King hired as new baseball coach

By Todd Brooks

Comanche found its next man to lead its baseball program as it welcomes Jarod King to the Tribe.

King spent eight years at Fletcher where he compiled a 302-129 record at the school which played baseball in both spring and fall.

“We had a pretty good run,” King said. “We made three state tournament appearances, one in the fall and two in the spring, and won nine or 10 district or regional tournaments.”

King enjoyed his time at Fletcher but fell it was time to move on.

“I looked at Comanche the last time it had an opening but didn’t apply, so this time when there was opening, I did,” King said. “It’s something different for me and it’s a jump to Class 3A.”

His family is excited to be coming as well. He and his wife, Ashley, have two sons, Gunner, an incoming sophomore, and Dax, an incoming sixth-grader.

“They are really looking forward to a chance to play at a bigger school, and to do something new,” King said.
King’s philosophy is to work hard and to have a little fun along the way.

“I think you need to build good relationships with players, but also let them know that we are going to work hard,” King said. “Every game we are going to expect and try to win.”

Coming from a small school, King has learned to coach every aspect of the game whether it be hitting, pitching, base running or defense.

“We need a lot of pitchers who throw well. On offense, I believe we need to be aggressive and know how to steal and bunt,” King said. “We’re going to get this thing going and one day we will win a state tournament.”

The coach is originally from Chickasha. He played college baseball at NOC-Tonkawa for two years before returning home to play at USAO in Chickasha.

He was a baseball assistant coach at Chickasha from 2007 to 2013. Fletcher had been his first and only head coaching job before coming to Comanche and does not see every job as a stepping stone to the next.

“I believe in building programs,” Fletcher said.

Comanche native and current Marlow baseball coach John Morgan thinks the Indians are in good hands.

“He’s the right guy to come in and rebuild the program,” Morgan said on Twitter in response to the announcement.