Clarkson baseball has enjoyed great success during Jim Kane's 25 years as the Golden Knights' head coach. Since the 2001 season, Kane has led the Green and Gold to 439 victories, including 11 20-win seasons and 14 winning campaigns. With his final victory in 2011, a win in the NCAA Tournament no less, he became the all-time leader in victories for Clarkson Baseball. Additionally, Kane has been chosen as the conference's coach of the year four times, including the 2019 season, making it three times since 2014 that he has gained the honor.
Clarkson has reached the conference tournament 16 times in its 22-year existence. The Golden Knights have reached the championship round of the conference tournament eight times.
In 2009, the Golden Knights received its first-ever bid to the NCAA Tournament when the team won its first Liberty League Tournament Championship. The Knights went on to finish third in the six-team NCAA New York regional, falling one-half inning short of the championship round. In 2010, Clarkson reached the conference championship game for the second straight season but came up short in repeating its NCAA Tournament run. With a 2-0 record in a rain-shortened Liberty League Tournament in 2011, the Knights reached their second NCAA Regional, losing the first game in extra innings before winning the record-breaking game for Kane in the elimination bracket.
After guiding the Green and Gold to their second consecutive ECAC Upstate NY Tournament Championship in his first year at the helm of Clarkon’s baseball program, Kane led the Knights to a school-best 26 victories in 2002, gaining UCAA accolades for his efforts. Numerous Knights have earned all-star distinction under Kane’s watch, including a pair of All-Americans (David Kinney in 2011 and 2012 and Brad Pearson in 2019), 30 All-Region players, 19 ECAC honorees, 17 Verizon Academic All-Americas and more than 100 conference all-stars. A native of Canajoharie, New York, Kane has extensive baseball coaching experience. Prior to coming to Clarkson, Kane was an assistant coach at Brockport State, helping to elevate that program to one of the top spots in the SUNYAC.
As the Golden Eagles’ top assistant coach, Kane helped to guide Brockport back into a national powerhouse during the late 1990s and into 2000. Kane graduated from Brockport in 1995 with a bachelor’s degree in Sports Management. In 1997, he earned a second bachelor’s degree in Physical Education and gained his master’s degree in Athletic Administration in 2000.
A member of the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA), Kane, who oversees the successful Clarkson Summer Baseball Camp, has acted as a camp instructor at both the Penn State and Brockport baseball camps. He is married to Clarkson Athletic Director Laurel Kane.
