# Carl Iwasaki

Carl Keiji Iwasaki (October 30, 1961 – February 7, 2024) was an American baseball coach and catcher. He played college baseball at Northern Colorado for coach Tom Petroff from 1981 to 1984. He then served as the head of the Austin Kangaroos (2005–2010) and the Northern Colorado Bears (2011–2022).

## Early life

Iwasaki graduated from Punahou School in 1980, then played four seasons at Northern Colorado from 1981 through 1984, graduating in 1985.

## Coaching career

Iwasaki spent five years coaching the Bakersfield Braves select team and three years with Hawaii Winter Baseball. He then served as an assistant coach for two seasons with the Saddleback Gauchos junior college team in Mission Viejo, California.
Next, he worked two seasons at Division III before being elevated to the top job for five seasons. He made the rare jump from Division III to newly Division I Northern Colorado in the summer of 2010.
In first three seasons with the Bears, he led the team to a Great West Conference title and the championship game of the 2011 Great West Conference baseball tournament. Iwasaki earned GWC Coach of the Year honors in 2013. The Bears joined the Western Athletic Conference for the 2014 season. Iwasaki retired from coaching following the 2022 season.

## Death

Iwasaki died on February 7, 2024, at the age of 62.

## Head coaching record

Statistics overview :
| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason |
| Austin Kangaroos (American Southwest Conference) (2005–2006) ||||||
| 2005 | Austin | 10–25 | 5–16 | 8th (East) | |
| 2006 | Austin | 19–22 | 9–12 | T–5th (East) | |
| Austin Kangaroos (Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference) (2007–2010) ||||||
| 2007 | Austin | 22–25 | 9–6 | 2nd (Western) | NCAA D-III Regional |
| 2008 | Austin | 18–24 | 7–9 | 4th (Western) | |
| 2009 | Austin | 15–24 | 5–15 | 5th (Western) | |
| 2010 | Austin | 19–20 | 9–11 | 3rd (Western) | |
| Austin: | Austin: | 103–140 | 44–69 | | |
| Northern Colorado Bears (Great West Conference) (2011–2013) ||||||
| 2011 | Northern Colorado | 24–32 | 19–7 | 2nd | Great West Tournament |
| 2012 | Northern Colorado | 27–33 | 15–13 | 4th | Great West Tournament |
| 2013 | Northern Colorado | 33–24 | 20–7 | 1st | Great West Tournament |
| Northern Colorado Bears (Western Athletic Conference) (2014–2021) ||||||
| 2014 | Northern Colorado | 10–43 | 4–23 | 10th | |
| 2015 | Northern Colorado | 16–32 | 12–14 | 7th | WAC Tournament |
| 2016 | Northern Colorado | 16–34 | 11–12 | 6th | WAC Tournament |
| 2017 | Northern Colorado | 24–30 | 10–14 | 6th | WAC Tournament |
| 2018 | Northern Colorado | 29–24 | 11–13 | 5th | WAC Tournament |
| 2019 | Northern Colorado | 12–35 | 8–19 | T-8th | |
| 2020 | Northern Colorado | 4–13 | 0–0 | | Season canceled due to COVID-19 |
| 2021 | Northern Colorado | 11–36 | 7–24 | 9th | WAC Tournament |
| Northern Colorado Bears (Summit League) (2022) ||||||
| 2022 | Northern Colorado | 12–39 | 8–16 | 6th | |
| Northern Colorado: | Northern Colorado: | 218–375 | 125–161 | | |
| Total: | Total: | 321–515 | | | |
| National champion   Postseason invitational champion   Conference regular season champion   Conference regular season and conference tournament champion  Division regular season champion  Division regular season and conference tournament champion  Conference tournament champion ||||||