Longtime Nogales High School baseball coach OJ Favela has submitted his resignation, sources confirmed Wednesday night to AllSportsTucson.com, closing a legendary 22-year career that transformed the Apaches into a baseball powerhouse in Arizona.
Favela, dealing with the hospitalization of a family member, verified his resignation and mentioned he will issue a comment Thursday.
The move occurred after Nogales athletic director Eric Sowle resigned from his position Monday.
Taking over the program in 2005, Favela finishes his tenure with 454 career victories and reached the state final five times, capturing consecutive state titles in 2017 and 2018. He guided the team to three state runner-up finishes in 2014, 2019, and 2022.
Before Favela arrived, Nogales had endured a state title drought stretching back to 1981.
“Under his guidance, the Nogales Apaches have not only become a powerhouse in the state in high school baseball, but also a beacon of discipline, teamwork and integrity,” Sowle told the Nogales International when Favela reached his 400th career win in 2024.
Favela’s deep roots in Southern Arizona baseball influenced his coaching journey. He is the son of former all-state Nogales standout Oscar Favela, Sr., and the grandson of Arnold “Chapo” Riesgo, a former catcher for Arizona. Before taking the coaching job at Nogales, he was on the staffs at Rio Rico and Salpointe.
Favela’s development of high-level talent is exemplified by many of them becoming successful at various collegiate levels and then in the pro ranks.
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 last month.
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.).
“One of the things we preach is to go out and continue representing themselves, their family, the program, and the community of Nogales,” Favela told AllSportsTucson.com recently. “As a staff and program, it’s rewarding for our players to go out and have success and bring that winning attitude to their respective teams.”
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