The UTSA softball program has found its newest assistant, as head coach Vann Stuedeman announced that Jim Bray would join the staff ahead of the 2024 season
Bray brings a wealth of collegiate coaching experience from various sports as he heads across town following a season as an assistant softball and strength and conditioning coach at Our Lady of the Lake University.
While with the Saints, Bray primarily worked with outfielders and oversaw hitting preparation while coordinating the strength and condition aspects of the program. He helped OLLU to a 51-8 record in the 2022 season, including a 36-game winning streak that ranked the Saints second in the NAIA. OLLU was crowned Red River Athletic Conference champions, going undefeated in the regular season before winning the league's tournament and appearing in the NAIA World Series. Records were broken in nearly every offensive category, and the squad landed eight all-conference players, five of whom went on to make all-region and two All-Americans. Additionally, Bray and OLLU were selected for the NAIA Region 2 Coaching Staff of the Year.
Prior to OLLU, he was in his second stint at Transylvania University, serving as a softball assistant for the 2021 season after previously being an assistant for baseball and women's basketball. This time, he helped the softball team go 28-12 and win the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference's regular season while boasting the HCAC's Pitcher and Player of the Year.
Bray was the assistant softball coach and associate head coach of strength and conditioning at George Fox University from 2017-21, where he was charged with recruitment, administrative duties, field maintenance, and practice planning. He coached 19 all-conference players and eight all-region performers there, with the team leading DIII in home runs all four seasons. He also oversaw strength and conditioning efforts for baseball, men's/women's tennis, and women's lacrosse while managing game day duties for soccer, basketball, and swimming.
In his first go-round at Transylvania, he spent 2014-17 as an assistant for baseball and women's basketball, where he overhauled recruiting efforts and planned practices across each sport. On the diamond, the squad secured their first conference tournament berth in eight years, attaining a second-place finish in 2016. Meanwhile, on the hardwood, the Pioneers made an NCAA Tournament appearance and won the HCAC in 2015.
From 2011-14, he remained at his alma mater for his first collegiate coaching job, working as an assistant baseball and women's basketball coach with Lewis and Clark College. With basketball, he was a part of three NCAA Tournament teams as the Pioneers made trips in 2011, 2012, and 2013 in three 20-plus win seasons. He was the primary recruiting coordinator for the baseball team, leading a total overhaul and increasing roster size from 19-40 while decreasing error rates by 30%.
Bray also spent time as a head baseball coach for the 14U Lake Oswego Junior Baseball team, maintaining a .607 winning percentage.
As a student-athlete, Bray was a two-year starter at Lewis and Clark College, where he attended before transferring from Clackamas Community College. Bray walked on at the junior college and earned a scholarship as well as second-team all-region honors. Additionally, he was selected as a team captain at both schools.