Arizona's newest baseball hire has a pro pedigree. And baseball bloodlines, too.
Tyler Coolbaugh joins Chip Hale's staff as the director of player development. He most recently worked as the hitting coach for the Texas Rangers' Rookie Dominican Summer League team. Coolbaugh spent the 2020-21 season at Abilene Christian; before that, he worked for Amarillo Sod Squad and at Nicholls State.
The 27-year-old Coolbaugh is the son of former big-leaguer Scott Coolbaugh, who worked alongside Hale on the Detroit Tigers' staff this season. The elder Coolbaugh is the Tigers' hitting coach; Hale was their third-base coach before leaving for Tucson in July. Tyler Coolbaugh's late uncle, Mike, also played in the big leagues and was a minor-league coach.
"Bringing Tyler into the fold is a fantastic way to round out our coaching and support staff," Hale said. "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."
Coolbaugh played collegiately at Oklahoma (2013-15) and Angelo State (2016-17). He was a 36th-round draft pick of the Baltimore Orioles in 2017.
Coolbaugh joins associate head coach/pitching coach Dave Lawn, assistant coach Trip Couch, volunteer assistant Toby DeMello and operations director Will Gaines on Hale's first staff.
