Jake Silverman Position: Assistant Coach Experience: 2nd Year Alma Mater: Cal State Fullerton '10

Jake Silverman begins his second season as an assistant coach for the Bruins in 2012. Silverman works with the team's catchers and hitters, serves as the Bruins' first base coach and helps run all Bruin baseball camps.

Silverman's work with UCLA's catchers paid dividends in 2011, as the team's catching corps handled a pitching staff that led the conference with 572 strikeouts, the second-highest total in UCLA history, and finished second in the nation in strikeouts per nine innings (9.8).

Behind the plate, Steve Rodriguez threw out 22 of 54 attempted base stealers (40.7 percent), catching 410.1 innings in 2011. The three-year starting catcher was selected in the 15th round of the 2011 MLB Draft by the Arizona Diamondbacks. Silverman also worked with Tyler Heineman, who did not commit an error in 131 chances.

In two seasons as an undergraduate assistant coach at Cal State Fullerton, Silverman helped the Titans advance to the College World Series in 2009 and to the NCAA Super Regional at UCLA in 2010. Additionally, he served as an assistant coach in the summer of 2010 for the Peninsula Oilers of the Alaska Collegiate Summer League.

Silverman spent the 2008 season as a catcher at Cal State Fullerton and saw action in one game. Prior to that, he played two seasons (2006-07) at Fullerton College. As a freshman in 2006, he batted .350 in 16 games before seeing action in 14 games (two starts) as a sophomore in 2007. Silverman earned the Art Nunn Award in 2007 for exemplary acts on and off the field.

Silverman, 25, prepped at Foothill High School in Tustin, Calif. He graduated with a bachelor's degree in communications from Cal State Fullerton in 2010.