team to consecutive Northwest Conference titles in 2005 and 2006 and an appearance in the NCAA D-III National Tournament in 2006.
Kopple joined the program as an assistant coach under Bailey for the 2006-07 season and stayed with the program through Marty Hunter's 12-year tenure as the Bruins' skipper. During his 13 years as an assistant, Kopple worked his way up to the role of lead recruiter and helped Bailey and Hunter lead the program to 10 winning seasons, 11 NWC Tournament appearances, an NWC championship, and a pair of NCAA D-III National Tournament appearances.
Kopple has coached one ABCA All-American in Noah Meffert, five NWC Player of the Year honorees, two NWC Rookie of the Years, and dozens of players named to All-NWC teams for their performance on the field.
Off the field, Kopple has helped demonstrate the value of academics to his student-athletes. The Bruins' baseball program has been a recipient of the Team Academic Excellence Award from the American Baseball Coaches Association in all seven of Kopple's year at the helm of the program. The award is given to programs that finish the academic year with a cumulative team GPA of 3.00 or above.
Outside of his career at George Fox, Kopple has spent his summers coaching in the West Coast League, a summer developmental league for collegiate baseball players. Kopple guided the Bend Elks to a league championship in 2015, and has also has served as the head coach of Team Northwest in the USA Baseball Championship Cup, part of the National Team Identification Series for the USA National Team. His 16-and-under team swept the field and went 5-0 in Cary, North Carolina, winning the gold medal game in August of 2019 after outscoring opponents 29-9.
Originally hailing from Vallejo, California, Kopple played baseball for Napa Valley College in Napa Valley, California, for two seasons before finishing his playing career at George Fox. Kopple graduated from the university in 2006 with a bachelor's degree in history, and earned his master's degree in sports management from the United States Sports Academy in 2015. He and his wife, Nikki, daughter Kenzie, and cat Brayden live in Newberg. In his free time, Kopple "enjoys" watching the Sacremento Kings work towards another 28-54 season.
