The UTRGV baseball team hired Jordon Banfield, who had been an assistant coach at the University of Illinois-Springfield, as an assistant coach on July 8, 2015.
Banfield’s responsibilities at UTRGV include assisting with the hitters, base running, working directly with the infielders, and recruiting.
As a recruiter, Banfield has brought in a pair ot Perfect Game's top-150 junior college recruits in Chase Adams and Jered Quartier.
In Banfield's second season, he coached the offense to a .273/.378/.385 line with 26 home runs and 16 triples, its highest totals since 2010 (34 home runs and 17 triples). That represented a .014 increase in batting average, a .022 increase in on-base percentage and a .049 increase in slugging percentage over 2016. UTRGV also increase its home run total by 15, its triples total by seven and its doubles total by 18 (from 74 to 92) while scoring an additional 79 runs (from 231 to 310).
Banfield also helped the base runners to 52 stolen bases and the infielders to a .973 fielding percentage.
In Banfield’s first season with the team, he oversaw a defensive unit that posted a WAC-leading .972 fielding percentage, the second best mark in NCAA DI program history. UTRGV also committed a WAC-low 52 errors.
In his first season at UIS, the Prairie Stars broke 20 school records, finishing with 28 wins and the program’s first ever appearance in the Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament. Banfield signed 32 new players to the 2014-15 roster as part of a heralded first recruiting class that led the team to 22 wins despite having just three seniors.
Banfield came to UIS from Ann Arbor, Mich., where he was the head coach of one of the top travel programs in the country, the Ann Arbor Travelers, while also working for the Texas Rangers as a professional scout.
Banfield led the Travelers to 22 tournament victories, producing 20 NCAA Division I signees and multiple MLB draft picks. The Travelers became the first Michigan team in 30 years to qualify for the Connie Mack World Series in back-to-back seasons. Banfield managed the program’s recruiting efforts, off-season development, fundraising, and college placement.
For the Rangers, Banfield was responsible for covering amateur prospects in Michigan and Ohio as well as setting up yearly free agent workouts.
Banfield was an All-State selection at Ann Arbor Greenhills High School and a member of the Ann Arbor Braves program that produced three major league baseball players.
Banfield earned his bachelor's degree in Sport Management from the University of Michigan.
