Arizona Baseball

Arizona hires Tyler Coolbaugh as director of player development

By Javier Morales

Posted on August 18, 2021

Information from the Arizona media relations department contributed to this report:

Arizona baseball coach Chip Hale today announced the addition of Tyler Coolbaugh to the program’s coaching staff as the Wildcats’ Director of Player Development.

Coolbaugh joins Arizona from the professional ranks similar to Hale, 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.

He is the son of former big-leaguer Scott Coolbaugh, who is the hitting coach of the Detroit Tigers — Hale’s previous employer as third-base coach before his hire in July. Scott Coolbaugh played for the Tucson Sidewinders Triple-A team in 1999.

“Bringing Tyler into the fold is a fantastic way to round out our coaching and support staff,” Hale said in a statement released by the university. “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 (2020-21), the Amarillo Sod Squad (2020), and Nicholls State (2020).

Coolbaugh played three seasons at Oklahoma (2013-15) and two years at Angelo State (2016-17) as an infielder. While playing for the Rams, he was twice named to the All-Lone Star Conference first-team squad and earned first-team ABCA All-Region honors as a senior in 2017.

Following a senior year 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 play three years professionally.

Tyler Coolbaugh Coaching History