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Bespectacled and without a baseball cap, Bill Kinneberg looked more like a librarian than a baseball coach on Monday morning.
He sat in the back rows of the Utah football film room, well behind his players who had crowded in front to see their NCAA destination. With his two sons, Joe and David, sitting on either arm, he clasped his hands in front of him and looked on the screen with focus, as if plotting a chess move.
Kinneberg, in his 13th season leading the Utes, maintains a zen-like balance. His voice is only slightly louder than a whisper. And whether he's at the bottom of the Pac-12 - or as he is this week sitting atop it — he always seems to be the same guy.
"He does a really good job of keeping stable emotions," senior shortstop Cody Scaggari said. "Never too high, never too low."
Kinneberg's patient approach paid off in a big way Sunday, as the Utes captured the Pac-12 title and an NCAA berth to Oxford, Mississippi on Friday. In 56 years, Utah has been to two NCAA tournaments, and Kinneberg has presided over both.
More than a few people who know him call him "the nicest guy in baseball." After Utah's 21-7 win over the Washington Huskies on Sunday, a crowd gathered near the Utah dugout not only to congratulate the team, but Kinneberg personally. Bees manager Keith Johnson and Utah softball coach Amy Hogue were among those giving him high-fives.
The validation of fielding a championship ballclub at Utah — a program that lacks the legacy of many of its Pac-12 peers and doesn't have its own stadium — speaks volumes about Kinneberg.
"They've got the right guy there," said Eric Campbell, who worked with Kinneberg at USA baseball. "He's a very good baseball coach, respected [from] one end of the country to the other. He's got that special touch, that 'it' factor, and he's found a way to win with the tools he has."
Kinneberg himself cedes much of the Xs and Os responsibility to his assistants. Hitting coach Jason Hawkins has been credited with developing Utah's approach at the plate and on the basepaths, and the entire staff works hard on scouting and developing winning game plans in series this year.
In 21 years as a head coach, Kinneberg can delegate, but also make his subordinates feel like equals.
"The faith he's put in the staff, the players and everyone around on the support staff is just special," Hawkins said. "He's a special guy to work for, and he creates a special environment."
The Arizona grad has developed relationships with players that many say transcends the normal college baseball dynamic. He's personable, even-tempered. He's patient enough to let players who may not have once seemed like Pac-12 caliber players develop and gain experience.
His easy-going approach has cultivated a unique loyalty from his team.
"My boys love him," said Pam Dalton, the mother of standouts Dallas Carroll and Dalton Carroll. "I think they'll be friends forever. He really cares about them, and he kept all of his promises. I've heard stories about other coaches who aren't very good, but he's always treated them like men and with friendship."
It's easy to forget this is Kinneberg's second stint with Utah. He presided over one season in 1996, winning 30 games with the Utes. After he left to take an assistant job at Arizona, Utah athletic director Chris Hill felt strongly enough to keep in touch with him and eventually hire him back in 2004.
With Utah's first-ever men's conference title in the Pac-12 era, Hill said he feels good about that decision, despite the lean years the baseball program first endured in the league.
"It's a very challenging job, but Bill did things the right way," Hill said. "It would be tough to find anybody in Salt Lake who has a bad thing to say about him. He's a nice guy — but competitive, too."
Twitter: @kylegoon —
Bill Kinneberg at a glance
• Graduated from Arizona in 1980, pitched in 1979 College World Series
• Head coaching stints at UTEP, Wyoming and Utah
• Led Utes to NCAA regional appearances in 2009 and 2016
• Has coached seven Utes who have gone on to be first 10-round MLB Draft picks
• Coached USA Baseball Collegiate Team to silver medal in 2010 FISU World University Championship
Utah at No. 10 Mississippi
NCAA regional at Oxford, Miss., Friday, 6 p.m. MDT
TV • SEC Network —
Utah at No. 10 Mississippi
NCAA regional, Friday, 6 p.m. MDT
TV • SEC Network