Arizona Baseball Head Coach Chip Hale announced the addition of Tyler Coolbaugh to the program's coaching staff as the Wildcats Director of Player Development on August 18, 2021. He enters his third season with Arizona in 2024.
With the Wildcats
Across two seasons in Tucson, Coolbaugh has driven the Wildcats adoption of an array of cutting-edge developmental tools. With his help and the assistance of emerging technology such as TrackMan, TruMedia, Blast Motion, Rapsodo, and more the Wildcats have produced success at the plate, on the mound, and in the field.
The remarkable development seen up and down Arizona's roster has led to a pair of NCAA Tournament appearances, two first round MLB Draft selections in Daniel Susac and Chase Davis, three All-Americans, seven Pac-12 All-Conference selections, and much more.
Before Arizona
Like Hale, Coolbaugh joined Arizona from the professional ranks, having most recently worked for the Texas Rangers player development pipeline. In February 2021 he was announced as the hitting coach for the Rookie Dominican Summer League Rangers.
"Bringing Tyler into the fold is a fantastic way to round out our coaching and support staff," Hale said at the time of his hiring. "He knows what it takes to thrive as a player at the collegiate level and take his game to the professional ranks, giving him a valuable perspective for our student-athletes to pull from. Tyler's extensive knowledge of today's most prominent analytics and development tools will help us get the most out of our talented roster."
Prior to his time with the Rangers, Coolbaugh spent time coaching with Abilene Christian University (2020-21), the Amarillo Sod Squad (2020), and Nicholls State University (2020).
As a player, Coolbaugh logged three seasons at the University of Oklahoma (2013-15) and two years at Angelo State University (2016-17) as an infielder. While playing for the Rams he was twice tabbed to the First Team All-Lone Star Conference squad and earned First Team ABCA All-Region honors as a senior in 2017.
Following a senior campaign in which he led the team with a .374 batting average, Coolbaugh was selected by the Baltimore Orioles in the 36th round of the 2017 Major League Baseball Draft. He went on to enjoy a three-year professional baseball career.
Tyler Coolbaugh Coaching History
- 2021: MiLB DSL Rangers, Hitting Coach
- 2020-21: Abilene Christian University. Assistant Coach/Infield Coach
- 2020: Amarillo Sod Squad, Bench Coach/Hitting Coach/Infield Instructor
- 2020: Nicholls State University, Director of Player Development
