Arizona baseball has promoted Toby DeMello from volunteer coach to full-time assistant coach.
DeMello served in the voluntary role the past two seasons, helping the Wildcats produce one of the most prolific offenses in the nation. The NCAA expanded the number of paid assistants per team from two to three in Division I, enabling the UA to elevate DeMello.
“Coach DeMello has been a tremendous asset for our program the past two seasons, and I am incredibly excited about the opportunity to expand his role on our staff,” UA coach Chip Hale said in a news release. “Across two years in Tucson he has proven himself to be one of the great young coaches in our sport, and I'm excited to watch his continued growth.
“Our hitters and catchers thrived under coach DeMello's guidance, and his tireless work ethic should bring similar results to our recruiting efforts moving forward. We have built one of the best coaching staffs in America for players looking to compete for championships and develop their game for the next level.”
DeMello has been Arizona’s hitting coach, catching coach and third base coach the past two years. He will take on new recruiting responsibilities in his expanded role.
Under DeMello’s guidance, the 2023 Wildcats ranked 12th nationally in batting average (.316) and runs per game (8.5). Led by Chase Davis and Kiko Romero, who each hit 21 home runs, Arizona totaled the second-most homers (98) in school history.
DeMello joined the UA in July 2021 after three seasons at Sacramento State.
Arizona received a commitment from junior-college outfielder Brandon Rogers earlier this week.
Rogers, who’s from Chicago, played this past season at Iowa Western Community College, where he hit .383 with 13 home runs, 56 RBIs and 17 stolen bases in 47 games.
Perfect Game ranked Rogers as the 219th-best player in the high school class of 2022. He was previously committed to Oklahoma.
Arizona has two known additions through the transfer portal: pitchers Clark Candiotti (Wichita State) and Shane Telfer (Pepperdine).
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