Brian Yocke, who patrolled center field for the Spartans in 2007, is in his second season as the volunteer assistant coach for the San Jose State University baseball program in 2010. He handles the outfielders and base-running, assists with academics and camps, and serves as the first base coach.

Yocke's first foray into college coaching in 2009 was a successful one for the Western Athletic Conference regular-season champion Spartans. With his help, Jacob Bruns went from drawing just 33 at-bats as a junior newcomer in 2008, to leading the team in hitting as a senior rightfielder with a .399 average, third-best in the league. Bruns smacked seven home runs, and finished in the top 10 in the WAC in slugging percentage (.618), on-base percentage (.473) and doubles (16). Spartan outfielders committed just seven errors in 378 chances defensively, for a fielding percentage of .981.

During the summer of 2009, Yocke was the number-one assistant coach for the Peninsula Oilers of the Alaska Baseball League, in Kenai, Alaska. He was previously one of two coaches for the junior varsity team at his alma mater, San Jose's Archbishop Mitty High School, in the spring of 2008, and spent that summer assisting with Mitty's varsity squad.

Though he played just one season at San Jose State, Yocke made his mark with a unique story of perseverance. He was cut after one day of tryouts, but returned to the baseball offices the next day to ask for a second chance. Head coach Sam Piraro and his staff allowed Yocke to train with the team through the fall. He eventually walked on to the squad and earned a roster spot for the 2007 spring campaign.

Yocke began the year on the Spartan bench, but worked his way onto the field on February 17 and into the starting lineup at the University of the Pacific on April 17. He then became a fixture in center field, starting each of the next 17 contests before sitting out the regular-season finale, and earning a lineup spot in all four games the Spartans played at the 2007 WAC Tournament in Reno, Nev. Yocke finished with a .346 batting average (27-for-78) over 31 games, 22 of them starts. He produced 25 runs, three doubles, one triple, 14 RBI, a .410 slugging percentage, nine walks, 11 hit-by-pitches, a .480 on-base percentage, seven sacrifice hits and four steals in five attempts. On three separate occasions, he reached base safely five times in a single game. Defensively, Yocke made just one error in 59 chances for a fielding percentage of .983.

Voted by teammates as Most Inspirational, Yocke was San Jose State's recipient of the Loyd Christopher Award at the 2008 Santa Clara County Hot Stove Banquet.

Prior to transferring to San Jose State, Yocke played the 2004 and 2005 seasons for former Spartan Todd Eagen at Mission College in Santa Clara, Calif., and was a second-team all-league pick as a sophomore. He was an all-league honoree in both baseball and football at Mitty. As a senior, Yocke was a member of the Central Coast Section championship baseball team under head coach Bill Hutton.

Yocke is a 2008 San Jose State graduate with a degree in sociology. His younger sister, Megan, is a junior starter on the University of Kentucky softball team. Yocke, a Santa Clara native, and his dog, Fenway, currently reside in Sunnyvale.