A former Bethune-Cookman University standout on the mound, Keith Zuniga was promoted to Pitching Coach prior to the 2019 season.
Most recently, Zuniga helped bring in the most accomplished recruiting class in school history. The incoming 2019 signees rank 59th according to Perfect Game, the highest ever for Bethune-Cookman.
In 2019, Zuniga mentored two pitchers that went on play professionally. Anthony Maldonado was drafted in the 11th round by the Miami Marlins and was the first Wildcat drafted since shortstop
Demetrius Sims was also picked by the Marlins in the 14th round of the 2017 MLB Draft. Maldonado was the highest BCU pitcher selected in a decade since the Milwaukee Brewers chose Hiram Burgos in the sixth round of the 2009 MLB Draft.
Brandon Wilkes signed with the Evansville Otters of the Frontier League. Wilkes led the team with a 2.04 ERA, .202 opponents' average, and 11.72 strikeouts per-game. He registered 46 strikeouts to 11 walks in 16 appearances and 35 innings.
The BCU pitching staff saw improvement in number of strikeouts to a total of 405, and lowered the opponents' average from .280 down to .263.
Zuniga was an assistant coach on the 2018 team, and before that served as the Director of Baseball Operations from 2015-17, where he was member of the 2016 and 2017 MEAC Championship seasons, as well as BCU's best postseason showing in school history. In 2017, the Wildcats became the first MEAC school to advance to a Regional Final when the Wildcats defeated Marist, #23 USF, and #1 Florida to place themselves one victory away from a Super Regional Appearance. A win over the top-ranked Gators was BCU's first in the series history, and sent shock waves around the nation.
A right-handed pitcher who came to BCU via Pima Community College, he went 8-4 with a 2.70 ERA and three complete games as the Sunday starter in 2014. He started and won a historic postseason game against Columbia to give BCU its first Regional round victory since 2002 in the Coral Gables Regional. As a senior, he went 7-5 with a 3.03 ERA in 13 starts to earn First Team All-MEAChonorsafter being named the conference's Preseason Pitcher of the Year. He threw four complete games and finished his career with 186 innings, and just 32 walks compared to 115 strikeouts. Zuniga was selected in the 35th round by the Miami Marlins in the 2014 MLB Draft.
He and his wife, Cynthia, welcomed their daughter Peyton to the Wildcat family in April 2019.
