No. 14 Arizona (30-15, 13-8 Pac-12) heads to Berkeley, Calif., to take on California (25-19, 9-12 Pac-12) in a three-game Pac-12 Conference series this weekend.
No. 11 Arizona (29-13, 12-6 Pac-12) hosts No. 10 Oregon (32-13, 14-7 Pac-12) in a three-game series at Hi Corbett Field this weekend. Game times are 6 p.m. Friday, 6 p.m. Saturday and noon on Sunday.
Former UA outfielder Jordan Brown is excited about the future of Arizona Wildcats baseball
Shaun Cole enters his third season as an assistant coach after spending one year as the Director of Baseball Operations under head coach Andy Lopez. Cole's primary responsibilities are to work with the pitching staff, as well as assist with recruiting, coordinate the team's schedule and travel plans, and help run the Andy Lopez Baseball Academy summer camps.
As an assistant, Cole has done a remarkable job working with the UA pitching staff. In two seasons with the staff, Cole's efforts have produced two All-Pac-10 pitchers, the school's first 10-game winner in five seasons and one All-American.
Since 2009, the staff ERA has improved by nearly two full runs, strikeouts have increased and walks have decreased. The Wildcats' 2011 pitching staff registered a 3.57 team ERA, the lowest mark for a UA staff since 1976. The staff has collected over 400 strikeouts in each of the last two seasons, while the 2011 club issued just 180 walks - the fewest in eight years at the school.
Cole's staff featured one of the best starting duos in the nation in 2011. Sophomore Kurt Heyer and junior Kyle Simon each ranked in the top-10 nationally for innings pitched. Heyer was named a third team All-American by Collegiate Baseball, while Simon became the school's first 10-game winner since 2005. Both were named to the annual All-Pac-10 squad.
Three Wildcat pitchers were selected in the 2011 MLB First-Year Player Draft. Simon was a fourth-round selection of the Baltimore Orioles, while left-hander Bryce Bandilla was chosen in the fourth round by the San Francisco Giants. Left-hander Matt Chaffee, who led the club with seven saves in 2011, was picked in the 12th round by the Atlanta Braves.
In 2010, Cole was instrumental in the development of a young pitching staff that included 13 underclassmen and featured five freshmen in the top eight of the pitching rotation. Despite the youth and inexperience, Cole guided the staff to a strong season by taking nearly a full run off the team's ERA from 2009 to 2010 (from 5.46 to 4.54). Additionally, UA pitching limited opposing hitters to a .277 batting average, a 16-percentage point decline from the previous season. Strikeouts per game also increased, while walks per game decreased.
The development of the 2010 staff was highlighted by Heyer and Simon, who emerged as the Friday and Saturday starters, respectively. As a true freshman, Heyer was named first team All-Pac-10 and was named a Freshman All-American by several publications. Simon settled into the Saturday slot and won a team-high eight games as a starter and was named an honorable mention All-Conference player.
In January 2009, Cole joined the Arizona program to assist in the daily operations of the baseball program while completing coursework from the University of Washington as he earned his Master of Education degree in Intercollegiate Athletic Leadership. For the Wildcats, Cole shadowed Lopez in the development of the pitching staff and served as a liaison between the baseball staff and other UA departments, including academic services, marketing, fundraising, ticket sales and the medical services.
Prior to joining the UA program, Cole held the position of pitching coach and recruiting coordinator at Edmonds Community College in Lynnwood, Washington. At Edmonds, Cole helped coach the program to the 2008 NWAACC Championship title as he assisted with pitching instruction to develop proper mechanics, arm health and conditioning. Additionally, Cole provided coaching, scouting and administrative assistance to first-year head coach Brad Ditter, the NWAACC Coach of the Year.
In 2006, Cole spent six months assisting the General Manager for Baseball Operations with the Seattle Mariners Triple-A affiliate. Cole's focus was with the baseball operations for the Tacoma Rainiers, while also developing relationships with the coaching staff and providing left-handed batting practice. Further, Cole spent time learning from pitching coach Dwight Bernard on coaching, developing and evaluating pitchers.
Cole received his Bachelor of Arts degree in education in 2004 from William Penn University in Oskaloosa, Iowa, where he also earned a baseball scholarship to play for the nationally-ranked Statesmen. Previously, Cole attended Pierce College (Wash.) where he excelled as a left-handed pitcher.
