Jim Mentz, who was a physical education teacher and girls soccer coach and baseball coach at Palo Verde for nearly four decades, will fill the vacant baseball coaching position at Cienega, pending Vail School Board approval.
Mentz, known as Mr. Palo Verde at the school, coached the Titans’ baseball program for the last 36 years. He led the Titans to a state championship in 2014 and had deep playoff runs in the 1990s.
He is from New York and moved to Tucson to attend Arizona, where he earned a degree in Exercise and Sports Sciences.
“I am looking forward to the challenge,” Mentz said about the opportunity at Cienega. “It’s a tremendous community, great staff, and everybody is committed to excellence. The facilities are great. They play in the 5A, which is tougher than the 6A with teams like CDO, Salpointe, Catalina Foothills and Nogales.
“I can’t wait to get in there and compete with my team and coaches.”
Mentz said his pitching coach will be former Empire and Tanque Verde coach Tom Belter, and Adam Federico, a former player of his at Palo Verde, will be the hitting coach. Tyler Case and Pablo Camargo will be holdovers from the previous staff. Johnny Lopez and Mike Lopez, who were also with Mentz at Palo Verde, are also part of his staff.
“I wanted the best staff possible and I think we have that,” Mentz said. “Cienega has high expectations, but, you know, I’ve got high expectations, too. I didn’t take this job to go eat ice pops. I want these kids to battle, to compete, and be great teammates. I want them to learn life lessons along the way and this coaching staff will help a great deal with that.”
Mentz also taught and coached in TUSD for three decades at Howell Elementary School, Magee Middle School, Pueblo High School, Catalina High School, Rincon/University High School, but he was mostly at Palo Verde.
He was an assistant coach at Pueblo in 1990 when the Warriors won the state title. He then coached at Catalina from 1991 to 1994 and guided the Trojans to the state semifinals after they won only two games the year before he went to the school.
Mentz and the late Ed Nymeyer (a girls volleyball and girls basketball coach at Flowing Wells) are the only coaches who won coach of year honors in two different sports in three different decades. Mentz earned those honors in baseball in 1991, 1998, 2000, and 2014, and in soccer in 1992, 2006, 2012 and 2016.
He compiled 371 wins as a baseball coach at Palo Verde, the most in school history. He put time, money and effort into maintaining the Titans’ baseball facilities. He organized the annual Palo Verde alumni baseball game, a unique venture of any Southern Arizona high school.
In girls soccer, Mentz led his teams to three state finals and one semifinal. He won 380 games in 37 years as the coach of that program. He stopped coaching girls soccer in 2024.
He also was the public-address announcer of Palo Verde’s football games for more than 30 years.
“It was difficult to turn my keys in at Palo Verde; that school means so much to me,” Mentz said. “I was pulling out of the parking lot, and it was strange to realize I will not be heading back there on a daily basis. All the athletes I coached there in girls soccer and baseball mean a great deal to me.
“I texted many of them and they were supportive of my decision of taking on this new, exciting challenge at Cienega.”
Mentz, 64, said age is not an issue with him and that he can coach at least eight to 10 more years.
“I run 3 to 4 miles a day in the hot sun, and I walk back the four miles,” he said. “I weight lift three times a week. Knock on wood, I hope that great health continues. I’m prepared to keep going strong.”
He will be the third Cienega baseball coach in as many years in the spring.
Andres Hackman coached the program this season after Kelly Johnson stepped down following the 2025 season to become the boys golf coach.
Johnson was a coach of the baseball program over the last couple of decades, including as the head coach from 2017 to 2025.
“Kelly is so revered at Cienega,” Mentz said. “He was the head coach there for 10 years, and they were excellent for 10 years, and almost won a title this last year. He’s also a teacher there. He’s personable and he’s knowledgeable. Looking forward to being at the same school with him after coaching against him before.”
Mentz mentioned that he may try to gather former Cienega players for an annual alumni game similar to what he organized at Palo Verde. He wants to reach out to alum Nick Gonzales to visit the Bobcats after the MLB season is over. He also wants to bring in the Jackson brothers (Andre and Isaiah) and former Arizona standout Seth Mejias-Brean to visit their alma mater.
“I’m very impressed with the baseball family at Cienega,” Mentz said. “The administrators have experience in athletics. They have an outstanding baseball booster club. It’s an exciting time. I’m ready to get out there and be part of the program.”
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