Jackson Plough was not going to let his father off the hook that easily after asking him to coach his Little League team. Tim explained to 10-year-old Jackson, the oldest of his and Christine’s three sons, that a previous obligation could make it difficult to squeeze practices and games into his schedule. 

That obligation is being the head football coach at UC Davis. Tim has occasionally helped out with Jackson’s teams in the past, but being the manager of the Yankees would require more time than he could possibly offer. Jackson was not buying that, however, and took his case to the Davis Little League board of directors. 

“He went on his own,” said Tim, who had to admire his son’s persistence. “(The directors) reached out to me and said they would work it out for me if I could do it by adjusting practices and games.”  That was just half the battle for Tim, who also needed approval from the university in order to moonlight.

Tim did not agree to take the team just to pacify his son. He understood how Jackson was feeling after many of his friends had jumped to a higher division. Tim was going to be at his son’s games anyway, so being on the field and in the dugout would allow him to build a father-son baseball bond.

Jackson may have been just returning the favor by wanting his father on the field because Tim allows his boys to be on the sideline before UC Davis games. Tim has coached at universities that prohibit children from being on the field, but he has made it clear his boys can go everywhere with him. He is often joined by at least one of his sons at his postgame press conferences.

Father and son have had a successful season. The Yankees won the city AAA championship. Jackson’s 8-year-old brother Camden played for the Yankees in the AA division and that team also won a city title.

“They were like two hours apart,” Tim said of the championship games. “That was fun.”

Jackson  made the Davis National all-star team for 8- to 10-year-olds. Davis National won the District 64 title to advance to the Section 1 tournament in Dixon. Davis National is 1-1 after losing Saturday and will try to stave off elimination on Sunday

Tim is an assistant coach with the all-stars, but next week will be his last even if the team can advance to the state tournament. He will meet with his assistant coaches at UC Davis next week to prepare for the first practice of fall camp on July 29. The Aggies will kick off the season Aug. 29 at Portland State.

UC Davis is 20-7 since Tim returned to his alma mater in 2024. The Aggies have made it to the FCS playoffs in both seasons, but their goal of making the semifinals remains unfulfilled. UC Davis is 3-4 in the playoffs and 0-3 in the quarterfinals after a 42-31 loss to Illinois State last year.

Illinois State was unseeded in the 2025 playoffs but knocked off  No. 1 North Dakota State, No. 8 UC Davis and No. 12 Villanova to reach the championship game against No. 2 Montana State. The Redbirds nearly scored a fourth upset before falling 35-34 in overtime on a missed PAT.

Plough expects UC Davis will again be a Big Sky Conference contender this season, but he realizes no two seasons are alike. “We don’t want to do what we did a year ago. We want to get better,” Plough explained. “We need to find out who we are in fall camp.” 

Twins Rex and Porter Connors are returning from knee injuries to bolster the defense. Rex was a first-team pick at defensive back and Connor made the third team at linebacker in the STATS Perform FCS Preseason All-America selections. They were joined by wide receiver Sam Gbatu Jr. (first team) and tight end Winston Williams (second team).

Gbatu and Williams will catch passes from a third different starter at quarterback in as many years. Redshirt freshman Caden Pinnick succeeded Miles Hastings in 2025, but Pinnick took $600,000 to transfer to Washington State. The Aggies will have another redshirt freshman starting this season.

Plough hopes Treynor Cleeland or Jackson Kollock, a transfer from Minnesota, will win the job with time to spare before UC Davis travels to Portland State. The Aggies have won the past four meetings with the Vikings after dropping five in a row. UC Davis lost six straight to Portland State from 1975 to 2005.