JACKSONVILLE, Fla.- Jacksonville baseball head coach Chris Hayes has announced the addition of former Dolphin Casey Kulina, as the team's new pitching coach.

Kulina joins JU's staff after serving as the pitching coach at the University of Delaware for the past two seasons. During his tenure, the Blue Hens achieved consecutive 30+ win seasons for the first time since 2017 and 2018. Under his guidance, the Delaware pitching staff set impressive records, which included 430 strikeouts from the staff in 2024, which was the program's highest total since 2018. The team also recorded 17 strikeouts in a single game against Lafayette, good for the second-most in a single game program history. In 2023, Kulina helped develop LHP Anthony Gubitosi, who set a freshman record for K/9 with a 13.60 mark, the third highest in program history.

Before his time at Delaware, Kulina spent four years as the pitching coach at Polk State Junior College in Winter Haven, Florida. At Polk State, he coached and recruited 24 pitchers who advanced to four-year Universities, with 17 moving on to play at Division 1 programs. He mentored five All-Conference pitchers and guided right-handed pitchers Skylar Gonzalez and Jacob Heath to lead the NJCAA Region 8 in ERA and Saves, respectively. In 2021, freshman LHP Thomas Ireland was selected by the Texas Rangers in the 13th Round of the MLB Draft. Under Kulina's leadership, the Polk State pitching staff earned back-to-back Region 8 postseason berths and ranked Top 5 in the region in strikeouts.

As a player, Kulina had an illustrious career at Polk State, where he went 12-1 in 2014 and earned FCSAA State Pitcher of the Year honors as well as NJCAA All-American accolades.

He continued his success at Jacksonville University, posting a 10-1 record in 20 starts over two seasons and helping the Dolphins win the 2017 Atlantic Sun Conference Regular Season Championship. He graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Social Sciences from JU.

Kulina's professional career saw him sign as a Free Agent with the Arizona Diamondbacks organization, where he pitched for their Low-A affiliate, the Missoula Osprey, in 2017. In 38 innings, he recorded a 3-1 record with three saves and a 2.37 ERA, striking out 47 batters while issuing only eight walks.

A native of Hummelstown, Pennsylvania, Casey Kulina returns to Jacksonville University with a proven track record of developing top-tier pitching talent and a deep connection to the Dolphins' legacy. The JU Baseball program is thrilled to welcome him back and looks forward to the positive impact he will have on the team's success.