EDINBURG – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) baseball team announced on Monday the hiring of Josh Blakley, who was a volunteer assistant coach at Texas State last season, as an assistant coach.
 
While serving as the first base coach, Blakley helped Texas State to a 30-28-1 record last season. Texas State recorded a 16-14 record in Sun Belt Conference action and finished second in the west division. His duties included assisting with the outfielders and hitters while also serving as the summer camp coordinator.
 
Blakley went to Texas State following a four-year stint as the head coach at Ranger College from 2013-17, during which time he amassed 81 victories.
 
Blakely has previous coaching experience as the pitching coach at McMurry from 2010-12, as a volunteer assistant at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi in 2009, and as the pitching coach with the Vermont Mountaineers of the New England Collegiate Baseball League in the summer of 2009.
 
"I'm excited because he comes from a strong coaching background," UTRGV head coach Derek Matlock said. "He did an unbelievable job as the head coach at Ranger, which was a hard place to recruit players. We're excited to get someone that's a grinder and knows how to coach kids. He's going to be a huge addition to our staff."
 
Originally from Waco, Blakely competed collegiately at Blinn College from 2004-05 and UTSA from 2006-07. He earned a Bachelor of Science in General Business from UTSA in 2008 and a Master of Arts in Athletic Administration from Concordia University Irvine in 2015.
 
"I'm excited for just the chance to come in here and be a part of this program with Coach Matlock, who is a great guy to work for," Blakley said. "We expect great things and we have the facilities to do it, so we're going to come in here and win."

Support UTRGV Baseball | Become a Fan on Facebook | Follow us on Twitter | Follow us on Instagram | Follow us on YouTube