Tyler LaTorre Named Pepperdine Baseball Head Coach

Pepperdine University has named Tyler LaTorre head coach of the Waves baseball team. LaTorre, who served as the 15th head coach for the Westmont College baseball program since 2022, will assume his role effective immediately.

“Throughout his decorated tenure at Westmont and in the years prior, Coach LaTorre has demonstrated the highest levels of leadership in player development and preparedness for the rigors of collegiate and professional baseball,” said Pepperdine president Jim Gash. “His extensive coaching experience throughout his career has exemplified the visionary leadership, strategic thinking, adaptability, and emotional intelligence required to navigate the world of college athletics. I look forward to a new era of Pepperdine baseball under Coach LaTorre’s leadership.”

"With great excitement, we welcome Tyler LaTorre as the next leader of Pepperdine baseball," shares Tanner Gardner, director of athletics. "He's a strong man of faith, a proven winner with deep roots in professional and college baseball, and has a clear track record of leading and developing players on and off the field. We look forward to Tyler leading this storied program to national prominence."

A man of deep faith, LaTorre is a proven winner with nine years of experience at the collegiate level and 10 years of experience at the professional level. With LaTorre at its helm from 2022 to the present, Westmont baseball posted a 81-24-3 (.750) overall record and won the 2023 NAIA World Series Championship. In 2024 LaTorre was recognized as the PacWest Coach of the Year after leading the team to a top-15 national ranking in their first year of Division II competition and in 2023 he was named NAIA National Coach of the Year, American Baseball Coaches Association Coach of the Year, and GSAC Coach of the Year. Throughout LaTorre’s tenure, two student-athletes made the 2024 All-PacWest First Team, two student-athletes made the 2024 All-PacWest Second Team, three student-athletes made the 2024 All-PacWest Third Team, three student-athletes made the 2023 GSAC All-Conference Team, and four student-athletes made the 2023 GSAC Gold Glove Team. 

LaTorre is a proven recruiter at both the NCAA Division II and Division I levels and has developed players for successful transition to Major League Baseball teams throughout his tenure. As pitching and catching coach and recruiting coordinator at Sacramento State from 2019 to 2022, LaTorre helped develop and produce three pitchers who signed professional baseball contracts.

Prior to Sacramento State, LaTorre served for two years at San Jose State as the pitching, catching, and hitting coach as well as the recruiting coordinator for the Spartans. LaTorre helped develop and produce three student-athletes—two pitchers and a position player—who signed professional baseball contracts with the Major League Baseball organization. While at San Jose State, LaTorre was honored as both the 2018 San Jose Assistant Coach of the Year and the 2019 Fellowship of Christian Athletes Coach of the Year.

From 2015 to 2017, LaTorre was the associate head coach, pitching coach, and recruitment coordinator at San Francisco State University. Prior to that, he played professional baseball from 2006 to 2015 for the San Francisco Giants’ minor league system during their run of three World Series Championships as well as the Milwaukee Brewers’ minor league system. LaTorre was also a catcher for the Italian National Team from 2012 to 2016. 

Coach LaTorre received a master’s degree in athletic administration from Concordia University Irvine in 2019. A student-athlete himself, LaTorre attended the University of California, Davis, where he played baseball during the 2002–2006 seasons. He was a two-time captain and four-year member of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee as well as a member of the 2003 Aggie team that advanced to the NCAA Division II World Series.

LaTorre is married to his wife, Stacey. They have one daughter, Arabella. 

Learn more about Pepperdine’s baseball program on the Pepperdine University Athletics website.