LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) - Stan Stolte has been hired as the sixth full-time head coach in UNLV baseball history, Director of Athletics Tina Kunzer-Murphy announced Wednesday. Stolte has spent the past six seasons with the Rebels as either the program's associate head coach or acting head coach.

"Stan has a vision for UNLV baseball and a plan on how to get it back to being one of the top programs in the Mountain West and in contention for NCAA berths on an annual basis," Kunzer-Murphy said. "I am very supportive of his plan and share in his vision. Stan is very well-respected in the local baseball community, has coached in the state of Nevada for two decades and has accumulated great experience recruiting our rich local talent base, as well as regionally and nationally. We are excited to be able to keep Stan and look forward to the future of UNLV baseball."

Stolte assumed head coaching responsibilities at UNLV on Dec. 18, and guided the Scarlet and Gray to 24 wins this season. In MW play, the Rebels won 14 games and finished in fourth place, one spot above their preseason predicted order of finish and won four more games in league play than during the 2015 campaign.

UNLV won eight games this year against five teams that earned berths in the 2016 NCAA Tournament. UNLV picked up wins against No. 5 national-seed Texas Tech, Arizona State, Cal State Fullerton, New Mexico and Ohio State.

Stolte also coached four players that were named to the 2016 All-MW Team with sophomore Payton Squier and junior D.J. Myers earning first-team honors, while senior Ben Wright and freshman Kyle Isbel were tabbed to the second team. Isbel also shared Freshman of the Year recognition.

"I'm really looking forward to getting UNLV baseball back to where it needs to be," said Stolte. "We've already hit the ground running and are in the process of adding some welcome additions to our 2017 team. No staff in the country will outwork us as we continue to bring in quality student-athletes and develop them both on and off the field. I'd like to thank UNLV President Len Jessup, Athletics Director Tina Kunzer-Murphy and our sport administrator Lisa Kelleher for their support over this past year, and their confidence in me to move this great program forward."

Stolte is no stranger to the Silver State, as he's coached within its borders for the past 20 years. Following a two-year stint at Northwest Missouri State (1988-89) and seven more at Pacific (1990-96), he became an assistant at Nevada, Reno and stayed there for 14 years â€" the last four spent as its associate head coach â€" before moving south to Las Vegas in 2010.

In his 26 years of coaching, Stolte has sent 15 players to the Major Leagues and developed 18 All-Americans. Dating back to 2011, he has had 14 players drafted by MLB teams and mentored nine pitchers to All-MW honors, including Tanner Peters (2011), Buddy Borden (2013) and Erick Fedde (2014), who were all named Conference Pitchers of the Year. Fedde, who was a Second Team All-American, was a first-round MLB Draft pick (18th overall) in the 2014 First Year Player Draft by the Washington Nationals.

At UNR, he coached 22 pitchers to all-conference recognition, three Freshman All-Americans and two WAC Pitchers of the Year.

His coaching career began in the high school ranks as head coach at Clarence-Lowden High School in Iowa, where he went 110-45. He won four district titles and made one Iowa high school final-four appearance in six years as a prep mentor. He played collegiately as an infielder and pitcher at Muscatine CC and St. Ambrose (Iowa) College, where he helped the latter win an NAIA regional baseball title in 1984. He was a two-sport athlete at Muscatine playing baseball and basketball. He earned his bachelor's degree in physical education at St. Ambrose in 1984 and his master's degree in education from Northwest Missouri State in 1989.

Stolte and his wife, Susan, live in Las Vegas and have one son, Jacoby.