Rafael Padilla, a former standout outfielder at Nogales High School who was part of the Apaches’ 2017 state championship team, is the new head coach at Mountain View.
“I can’t wait to get to know our players, families, and community,” Padilla mentioned in an Instagram post. “My goal is to build genuine relationships with these young men while creating a program built on Tradition, Discipline, and Brotherhood.
“Together, we’ll establish a winning culture that develops not only successful baseball players, but young men of character who take pride in representing Mountain View both on and off the field. I’m looking forward to the work ahead and everything we will accomplish together.”
Padilla is a studio manager at Oro Valley’s F45 Training. He has served in that role since 2024 after he was a graduate assistant coach at Montreat (N.C.) College from 2022 to 2024. He replaces Christopher Hernandez, who was the head coach of the Mountain Lions in the previous two years.
Padilla played at Patagonia High School for two years before the program disbanded. He played his last two years with Nogales.
When Nogales won the state title in 2017, he batted .398 in 32 games played. He had 35 hits, 31 RBIs and 34 runs. He also had a fielding percentage of .974.
“He’s a great kid,” said OJ Favela, Nogales’ longtime baseball coach who submitted his resignation this week. “I know he’s going to do great because of his character. He was always a team player. He always had a smile on his face and was just a leader.
“There’s a huge upside to him. He’s very knowledgeable and he’s a people person. He’s going to relate well with the kids. The parents are going to love him. He’s going to do a great job.”
Padilla was at Pima in 2018 and 2019. As a sophomore, he batted .344 with 31 runs, 39 RBIs, two home runs and two stolen bases.
After his Pima career concluded, he played at Bethune-Cookman in 2020 and then Montreat, an NAIA institution, in 2021 and 2022.
Padilla’s hiring as Mountain View’s coach follows extensive developments of Favela’s former players broadening their scope in baseball.
Demetrio Crisantes, a Class of 2022 graduate, was promoted Tuesday to the Triple-A level by the Arizona Diamondbacks.
German Fajardo (Class of 2019) is a right-hander in the Seattle Mariners’ farm system.
Brayan Espinoza (2021) and Thomas Teel (2023) won the NAIA World Series Championship with Tennessee Wesleyan in June.
Derek (2023) and Denzel Montijo (2025) moved on to play for South Mountain Community College, which played in the NJCAA Division II World Series Championship game.
Luis Martin Romero (2023) took his pitching talents to St. Mary’s College, where he helped a postseason upset over top-seeded UCLA in an NCAA Regional tournament game.
Keith Zuniga (2010) was recently hired as USC’s pitching coach after serving the same role at Hawaii.
Rafael Valenzuela (2006) played at Cochise College and Arizona and in the Houston Astros’ organization before coaching in the Tampa Bay Rays farm system. He is presently the manager at Single-A+ Bowling Green (Ky.).
Padilla will wed in October former Rio Rico softball standout Alexis Garayzar, who is a sister of former Rio Rico and Arizona pitcher Raul Garayzar.
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