Michael Lev: Former UA star Nathan Bannister finds niche as pitching coach at Grand Canyon

Nathan Bannister’s first assignment as a pitching coach came with the Dominican Summer League Mariners in Boca Chica, Dominican Republic.

One problem: Bannister doesn’t speak Spanish.

“You learn a lot about yourself when you don’t know a language and then you’re trying to communicate a task as a coach to a player,” Bannister said. “You can’t teach a bunch of gibberish. I need to simplify this, and I need to get straight to the point because that’s what they’re going to take away.”

Bannister had to learn and adapt. But that’s what he’s always done. It’s why the former Arizona Wildcats standout — the ace of the 2016 national runners-up — is one of the higher-regarded up-and-coming assistant coaches in college baseball.

Bannister, 30, is in his second season as the pitching coach at Grand Canyon, which just won the WAC regular-season championship for the third straight year. The Lopes are the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament at Hohokam Stadium in Mesa. Their first game is at noon Thursday.

GCU, which is moving to the West Coast Conference next summer, leads the WAC in team ERA. The Lopes also took two out of three against Bannister’s alma mater this season.

Bannister the coach isn’t much different than Bannister the player. He’s just an older, wiser version of himself.

“He probably competes as a pitching coach like he competed to get the Cats to Omaha,” GCU coach Gregg Wallis said before the Lopes’ game at Hi Corbett Field on April 30.

It was at the UA where Wallis first noticed the pitcher affectionally known as “Banni.” Wallis joined the GCU staff as an assistant in 2014. Arizona improbably reached the College World Series finals in ’16, with Bannister leading the way. He went 12-2 with a 2.59 ERA and three complete games as a senior — by far his best season as a Wildcat.

The Seattle Mariners selected Bannister in the 28th round of the 2016 draft. He made it as high as Triple-A Tacoma but no further.

The Mariners released him during spring training in 2019 but offered him a position in the organization. He wasn’t ready to hang up his cleats. It’s hard to let go of something you’ve devoted the majority of your life to.

Bannister spent a month and a half at the Driveline Baseball training facility in Kent, Washington, searching for something that would improve his game and extend his playing career.

“I just wanted to see what else I could do,” he said. “After six weeks it was like, nothing’s really clicking.”

But Bannister still got something out of the experience. He received a crash course in the data-driven world of modern pitching coaching — something he knew would be useful as he embarked on a new career path.

That’s how Bannister is: He takes something out of everything he does.

In college, he learned what it takes to compete at a championship level. (Arizona won the CWS shortly before he arrived on campus.)

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In the minor leagues, he learned — from talking to teammates — that every player is unique and requires individualized instruction.

In the Dominican, he learned how to communicate with young players in a clear, concise way.

Bannister’s next assignment in the Mariners organization came with the low-A Modesto Nuts. In the offseason, Bannister, who’s from Peoria, would help at GCU’s youth camps. (One of his teammates at Peoria Liberty High School, Paul Panaccione, had joined the Lopes’ staff in 2019.)

Wallis became GCU’s head coach in July 2022. Seeing Bannister up close left an impression on him.

“I just observed him and his work ethic and the way that he went about teaching pitching to camp kids,” Wallis said. “With his background in the college game, in the professional game and the attention to detail he put into teaching 16-year-olds at a two-day camp, I thought he’d just be a great fit for what we were trying to do.”

Bannister was just 28 years old at the time.

“I knew he was young,” Wallis said. “But he seemed like he was really mature for his age.”

Bannister gave off a similar vibe during the 2016 season. He had grown a lot during his time at Arizona. The Wildcats followed their fourth CWS title by missing the NCAA Tournament three years in a row. Andy Lopez retired, Jay Johnson succeeded him, and Bannister set out to become the best version of himself.

He was a terrific pitcher that year and a classy spokesman for the team — someone destined to coach someday. He wasn’t alone in that regard. Teammates Louis Boyd and Cameron Ming are currently coaching in the Mariners organization.

By the time Arizona reached the CWS finals in 2016, Bannister was unavailable because of injury. He had pitched on two days’ rest during the Lafayette Regional, a decision made by Johnson that drew considerable criticism. Bannister exited his CWS start vs. Oklahoma State in the third inning after retiring eight of the first nine batters he faced.

Years later, Bannister says he has no regrets about how any of that went down.

“I don’t,” he said. “Because at the time, I didn’t know if that was the end of my career. It was, let’s win (and) figure out today so we can play tomorrow.

“Obviously, I wish I didn’t get hurt with how that season ended. But no regrets. I’m very thankful for my time here. I just wish there was one more national championship.”

Arizona would have been better positioned to defeat Coastal Carolina with a healthy Bannister. Maybe his playing career would have turned out differently if he hadn’t been hurt upon entering pro ball.

But life has a way of working out sometimes. Bannister has found his niche in the sport he loves. He’s helping young ballplayers grow and develop as he once did two hours down the road.

“I just like being around the game and really enjoy talking pitching and learning pitching,” Bannister said. “The more (you’re) on the college side, the more you learn about what it means to build character. I love where I’m at right now.”