Chip Hale’s first UA baseball staff will have 52 years of college coaching experience.
The UA announced Thursday that it has hired South Carolina assistant coach and recruiting coordinator Trip Couch, pairing the onetime Diamondbacks scout with pitching coach Dave Lawn on Hale’s first staff. Hale, the Detroit Tigers’ third-base coach, was hired July 5 to replace Jay Johnson, who left for LSU.
This is Hale’s first college job. Couch has 20 years of college experience, while Lawn — who on Wednesday was elevated to associate head coach — has 32.
Couch’s hiring was first reported Wednesday by John Whittle of 247Sports.com.
The 54-year-old Couch spent the last four years at South Carolina, serving as an assistant coach and top recruiter. The Gamecocks’ 2020 recruiting class was ranked as high as No. 4 nationally.
Hale said in a news release that he was “thrilled” to add “an experienced college coach and praised national recruiter, to our coaching staff.” Hale and Couch first met in 1999, when both were affiliated with Tucson-based USA Baseball.
“It was crucial we add a relentless and successful recruiter to further the goals of the program we’re building, and Coach Couch is the perfect person to fill that role,” Hale said. “He will make an immediate impact on our current student-athletes and add to our roster by attracting the top talent in the country to join us in Tucson. With the addition of Coach Couch, we are building a world-class coaching staff that will help us develop successful players and a championship culture.”
Prior to South Carolina, Couch spent two stints (1995-2000 and 2011-17) as an assistant coach at Houston. He spent the 2001 season on staff at Texas before being hired by the Diamondbacks as a scout. He worked with the club from 2002-10, where he earned praise for identifying — and then signing — Texas State first baseman Paul Goldschmidt, who went on to become a Diamondbacks icon.
Hale was with the Diamondbacks at the same time, serving as a minor-league manager and major-coach from 2000-08 before returning as the club’s manager in 2015.
Couch said in a news release that he was “privileged” to join “a historic program.”
“I met Coach Hale at Hi Corbett Field in 1999 with USA Baseball and had the privilege to work alongside some legendary Wildcats in Jerry Kindall, Jim Wing, and Bill Kinneberg. This is a tremendous opportunity for me to return to the Tucson community and build on the legacy those men left for us,” he said. “We are ready to get to work building a successful, sustainable program with the goal of developing champions on the field and off. Tucson is a destination for baseball, and I am excited to hit the recruiting trail with that message and the Block A on my chest. With the help of Coach Hale and Coach Lawn, I know this staff can make Omaha a regular destination for the Wildcats.”
