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Wayne L. King Jr.
Director of Athletics/Head Baseball Coach
Phone: (815) 280-2210
Email: wking@jjc.edu
Wayne King, who was named Joliet Junior College’s Athletic Director in the spring of 1995, is beginning his 17th year at the helm.
Some highlights from the 2010-2011 year included the men's and women's basketball teams winning the Region IV Championship and advancing to the NJCAA Division III National Championship tournament where they both finished in 7th place. The men's team finished with a 30-5 overall record that ties the 2004-05 team's record for most wins in a season. The baseball team claimed the Region IV Championship and went on to the NJCAA Division III World Series in Tyler, TX where the team finished in 6th place with a 40-23 overall record.
In addition to serving as JJC’s athletic director, this year marks King’s 26th season as the head baseball coach. King, who already has the most wins in the history of JJC, has compiled an overall record of 878-540-1.
During King’s tenure as Wolves head coach, he has guided his teams to two NJCAA national championships (1994 and 2008), ten NJCAA World Series appearances, fourteen Region IV Division III Tournament championships and seven N4C titles.
Without question, King’s coaching success has not gone unnoticed. He has been voted Coach of the Year in the competitive N4C seven times. For the Wolves success in 1994 and 2008, he was named NJCAA Division III National Coach of the Year, Coach of the Year for the Division III World Series and District Coach of the Year. King was inducted into the Region IV Hall of Fame by his fellow Region IV athletic directors as an administrator/coach in 2004. In 2009, King received a great honor of being inducted into the NJCAA Baseball Coaches Hall of Fame. The JJC baseball field was officially named Wayne L. King, Jr. Field in a field dedication ceremony in October 2009.
King attended Beaver Local High School in East Liverpool, OH. There, he was a three-sport athlete and earned 12 varsity letters in football, basketball and baseball.
King holds a bachelors and masters degree from Ohio University in Athens, OH. He attended Ohio University on a baseball scholarship, was a four-year starting catcher and earned Mid-America All-Conference honors.
Wayne and his wife Janine, reside in Joliet, IL. They have two children, Stacey, and Kelsey, and two grandchildren.
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Emily Marino
Women's Athletic Coordinator/Sports Information Director
Head Softball Coach
Phone: (815) 280-2777
Email: emarino@jjc.edu
Emily Marino begins her seventh year at Joliet Junior College as the women’s athletic coordinator and head softball coach. In her six years of coaching at JJC, Coach Marino has produced seven NJCAA All-American players and one NJCAA Academic All-American.
Emily is a graduate of Joliet Catholic Academy in Joliet, IL. At JCA, she was a standout volleyball, basketball, and softball player earning 10 varsity letters.
Marino went on to play softball at the University of Florida where she was a four-year starting catcher/ first baseman. She holds records for walks (138) and is tied for first in intentional walks (9). She is second in RBI's (150) and games started (267) along with fourth in games played (269). She ranks fifth for fielding percentage (.988), putouts (1169), and doubles (41). She is sixth in hits (217) and on-base percentage (.409) while coming in seventh in home runs (28). She sits in the thirteenth spot on Florida's all-time list for batting average (.296).
Emily is a graduate of the University of Florida with a bachelor of science degree in recreational science. After graduation, Marino spent a summer in Italy playing professional softball. She then moved to Nashville, TN where she was employed at Worth Club K as a softball instructor. Emily recently earned her master's degree from Northwestern University in sports management.
Emily currently resides in Joliet, IL.
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Gregg Braun
Student-Athlete Retention Specialist
Associate Head Baseball Coach
Phone: (815) 280-2263
Email: gbraun@jjc.edu
Gregg Braun begins his fourth year at Joliet Junior College on the baseball coaching staff and his third year as the Student-Athlete Retention Specialist.
Coach Braun helped guide the 2011 Wolves baseball team to a 6th place finish at the NJCAA Division III World Series in Tyler, TX. JJC finished the season with a 40-23 overall record.
During the 2009 baseball season, he helped lead JJC to a fourth place finish at the NJCAA Division III World Series. The team finished with a 41-17 overall record. The 2009 squad finished with a 35-24-1 overall record and was named N4C Conference Co-Champions.
Before JJC, Coach Braun spent two years as the assistant varsity baseball coach at his alma mater, Providence Catholic High School in New Lenox, IL where he coached under former long time JJC assistant baseball coach, Mark Smith. Gregg also coached football at Providence, coaching the secondary on the sophomore level. Prior to coaching at Providence, he spent one year at Romeoville High School as an assistant varsity baseball coach and a year at Lemont High School where he was a freshman assistant coach.
Gregg attended Providence Catholic High School, where he was an all-area catcher on the baseball field and played free safety on the gridiron for the Celtics. Gregg helped lead the Celtics in football to the final two of four straight IHSA State Championships in 1996 and 1997. He then continued his football career at Butler University in Indianapolis, IN. Gregg lettered for the Bulldogs in 2000 and 2001, playing free safety for them as well. He earned his bachelor of science degree with a major in telecommunication arts and a minor in journalism. Gregg is currently working on his master's degree in sports leadership from Northeastern University in Boston, MA.
Gregg resides in Joliet, IL.
Athletic Department Administrative Assistant
Assistant Sports Information Director
Phone: (815) 280-2431
Email: ssharp@jjc.edu
Stephanie Kneip enters her twelfth year as the Joliet Junior College Athletic Department Administrative Assistant. She also is the Assistant Sports Information Director.
In addition to her many duties as the Athletic Department Administrative Assistant, she has also been the Assistant Sports Information Director for the past six years. She was assistant women's basketball coach for three seasons and assistant softball coach for one season.
Stephanie is a graduate of Reed-Custer High School in Braidwood, IL. As a Lady Comet, she earned seven varsity letters while competing in basketball, softball and cross-country.
Following her prep career, Stephanie continued her athletic career at JJC and was a member of the Lady Wolves basketball and softball teams. In her freshman season, the Lady Wolves softball team finished the season with a school record 33 wins and placed 2nd at the NJCAA Division III National Tournament.
Stephanie earned her associate’s degree in Business Administration from JJC. She and her husband Jeremy, reside in Naperville, IL.
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Candice Nimon
Head Athletic Trainer
Phone: (815) 280-2544
Email: cnimon@jjc.edu
Candice Nimon MEd, ATC is in her sixth year as an Athletic Trainer though Athletic and Therapeutic Institute (ATI) for JJC's athletics teams.
She comes from the University of Texas in Austin, TX where she worked for a year as an Assistant Athletic Trainer with the men's track and field, cross-country, and football teams. She had various duties, which included travel and care for the teams. Candice earned a master's degree in kinesiology from the University of Texas, where she was a Graduate Assistant for two years directly supervising the men's track and field, cross-country, and football teams.
She earned a bachelor's of education degree double majoring in athletic training and psychology from the University of Miami in Miami, FL. There she helped pioneer the athletic training degree to become CAAHEP accredited by becoming the first graduate in the athletic training program. The program became CAAHEP accredited a year after she left. While working as a student athletic trainer she completed rotations with football, men's and women's basketball, men's and women's tennis, men's and women's track and field and volleyball.
Candice grew up in Mokena, IL and went to Lincoln-Way High School. There she worked as an athletic training student for one year. She and her husband Tim, reside in New Lenox, IL. They have one son, Austin.
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Nate Seville
Associate Athletic Trainer
Phone: (815) 280-2544
Email: nseville@jjc.edu
Nate Seville MAEd, ATC/L, who works as an outreach capacity through Athletic and Therapeutic Institute (ATI), is in his fourth year as an athletic trainer for Joliet Junior College.
He comes from University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB), where he received his master's degree in Exercise Physiology. While at UAB, he worked for two years as one of the graduate assistant athletic trainers and had direct supervision over football. In 2004, the team participated in their first every bowl game - The Hawaii Bowl. Prior to his time at UAB, he was chosen as one of the seasonal intern athletic trainers for the 2002 season of the Chicago Bears. In 2007, he worked as the head athletic trainer for NFL Europe's Hamburg Seadevils football team in Germany. The team won the league's last World Bowl.
Nate completed his undergraduate studies at Illinois State University in 2002 and received bachelor's of science in athletic training and exercise physiology. While at ISU, he had rotations in football, track and field, softball, cheerleading, and also did some high school coverage as part of his athletic training curriculum.
Nate grew up in South Holland, IL and graduated from Thornwood High School in 1997. He currently resides in New Lenox, IL with his wife Rayandra and his son Nolan.
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