Zach Butler is in his third season as UTSA’s assistant and pitching coach in 2023. After eight years on the staff at Nicholls, Butler, regarded as an elite pitching coach in the South, was announced by head coach Pat Hallmark on Jan. 21, 2021.
Under Butler, the 2022 Roadrunner pitching staff shattered the school record for most strikeouts in a season, posting 519 and breaking the previous record of 454. Amongst C-USA teams, Butler’s pitchers allowed the third fewest hits, second fewest doubles and fourth fewest triples of any staff. UTSA’s 519 punchouts were the third most in the conference.
Luke Malone shined under Butler in 2022, going 9-3 and being named First Team All-Conference. Malone’s nine wins were the second most in a single season in school history and he was just the fourth pitcher in school history to earn All-Conference first team recognition. Malone finished the season with a 2.67 ERA with two saves and 62 strikeouts.
Also shining under Butler in 2022 was newcomer Daniel Shafer. Shafer was on pace to shatter the school record for msot saves in a single season but was sidelined for the back half of the year with injury. Opponents had the lowest batting average when facing Shafer and he earned a Pitcher of the Week (3/6) recognition for his performance against No. 2 Stanford.
Butler relied on newcomers to the roster in 2021 as they accounted for 67 percent of his innings pitched after the season-ending injury to ace Shane Daughety, Butler relied on a bevy of first-year players to lead the pitching staff.
Butler is a veteran coaching mind, spending eight years coaching pitching at Nicholls. He joined the Nicholls staff as the volunteer assistant in 2013 and took over in a full-time role starting in 2015. Three times during his tenure, Nicholls finished with a top-two team ERA in the Southland Conference and twice the Colonels sported a top-20 team ERA in the nation.
He served as the pitching coach and recruiting coordinator during his time with Nicholls, where he coached four players selected in the MLB Draft, including a pair who earned Southland Conference Pitcher of the Year accolades under his tutelage.
Five pitchers were taken in the MLB Draft during Butler’s time with Nicholls, including southpaw Taylor Byrd (Seattle Mariners), lefty Grant Borne (Washington Nationals), lefty Stuart Holmes (Toronto Blue Jays), righty Ryan Deemes(Houston Astros) and right-hander Cole Stapler (Arizona Diamondbacks). Under Butler’s tutelage, Justin Sinibaldi and Byrd earned SLC Pitcher of the Year honors. Sinibaldi and Holmes additionally earned ABCA/Rawlings All-Region honors.
Butler’s 2019 pitching staff composed the Southland's second-lowest team ERA, posting a 3.53 mark on the season. Senior Jacob Bedevian led the way, pitching a team-best and league top five 102.1 innings.
In 2017, the Colonels led the league in weekly pitching honors with four, two each by in Mike Hanchar and Cole Stapler while the 2015 squad notched the lowest team ERA in the Southland Conference for a second consecutive season. in 2014, Butler helped coach Nicholls to a 32-26 overall record and a 20-10 mark in league action, good for a school best in total conference wins (20).
Butler was hired as a volunteer assistant coach and camp coordinator for the Nicholls baseball team in the summer of 2013 after a stint coaching the Acadiana Cane Cutters of the Texas Collegiate League.
Butler, a graduate of McNeese State University, was drafted in the 34th round of the 2011 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft by the Tampa Bay Rays organization and played for the Gulf Coast Rays, Princeton Rays and Charlotte Stone Crabs. He finished his career with a 1.95 career ERA in the minors.
A two-year starter for the Cowboys, Butler helped lead McNeese to the Southland Conference tournament during his senior campaign, earning the title as team captain. Prior to joining the Cowboys, he won a conference championship at Temple Junior College, making an appearance in the national tournament both years.
A native of Houston, Butler starred at Dulles High School for coach Clinton Welch before beginning his collegiate career.
Under Butler, the 2022 Roadrunner pitching staff shattered the school record for most strikeouts in a season, posting 519 and breaking the previous record of 454. Amongst C-USA teams, Butler’s pitchers allowed the third fewest hits, second fewest doubles and fourth fewest triples of any staff. UTSA’s 519 punchouts were the third most in the conference.
Luke Malone shined under Butler in 2022, going 9-3 and being named First Team All-Conference. Malone’s nine wins were the second most in a single season in school history and he was just the fourth pitcher in school history to earn All-Conference first team recognition. Malone finished the season with a 2.67 ERA with two saves and 62 strikeouts.
Also shining under Butler in 2022 was newcomer Daniel Shafer. Shafer was on pace to shatter the school record for msot saves in a single season but was sidelined for the back half of the year with injury. Opponents had the lowest batting average when facing Shafer and he earned a Pitcher of the Week (3/6) recognition for his performance against No. 2 Stanford.
Butler relied on newcomers to the roster in 2021 as they accounted for 67 percent of his innings pitched after the season-ending injury to ace Shane Daughety, Butler relied on a bevy of first-year players to lead the pitching staff.
Butler is a veteran coaching mind, spending eight years coaching pitching at Nicholls. He joined the Nicholls staff as the volunteer assistant in 2013 and took over in a full-time role starting in 2015. Three times during his tenure, Nicholls finished with a top-two team ERA in the Southland Conference and twice the Colonels sported a top-20 team ERA in the nation.
He served as the pitching coach and recruiting coordinator during his time with Nicholls, where he coached four players selected in the MLB Draft, including a pair who earned Southland Conference Pitcher of the Year accolades under his tutelage.
Five pitchers were taken in the MLB Draft during Butler’s time with Nicholls, including southpaw Taylor Byrd (Seattle Mariners), lefty Grant Borne (Washington Nationals), lefty Stuart Holmes (Toronto Blue Jays), righty Ryan Deemes(Houston Astros) and right-hander Cole Stapler (Arizona Diamondbacks). Under Butler’s tutelage, Justin Sinibaldi and Byrd earned SLC Pitcher of the Year honors. Sinibaldi and Holmes additionally earned ABCA/Rawlings All-Region honors.
Butler’s 2019 pitching staff composed the Southland's second-lowest team ERA, posting a 3.53 mark on the season. Senior Jacob Bedevian led the way, pitching a team-best and league top five 102.1 innings.
In 2017, the Colonels led the league in weekly pitching honors with four, two each by in Mike Hanchar and Cole Stapler while the 2015 squad notched the lowest team ERA in the Southland Conference for a second consecutive season. in 2014, Butler helped coach Nicholls to a 32-26 overall record and a 20-10 mark in league action, good for a school best in total conference wins (20).
Butler was hired as a volunteer assistant coach and camp coordinator for the Nicholls baseball team in the summer of 2013 after a stint coaching the Acadiana Cane Cutters of the Texas Collegiate League.
Butler, a graduate of McNeese State University, was drafted in the 34th round of the 2011 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft by the Tampa Bay Rays organization and played for the Gulf Coast Rays, Princeton Rays and Charlotte Stone Crabs. He finished his career with a 1.95 career ERA in the minors.
A two-year starter for the Cowboys, Butler helped lead McNeese to the Southland Conference tournament during his senior campaign, earning the title as team captain. Prior to joining the Cowboys, he won a conference championship at Temple Junior College, making an appearance in the national tournament both years.
A native of Houston, Butler starred at Dulles High School for coach Clinton Welch before beginning his collegiate career.