After spending 17 seasons as the Cerritos College head baseball coach, Ken Gaylord is assigning his head coaching duties to Jack Brooks for one season. Gaylord is staying on as an assistant coach, which will allow him to watch his two sons play college baseball. His older son, Adam, is a senior infielder at Stanford University, while his younger son Brian will be a junior at Lewis & Clark (ID) State College after playing two years for the Falcons.

In his tenure with Cerritos, Gaylord has not only been successful on the field, he has been able to help his players move to the next level. During his 17 years, 142 players have either earned college scholarships, or moved on to the minor leagues. Last season, the Falcons reached the Southern California Regional Playoffs for the 14^th time in his 17 years as head coach, but were defeated in the first round in three games by Mt. San Jacinto College and finished the year, 27-17. Gaylord led the Falcons to a second place finish in the South Coast Conference championship and has led them to six in his time with Cerritos. This will mark the second time Gaylord has relinquished the head coaching duties, as he did so in 2003 when he took a one year sabbatical. During his time as the head coach, Gaylord has compiled a 487-256-4 (.655) record, including six South Coast Conference championships and a trip to the State Championship game in 1995. The Falcons still lead the state with the most state championships (9), although they haven’t won a title since the 1989 year. During the team’s state title run in 1995, Gaylord led the Falcons to the conference championship and came within a victory of their state-leading 10^th State Championship, but were defeated by Santa Ana, 12-2 in the final game.

With 24 years as a community college head coach, Gaylord eclipsed the 600-win plateau and currently ranks tied for 15^th on the all-time list with his 623-355-4 (.638) lifetime record, which includes six years as the head coach at Long Beach City College. He is also seventh on the active list. In addition to the 142 players that have moved onto the next level, there are currently 30 former Falcons who are still active, either at the college or pro level. In addition, 10 former players under Gaylord are now coaching at different levels.

Gaylord is a former Falcon who was a two-time All-South Coast Conference selection at first base and helped Cerritos to consecutive State Championships and a combined 75-8 record. Gaylord began his coaching career in 1977 as an assistant at Mayfair High, where he prepped. After one season he moved to UCLA as an assistant from 1978-84, and then landed at Long Beach City College as their head coach from 1985-90.

While at LBCC, Gaylord compiled a 137-99 record while guiding the Vikings to three Metropolitan Conference championships in his six seasons. He was also named the conference's Coach of the Year in both 1985 and 1986, while earning the same award for the South Coast Conference in 1989. Gaylord has been named the conference’s Coach of the Year while at Cerritos in 1995, 1998 and 1999.

Gaylord's playing career began at Mayfair High, where he was a three-year varsity letterman in baseball, basketball and football. Most of his success came on the diamond, where he was an All-League choice and earned his team's Most Valuable Player Award.

Upon entering Cerritos College, Gaylord earned the starting role at first base, where he was named All-SCC and batted .380. In his sophomore season, Gaylord earned yet another All-SCC selection, as he batted .379 and was the team's Most Valuable Player and Team Captain. He then moved on to UCLA for his next two seasons and was named 1^st Team All-PAC 8 as a senior.

Gaylord received his Bachelor's of Science degree in Physical Education from Long Beach State, and his Master's Degree in Physical Education from Azusa Pacific University.

He and his wife Debbie have three children; Jennifer (24); Adam (22), a senior infielder on the Stanford University baseball team; and Brian (20), a junior at Lewis & Clark (ID) State College, and reside in La Mirada.