JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Jacksonville University is pleased to announce that Rich Wallace has joined the Dolphin baseball program as its assistant head coach. He’ll serve as the hitting coach and recruiting coordinator. Wallace comes to JU after three seasons in the same role at Creighton University.
“We are extremely excited to welcome Rich Wallace and his family into our program. Rich is a highly regarded, well established recruiter with great familiarity of private institutions,” said Head Coach Chris Hayes. “He is a tireless worker with a proven track record of developing hitters and catchers. His passion, knowledge, and enthusiasm for college baseball will bring great value to the Dolphin program.”
Wallace was incredibly successful in his stint with the Blue Jays. In 2017, Creighton won the Big East regular season championship and featured a Freshman All-American, a Johnny Bench Watch List member, and the most home runs hit by a Creighton team since permanently moving to TD Ameritrade. In 2016, the squad was nationally-ranked for six weeks, set a team record with a 3.26 GPA, and had 29 student-athletes received a 3.0 or better.
“I’m honored to be able to join the staff and work with high-caliber coaches like Hayes and Guerra. My family is really excited to join the JU family. This was an incredible opportunity that we just couldn’t pass up, and I look forward to helping this program continue its historic success,” said Wallace.
Before joining the Creighton staff, Wallace served as the recruiting coordinator and hitting coach at High Point University. With the Panthers, he brought in consecutive, nationally-ranked recruiting classes for the first time in school history, and helped lead HPU to its four highest win totals in school history.
His coaching career began in the fall of 2003 with his alma mater, the University of Central Florida. Wallace’s primary responsibilities included coaching the catchers and outfielders and coordinating the school’s camps. The 2004 squad won the ASUN Conference regular season championship and appeared in the NCAA Tallahassee Regional as an at-large team.
Wallace played for UCF from 2000-2003, earning a Third Team All-ASUN honor as a freshman and a Freshman All-American award from Collegiate Baseball. The Knights won the ASUN regular season championships from 2000-2002 and the ASUN Tournament in 2001 and 2002. Wallace and his team made the NCAA Tournament from 2000-2002 as well.
Wallace has coached 15 hitters that have signed professional contracts and has had seven catchers appear on the Johnny Bench Award watch list. A native of Orlando, Fla., Wallace graduate from UCF in 2004 with a Bachelor of Science in Liberal Studies. He and his wife, Alex, have two girls, Easton and Maxx.
Rich Wallace’s Coaching Career
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2017-18 Jacksonville University – Assistant Head Coach – Recruiting Coordinator / Hitting / Catchers
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2014-17 Creighton University – Recruiting Coordinator / Hitting / Catchers
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2011-14 High Point University – Recruiting Coordinator / Hitting / Catchers
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2008-11 High Point University – Asst. Coach / Hitting / Catchers
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2003-08 University of Central Florida – Volunteer Asst. Coach / Catchers
