University of the Pacific

Grant Kukuk was named Pacific's pitching coach in Aug. 2024. He previously spent three seasons in the same position at Utah Valley.

Kukuk's first year guiding the Tigers' pitching staff in 2025 saw great improvement. Categories related to pitcher’s command saw vast improvement in reduction of hit batsman, walks, and wild pitches all reduced in his first year. The Tigers had three pitchers in the Top 10 in the West Coast Conference in fewest walks allowed. In 2025, the Pacific pitching staff saw their ERA drop over 1.5 runs from 8.61 to 6.96 in 2025. After just one year under Kukuk's guidance, senior RHP Jakob Guardado signed with the Los Angeles Angels, marking the third pitcher in the last four years to sign or be drafted by a Major League Baseball team. Guardado tallied 115.2 and 30 appearances in his career at Pacific. During Kukuk's first year, some other notable individual stats were seen in Regan Carter. Carter finished in the top 3 in the WCC for ERA (2.48). Carter’s ERA dropped from 8.53 to 2.48 in one year. Carter finished in the Top 10 for the WCC in multiple categories: ERA (2.48), opp. batting average (.229), hits allowed (25), runs allowed (15), and walks allowed (11). Carter’s saw a significant jump in innings  going from 6.1 to 29 IP in conference alongside his teammate Adan Perez finishing in the Top 10 in innings (39.1). Some notable ERA improvements were shown in Jarryd Wood and Ethan Shaver as both lowered their ERAs. Wood saw his overall ERA drop from 5.04 to 2.88 in 2025 while Shaver decreased his ERA from 6.81 to 5.57.

In Kukuk's second year (2023) at Utah Valley, the pitching staff set the single-season school record in strikeouts on the mound with (480). In 2023, the Wolverines saw continued success in multiple pitching categories.During the 2023 season, Kukuk guided junior RHP Casey Anderson (5-1, 3.39 ERA, 69 IP, 90 Ks to 25 BB, .240 OPP BA), while earning first-team All-WAC honors. Anderson led the WAC conference in strikeouts and was also selected in the 11th round (Pick 325) by the Arizona Diamondbacks, being the highest draft pick in UVU's Division I era.

Pitchers in the Pros
Casey Anderson RHP was selected by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 11th round.
Senior RHP Mitch Mueller, who pitched for Kukuk in Orem in 2024, was a free agent signing with the Minnesota Twins, making it two pitchers in three years under Kukuk to go on in Major League Affiliate baseball during his time at Utah Valley. With Guardado singing with the Angels in 2025, it marks Kukuk's third pitcher in four years to go to a MLB affiliate team.

Prior to his arrival at Utah Valley, Kukuk spent three seasons as an assistant coach at California State East Bay in Hayward, California, where he served as the program's pitching coach and recruiting coordinator (2018-21). During his time at NCAA Division II California State East Bay, Kukuk helped deflate the pitching staff's ERA from a near 6, to a 4.44 ERA in 2020, which was the lowest since 2015 at CSU East Bay. Alongside being the pitching coach, Kukuk heads up all recruiting duties where Cal State East Bay in 2020 got off to their best start in program history with a 10-2 record.
 
A native of Reno, Nevada, Kukuk began his collegiate pitching career at the College of Southern Idaho. He pitched for the Golden Eagles for two seasons, earning All-Conference honors as a sophomore. He then transferred to Division I WAC Foe in Sacramento State 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 after posting the highest GPA of any student-athlete in any sport. Kukuk earned a bachelor's degree in communications from Sacramento State in 2016, then, while coaching at CSI, obtained a master's degree in human resource development from Idaho State in 2018.