Jason Crain '95 enters his 7th season as Alma College's Head Baseball Coach in 2025. He has served as head coach since August 2018. During his time at Alma, Crain has compiled a 98-116-1 record and has coached multiple All-MIAA players.
Crain's 2024 squad posted a 24-18 record, with a 13-8 mark in MIAA play. The Scots qualified for the MIAA Tournament for the second straight season as the 4-seed, falling in the first round to top seed Kalamazoo, before being eliminated by Hope College. Alma had 4 All-MIAA selections, with Tyler Johnson, Avery Carnicom, and Colin Czajkowski all making the first team. Kevin Tuttle was named to the second team. Carnicom and Czajkowski went on to be named All-Region by d3baseball.com.
2023Â saw a breakout year for Alma under the direction of Crain. The Scots posted a 22-21-1 record, after starting the year 4-12. Alma posted a 15-6 record in MIAA play, finishing 2nd, and posting their highest conference win percentage since 1992. Alma advanced through the MIAA Tournament winner's bracket, upsetting top seed Kalamazoo on their home field, before falling in the MIAA Title game to Adrian. The Scots broke multiple records, and posted one of the best offensive seasons in Alma history. 3 Scots were named All-MIAA, with Tyler Johnson taking home Pitcher of the Year honors. His 0.42 ERA in MIAA play set a new conference record.
In 2021, Alma finished with an 11-28 record, and posted an 8-13 mark in MIAA play. Highlights included a sweep of Trine, taking a game off of Adrian, and playing Division I Eastern Michigan to a 5-1 final at Comerica Park in Detroit.
In 2020, the Scots season was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but started the year 8-6 with four of those wins coming at the RussMatt Tournament in Orlando, Florida. Crain also had four players earn MIAA Athlete of the Week honors in Jaret Koin, Logan Huff, Zach Schirmer, and Dylan Dzendzel.
In his first season as the head coach of the Scots in 2019, Crain led them to the MIAA tournament. Despite losing their first round matchup to nationally ranked and conference leading Adrian, the Scots were able to avoid elimination and beat Albion in the next game, before ultimately falling to Hope College. Also during that season, Crain coached two All-MIAA Second Team selections in Jaret Koin and Pete Carravallah.Â
Prior to Alma, Crain spent six years as the head coach of Plymouth High School, a Division I program in the state of Michigan. His 128 wins are the most by any coach in the program's history. His teams won four straight Michigan High School Athletic Association (MHSAA) District Championships from 2015 to 2018, two Kensington Lakes Activities Association (KLAA) Division Championships and one KLAA Conference Championship in 2018. Crain is a five-time District School Coach of the Year recipient, as well as the Hometown Life News All-Area Coach of the Year in 2015.
Crain was the head coach of the varsity, junior varsity and freshman teams at Plymouth. In addition to coaching the three teams, his ancillary duties included overseeing the Booster Club, participating in weekly media interviews and managing communication with parents and collegiate programs recruiting his players. Thirteen players in his six years at Plymouth have gone on to play collegiate baseball.
In addition to his baseball responsibilities, Crain is the owner of Crain Heating and Cooling and the General Manager and Instructor of the Motor City Nine Baseball Club in Canton, Michigan. He has also spent time with Green Energy/Pritchard Wilson/Pritchard Inc. in a number of roles ranging from CEO to technician. Crain and his wife Melissa have four boys: Matthew (17), Luke (14), Ben (14), and Andrew (8).
