Tim Parenton '80 Returns to New Orleans and Jesuit to Pick Up the Mantle as Head Baseball Coach for the Blue Jays 

In the middle of it all: Coach Tim Parenton ’80 is Jesuit’s new head baseball coach.
He is flanked by, from left, Fr. Anthony McGinn, S.J., Jesuit’s president, principal Mike Giambelluca, athletic director Dave Moreau, and assistant athletic director Joey Latino.

Timothy M. Parenton, a college baseball coach with more than 17 years of experience, leadership, and honors – and a notable Jesuit athlete and graduate of the Class of 1980 -- was named head baseball coach for the Blue Jays. 

The announcement was made Thursday by Jesuit’s principal, Michael A. Giambelluca, who said Parenton begins his new teaching and coaching responsibilities immediately.  Parenton’s appointment as head baseball coach comes six days after the surprise retirement of Sam Dozier, who announced last week that he was giving up coaching to enter private business.   

Parenton was a gifted four-sport letterman while attending Jesuit High School from 1975 until his graduation in 1980.  As the starting quarterback for four years, he helped lead the Blue Jays in his junior year all the way to the famous state championship game against St. Augustine, which was the first high school football contest to be played in the Louisiana Superdome.  The game attracted more than 44,000 fans and was the spark that ignited the LHSAA’s current championship playoff format. 

As a Blue Jay, Parenton lettered four years in football, three years as a shortstop on the baseball team, and two years as a point guard on the basketball team.  Parenton could also throw the javelin a distance of more than 190 feet, which earned him a letter in track.  His photo on the right is from Jesuit's 1980 Yearbook.

Parenton, whose five brothers also graduated from Jesuit, was most recently an assistant baseball coach at the University of Florida in Gainesville.  During the past three years he was the Gators’ position and hitting instructor, director of baseball camps, and responsible for all aspects of the school’s NCAA compliance.

“It is a privilege and an honor to return to my Alma Mater,” Parenton said during an afternoon visit to the campus.  “I have learned many things, academically and athletically, from my mentors here at Jesuit.  I give a lot of credit to former (Jesuit) coaches Billy Murphy, Frank Misuraca, and Duane Reboul for making me the coach and person who I am today.  It has been 27 years since I last lived in New Orleans, and I look forward to returning to continue the success enjoyed by our baseball program at Jesuit.”

Giambelluca said Jesuit High School is excited that Parenton has accepted the position of head baseball coach.  “As a student-athlete, Tim was a model of what the values of commitment, teamwork, and a positive attitude could produce,” Giambelluca said, noting that Parenton becomes the sixth Blue Jay alumnus who is currently coaching a Jesuit team.

“I had the good fortune of being Tim’s teammate (on the Blue Jay football team), and he certainly was a model and inspiration for me,” he recalled.  “As a college player, and then as a coach, Tim was able to relate to his teammates and players in a dynamic way.  We are elated that Jesuit students will have the opportunity to be led by such a fine and dedicated man.”

Prior to coaching the Florida Gators, Parenton served as the head baseball coach at Samford University in Birmingham for six years, from 1998-2004.  He was an assistant baseball coach at Mississippi State University from 1995-1997.  He held the same position for five years, from 1990-1995, at Old Dominion University (Norfolk, VA).

After graduating from Jesuit in 1980, Parenton attended Mississippi State University on a scholarship, where he majored in physical education and played four years on the Bulldogs’ football team and three years on their baseball team.  He received a bachelor of science degree from MSU.

Parenton was named by The Times-Picayune as Jesuit High School’s Athlete of the Decade (1970-1980), as well as the City of New Orleans’ Player of the Year in 1978. 

At the Commencement Exercises for the Class of 1980, Parenton was honored with The Harry McEnerny, Jr. Memorial Plaque, which is awarded to the graduating senior who has a good scholastic record, has performed well in at least one extracurricular activity, and who possesses those qualities which symbolize the most representative Jesuit High School student.

Since embarking on his coaching career, Parenton has traveled extensively to participate in baseball clinics where he speaks to college and high school players.  His credentials also include having served as a broadcast color analyst for the NCAA Regional Tournament and the SEC Baseball Tournament.  

In addition to his baseball coaching duties at Jesuit, Parenton will teach physical education.  He and his wife Shelia are in the process of moving from Gainesville to New Orleans.