The Chicago White Sox have hired JC Sanner, former pitching coach at the College of Central Florida, the team announced this week.
Sanner joins the White Sox after helping lead one of the top junior college baseball programs in the country. The College of Central Florida finished as runner-up at the FCSAA level and saw 13 players either sign with big league organizations or advance to NCAA Division I programs.
Both players selected in the 2025 MLB Draft were pitchers who developed under Sanner’s guidance: right-hander Joey Wimpelberg, taken in the 17th round by the Detroit Tigers, and right-hander Corey Geinzer, selected in the 19th round by the Texas Rangers.
In 2023, Sanner was named the Valley Baseball League’s Assistant Coach of the Year after leading the Strasburg Express to a 27–17 record and a near berth in the league finals. Originally hired as the team’s pitching coach, he stepped in as acting head coach midseason and helped the Express finish third in both ERA and strikeouts.
Before his time with Strasburg, Sanner served as Director of Player Development at Davidson College and spent two seasons in professional baseball with the Minnesota Twins and Philadelphia Phillies organizations.
Sanner’s exact role with the organization has not yet been announced.
The White Sox currently have several coaching vacancies, including hitting coach, after parting ways with four staff members at the end of September. Those departures included pitching coach Ethan Katz, hitting coach Marcus Thames, first base coach Jason Bourgeois, and catching coach Drew Butera.
The White Sox organization features a number of promising young arms with significant room for growth. Last season, Chicago’s starting rotation ranked 11th in the league with a 4.39 ERA, while the bullpen finished 10th with a 4.16 ERA.
Sanner shared his excitement about joining the organization on social media.
“Very humbled to accept a coaching position with the @whitesox,” Sanner wrote. “I want to thank @GoCFBaseball for giving me the opportunity to be part of such an elite program and grow as a coach. There’s no better JUCO in the country. #PatLand is a very special place and I will be forever grateful.”
Marty Smith, head coach at Central Florida, congratulated Sanner on X, formerly known as Twitter, calling the move “well deserved.”
“Congrats to our pitching coach @jc_sanner who has accepted a job with the White Sox,” Smith wrote. “The #Pats wish JC well! Last five pitching coaches of #Pats — three went to pro baseball, one to D1, one to a head coaching job.”
