7/17/2003 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
July 17, 2003
LAS VEGAS - UNLV head baseball coach Buddy Gouldsmith has announced the hiring of Chad Sutter as the team's top assistant and recruiting coordinator.
"Chad is one of the finest young baseball minds in the country," said Gouldsmith. "His ability to develop young pitchers and recruit quality student-athletes makes him a perfect fit for UNLV."
Sutter joins the Rebel baseball program after spending three seasons as an assistant coach at Tulane, and completing his second year as the Green Wave's pitching coach.
"I am excited about the opportunity given to me," said Sutter. "I look forward to being a part of the athletic tradition at UNLV."
Sutter spent seven seasons at Tulane, including four as a player (1996-99). He was a three-time All-Conference USA honoree and the 1999 C-USA Player of the Year. Sutter helped the Green Wave win three regular-season league championships and four C-USA Tournament titles. Tulane has also earned six NCAA Regional berths, including a pair of No. 1 Regional seeds, and a trip to the 2001 College World Series with Sutter in the dugout.
In 2003, Sutter guided the Green Wave's pitching staff to a 4.10 team ERA with six freshmen tallying more than 30 innings. Two of those freshmen earned All-America honors and one was named Conference USA Freshman of the Year.
In 2002, his first year in charge of the pitching staff, Sutter helped the staff tally 456 strikeouts, the ninth-highest total in school history, and saw two members of his staff earn all-conference honors. Both players were drafted by the Philadelphia Phillies, marking the first time since 1994 that two Green Wave hurlers were selected in the MLB draft. During his coaching tenure, Sutter has coached seven players that have gone on to play professional baseball, including a first rounder.
While 2002 was Sutter's first year as a pitching coach, he has a wealth of knowledge about the position after catching a trio of Tulane All-Americans as a player and is able to draw on the knowledge of his father, Bruce Sutter, who starred as a closer for 13 years in the major leagues in St. Louis, Atlanta and Chicago, where he won the 1979 Cy Young Award.
As a graduate assistant in 2001, Sutter coached the catchers, assisted with hitting and served as the team's on-field first base coach. In addition to helping the team to its first postseason trip to Omaha, he helped guide the Tulane offense to school records in wins (56), hits (844), runs scored (639), RBI (587) and stolen bases (146)c while finishing second in batting average (.338) and second in doubles (149).
Offensive prowess is nothing new to Sutter, however. One of the most accomplished hitters in Tulane history, Sutter completed his career as the Green Wave's home run and RBI king with 75 and 280, respectively. Sutter also set the Tulane career mark for sacrifice flies (17), while finishing second in at-bats (920), total bases (583) and putouts (1,563), third in hits (315), fourth in runs scored (229) and sixth in slugging percentage (.634) and walks (156).
As a senior, he earned first-team All-America honors from Collegiate Baseball and College Baseball Insider while picking up second-team recognition from Baseball Weekly and the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association. Additionally, he was named the C-USA Player of the Year. He earned all-conference honors all four years as a collegiate athlete, earning first-team honors as a sophomore and senior, second-team honors as a junior and garnering honorable-mention recognition as a freshman.
As a rookie in 1996, Sutter earned Freshman All-America honors from Collegiate Baseball Magazine and was named C-USA's inaugural Freshman of the Year. He still holds the league record for career home runs, RBI and total bases while ranking third all-time in hits and fourth in runs scored.
In 1997, Sutter was the first player in Tulane history invited to join Team USA, but did not play due to injury.
Following the 1999 season, Sutter was drafted in the 23rd round by the New York Yankees and went on to play one year with the organization's Staten Island affiliate.
A native of Kennesaw, Ga., Sutter completed his degree in social science from Tulane in August 2000.
