Reno, Nev. – University of Nevada head baseball coach Gary Powers has hired Chris Pfatenhauer as the new assistant baseball coach for the Wolf Pack. Pfatenhauer’s duties will include coaching third base for the Pack, working with the infielders, assisting with hitting and instruction on base running.
"I am very excited to be a part of the athletic department here at the University of Nevada,” said Pfatenhauer. “Joining the Wolf Pack baseball family that Coach Powers has built is an amazing opportunity for me and my family. I would like to thank Director of Athletics Cary Groth and coach Gary Powers for this wonderful opportunity."
Pfatenhauer comes to Nevada after spending the last two years at Chico State (Calif.) where he worked with the Wildcat hitters, infielders and taught base running. In addition he was the recruiting coordinator and assisted in all aspects of the baseball program. During his tenure the team posted a 77-38 record and were ranked as high as second nationally. Defensively the ‘Cats finished in the top 15 both years and the 2009 club ranked first in 15 offensive categories. Each of the last two seasons a Wildcat infielder was named to the National Rawlings Gold Glove team.
Prior to his stint at Chico State he spent three seasons at the College of the Ozarks (Mo.), the last two as the head coach. In three seasons the Bobcats posted a record of 88-74. During his time at College of the Ozarks he was in charge of all parts of the program. The 2005 squad made the school’s first playoff appearances in 20 years and the 2006 club reached a national ranking of 17th, the highest in the program’s history.
From 2001-04 he was the head baseball coach and taught physical education at Faith Lutheran High School in Las Vegas were he led the Crusaders to a 97-23 record. He coached the squad to a pair of state titles and three Southern Nevada Championships while sending 12 players to play collegiate baseball. In 2003 and 2004 he was named AA State Baseball Coach of the Year and garnered AA Southern Nevada Coach of the Year honors three times.
In the summer of 1998 he started the College of Southern Nevada baseball program as a club team. He spent a year as an assistant coach at Treasure Valley Community College (Ore.) and at Glendale Community College (Calif.). In the summers of 1993, 1994 and 1995 he was an assistant coach with the Durango (Nev.) American Legion program. While living in Las Vegas from 1998-2004 he was an instructor at the Las Vegas Baseball Academy.
In 2000 he received a bachelor’s degree in physical education from UNLV and earned a master’s degree in education from Southwest Baptist (Mo.) in 2007.
"We are very excited to have Chris as part of our coaching staff,” said Powers. “He brings a solid background and successful experience in the areas we were looking to fill and is very well connected in key recruiting areas to us (Las Vegas and Northern California). As a native Nevadan, he is very familiar with our institution, our community and baseball program and will be able to hit the ground running from the start!"
