Merritt Island High School Baseball Coach Announcement
Merritt Island High School Principal Debbie Lubbers and Athletic Director Tom Finney would like to announce that Jason Arnold will be the next coach of the Mustang baseball program. Coach Arnold becomes the 13th baseball coach in the school’s 59-year history.
“We are thrilled to announce the hiring of Jason Arnold as the head coach of our baseball program,” said Principal Debbie Lubbers. “After working through the hiring process with our search committee, it was clear that Arnold was our choice. Jason is a native to the Space Coast area, and has played and coached at the high school, college, and professional levels. We are excited about upcoming school year and the upcoming Mustang baseball season.”
Coach Arnold grew up in the Melbourne area. Arnold graduated from Melbourne High School in 1997, before going on to play college ball at the University of Central Florida. At UCF, Arnold was a two-time All-American honoree. He was drafted in the 2nd round of the 2001 MLB draft by the New York Yankees. Arnold played minor league baseball for 6 seasons. He played for the New York Yankees, Oakland Athletics, and Toronto Blue Jays organizations, spending most of his career at the AA and AAA levels. Arnold was elected to the UCF Athletics Hall of Fame in 2006.
“We are excited to welcome Jason to the Mustang athletic family,” said Athletic Director Tom Finney. “Jason is a coach who has deep connections with the Space Coast and our baseball community. He has dedicated his life to mentoring young people, and he works to create environments that encourage growth and positivity. His character and values align with who we are at MIHS and we look forward to developing successful and competitive student-athletes both on and off the field.”
After his playing days, Arnold began working as a high school teacher and coach. He has coached baseball for the past 16+ years. Arnold started his coaching career as an assistant at Melbourne High School. He was hired as head coach at Cocoa High School in 2006. In 2008, Arnold moved to the college ranks when he was hired as the pitching coach at Bethune Cookman University. He was the pitching coach at Georgia State University in 2010, before returning to the Space Coast area to take over the head baseball position at Satellite High School in 2012. Arnold returned to the college coaching ranks in 2018 when he accepted the head baseball job at Eastern Florida State College, where he coached until 2021. Presently, Arnold works as the youth pastor at Georgianna Church in Merritt Island. He is also works with the Fellowship of Christian Athletes as a mentor and coach. He is the Director of Baseball for the Brevard County FCA travel baseball program.
The Mustangs baseball team comes off a great 2024 season, where they made it all the way to the FHSAA 4A State Semi-Final game. The 2024 team graduated 11 senior players, so Merritt Island will be looking to rebuild and reload, as Coach Arnold works to continue the pride and tradition of Mustang athletics in the 2025 baseball season.