Marshall Mecham
Jackson Bickel’s time as Artesia baseball head coach has ended after two seasons, as he is now the assistant principal at Artesia High School.
Bulldogs’ success
He led the Bulldogs to a 47-15 record in his time as head coach. This included a 6-3 4A State Championship win over Bloomfield in 2025 to secure the program’s seventh state title and first since 2000. Bickel led the Bulldogs back to the state championship game in 2026, but they lost 11-6 to Goddard.
Bickel said he would love to have the Goddard game back, but the 2025 state championship banner hanging on the back of the press box is something the players earned and will carry with them for the rest of their lives.
He also said he has a lot of love for all the players he coached for the last two years because they were all unique.
Supporting staff
Bickel said the program’s success over the last two seasons would not have been possible without the assistant coaches.
“I think this is one of the strongest baseball staffs that we’ve had in a very long time,” Bickel said. “These assistant coaches are your warriors in all this, so it’s amazing to have a staff like that.”
A new era for the Bulldogs
Artesia athletic director Jeremy Maupin hired Gentry Doolittle as the new head coach. He served as an assistant coach for the last two years.
Bickel said he thinks the program is in great hands with Doolittle because he is a great coach and knows what he is doing. Bickel also said he thinks the baseball team has a bright future.
“These players coming in are young, hard workers, talented, and have a blueprint that was laid out for them by the seniors this past season,” Bickel said.
Marshall Mecham can be reached at (915) 232‑1793 or on X @mecham_marshall.
Mecham is serving with the New Mexico Local News Fellowship Program, which places emerging journalists in newsrooms across the state. Learn more at www.newmexicolocalnewsfellowships.org.