Brad Pickett

Brad Pickett joined Cal Poly’s staff as the Assistant Coach specializing in pole vaulting and high jumping in October of 2017.

During his time with the Mustangs, Pickett has mentored his athletes to four conference championships, seven NCAA West Preliminary berths and 13 All-Big West honors. Currently, four of the top 10 marks in program history in the women’s outdoor pole vault were recorded by athletes coached by Pickett.

In 2022, a pair of Cal Poly pole vaulters competed at the NCAA West Preliminaries — sophomore Mathis Bresko and junior Christian Valles. Bresko captured Cal Poly’s ninth Big West title in the men’s pole vault and first since 2013. Bresko went on to post a new personal best of 17 feet, 4.25 inches at the NCAA West Preliminaries in Arkansas and finish 13th overall, just one spot short of advancing to the NCAA Finals in Eugene.

Also in 2022, sophomore Annie Hatzenbeler recorded a career best of 12 feet, 11.5 inches in the women’s pole vault, tied for seventh best in school history, at the Cal Poly Invitational. She placed third in the event at the Big West Championships.

The 2021 season saw Mustang pole vaulter Brooke Tjerrild become only the second woman in the 23-year history of the event at the Big West Conference Championships to win back-to-back-to-back titles. Tjerrild broke the overall conference pole vault record and BWC championship-meet vaulting record that season en route to being named Big West Women’s Field Athlete of the Year and finishing 15th at the NCAA West Preliminaries.

Prior to the cancellation of the 2020 outdoor calendar due to COVID-19, Tjerrild broke a program record which had stood for 20 years during the indoor season. First in January at Boise State’s Bronco Invitational, she won the pole vault with a clearance of 13 feet, 8.5 inches, before breaking the record again in February, upping the ante to 13’ 9.25” at the Arkansas Qualifier. Tjerrild finished the 2020 winter schedule ranked No. 2 among all pole-vaulters from California schools.

At the 2019 BWC championships, Sydney Jaques moved to No. 9 in school history at the time for the pole vault while making the All-Conference team, a day before men’s vaulter Kevin Ward earned silver at the finals as a true freshman.

Pickett also coached jumps at Cuesta College in 2016-17.

A former Mustang pole vaulter himself, Pickett ranks No. 4 all-time at Cal Poly in the event, with clearances of 18 feet and a half-inch in 1998 and 1999.

Also in both 1998 and 1999, Pickett advanced to the NCAA Championships, tying for 14th place as a junior before finishing 10th as a senior. In his final season, he was second at the conference championships — his third consecutive Top 3 finish — with a height of 18 feet. Pickett also was a regular on Cal Poly’s 4x100m relay squads. In 1998, he ran lead-off for the Mustangs’ conference championship-winning team which claimed the title in 40.86 seconds (after a season-best of 40.18).