CHICAGO – The UIC baseball team announced the newest member to join its coaching staff as former San Diego State assistant coach
Julius McDougal is set to join head coach
Sean McDermott's staff ahead of the 2026 season.
"I just couldn't be happier to have the caliber of person, coach and recruiter that Julius is," head coach
Sean McDermott said. "He brings an awful lot of experience to our staff and is going to give us deeper access to a talent pool in other parts of the country we may have not had access to. He's going to be a huge addition to the university, and he shares a lot of the same vision and values that UIC carries and Curtis Granderson carries. Julius is a pretty experienced guy; he's been a lot of places and even has been a head coach. For him to be attracted to UIC says a lot about our program, our university and our whole athletic department. "
McDougal's last coaching stop was as a member of San Diego State's coaching staff from 2024-25. In his two years, the Aztecs compiled 37 wins as a member of the Mountain West Conference.
In 2025, San Diego State finished fifth in conference play, sporting a 14-16 overall conference record. McDougal played a part in coaching all-MWC Second Team member Nevan Noonan, who co-led the conference in hits (83) and During the 2024 campaign, McDougal helped develop the 2024 Mountain West Freshman of the Year in Finley Bates, who sported a .292 batting average with 64 hits and 87 total bases across 53 games.
Prior to his time on The Mesa, McDougal was a member of Georgetown baseball's coaching staff from 2021-23 as an associate head coach, hitting coach and the program's recruiting coordinator. After only six wins in the 2021 season, McDougal played an integral role in the Hoyas' back-to-back 30-win seasons and first BIG EAST championship appearance since 2018. McDougal assisted in the Hoyas breaking program records for wins, home runs (98), total bases (925), and end of season RPI (137).
In 2022, McDougal's influence helped in the development of the Hoyas' first BIG East Freshman of the Year/ Second Team All-American in catcher Owen Carapelloti as well as Rawlings All-East Region First Team members Jake Hyde and Ethan Stern. In 2023, McDougal coached six different all-BIG EAST selections, including first-team honorees Michael Eze and Ubaldo Lopez.
Before his time in the DMV, McDougal spent three years at Eastern Kentucky (2018-2020). The Colonels posted back-to-back 30-win seasons and a 12-2 start in 2020 before the COVID-19 pandemic with McDougal on the coaching staff. In 2019, the Colonels collected
16 conference wins, most for the program since 2013. A respected recruiter, McDougal helped put together the 65
th-ranked national recruiting class in 2020, according to Perfect Game. EKU showcased six of the top 20 freshman in the Ohio Valley Conference, most of any school in the conference, all according to Perfect Game. Between 2018-19, three of the student-athletes McDougal recruited were selected in the MLB Draft.
McDougal coached All-Americans in second baseman Daniel Harris IV and catcher A.J. Lewis during his time at EKU. Lewis later signed a free agent contract to play for the Colorado Rockies.
Before McDougal made the jump to coach on the DI level, he was the head coach at Stillman College in Tuscaloosa, Ala. from 2016-17 after serving as an assistant a season prior. In his first season at the helm, McDougal led the Tigers to the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) regular-season championship. They earned the No. 1 seed at the SIAC tournament, advancing all the way to the championship game. In total, he had five players sign pro contracts during his time in Tuscaloosa.
Prior to his time at Stillman College, McDougal served as an assistant coach at Kentucky State during the 2014 season.
McDougal played at Claflin University in Orangeburg, S.C., earning all-conference honors in 2010 after hitting .416, which was ranked 53
rd in the country. In addition, he was named Claflin's Defensive Player of the Year in 2011.
McDougal received a bachelor of science degree from Claflin in 2012 before earning his master's degree in business administration at Ala. in 2016.
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