RIO GRANDE VALLEY – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Baseball Head Coach Derek Matlock announced on Friday the hiring of Taylor Steen, who spent the fall as an assistant coach at Pittsburg State, as an assistant coach.
 
Steen works primarily with the outfielders, first basemen and hitters. Off the field, Steen's ties to the junior colleges in the Kansas area provide an asset in recruiting.
 
"I spent a lot of time on the recruiting trail watching him work over the last year," Matlock said. "Listening to him talk to recruits on the phone, and the job he did signing players at Pitt State.  As a recruiter, I felt a lot of confidence with him, and he is a perfect fit for our accountable, blue collar, committed culture. We're fired up to have him on board."
 
In 2023, Steen worked at Marucci Midwest – Arkansas as the head of baseball operations, overseeing the youth baseball programs and helping to put together rosters for the high school travel teams. Steen also taught lessons and hosted camps on the side.
 
In his first stint with Pittsburg State from 2020-22, Steen worked as an assistant coach, primarily assisting with recruiting and hitting. In those three seasons, Pittsburg State had a combined record of 75-45. Steen coached Garrett McGowan who was drafted in the 17^th round of the 2022 MLB Draft by the Houston Astros. In 2022, the Gorillas ended the season ranked in the top 30 in NCAA Div. II in six offensive categories, including home runs with 96 (10^th), slugging percentage at .554 (13^th), runs per game with 9.0 (19^th), runs with 467 (23^rd), hits with 588 (27^th), and batting average at .322 (28^th).
 
"I'm definitely excited to be here," Steen said. "I've gotten to know Coach Matlock a little bit these past couple years and couldn't be more fired up to work for a guy with so much energy and passion for his program. I'm ready to get to work."
 
Steen previously served as an assistant coach at the University of Minnesota Crookston from 2018-19. Steen primarily worked with the offense and catchers, helping the Golden Eagles finish the 2019 season with a 28-21 record, their first winning season since 2016.
 
Steen was an assistant coach at Emporia State in 2017, where he coached the catchers and assisted with hitting instruction. Emporia State won the conference championship with a 42-13 record, including a staggering 29-6 conference mark, while ranking in the top 10 in NCAA Div. II in four offensive categories, including runs with 500 (second), runs per game with 9.1 (third), walks with 269 (eighth), hits with 635 (ninth), and triples with 24 (ninth).
 
Steen played collegiately for three seasons at Indiana State (2013-15) before transferring to Emporia State for the 2016 season. At Indiana State, Steen appeared in 29 games (17 starts), where he showed off his defensive prowess by catching four would-be base stealers and only committing three errors. At Emporia State, Steen started 41 of 58 games at catcher, batting .266 with 19 RBI, 20 runs scored, and 15 walks.

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