Texas A&M University - Corpus Christi Men's Baseball

Head Coach Scott Malone enters his 19th season at the helm of the Texas A&M–Corpus Christi baseball program for the 2026 season. Malone led the Islanders to six straight Southland Conference Tournament appearances from 2019-2025 and five in a row from 2011-15, including a 2015 campaign where his team defeated No. 1 seeded Southeastern Louisiana twice to knock them out of the tournament. They last competed at the tournament in 2025. The 2025 campaign saw Malone and the Islanders rack up 21 wins and earn a spot in the Southland Conference Baseball Championship for the sixth consecutive season dating back to 2019 (excluding the shortened 2020 season), getting into the tournament after winning seven of their final 11 games and proceeding to eliminate No. 3 Lamar in their second game of the Edinburg Bracket. A&M-Corpus Christi also picked up a signature win the the first game of the Kleberg Bank College Classic on February 21, taking down UCLA 4-3 for its first-ever win over a Bruins squad that would later go on advance to the NCAA Men's College World Series. At the end of the season, pitcher Zach Garcia was named to the SLC All-Academic Team, and Garcia and first baseman Austin Russell earned spots on the SLC All-Defensive Team. The 2024 season, Islanders won 22 games including a win at The University of Texas in Austin 4-1. The Islanders won four Southland Conference regular season series and had three athletes each named to the All-Conference and All-Academic Teams for the Southland. Over the 2023 season, Malone coached his team to 24 wins on the season, earning the program's 50th win over UTRGV and beating Houston in the Kleberg Bank College Classic. Coming down to the last weekend of the series, the Islanders were fighting for the second seed for the SLC Tournament with a final 12-12 record in Southland Play. He coached three players to All-Conference honors at the end of the season. During the 2022 campaign, the Islanders earned 27 wins with the program's first victories over Pepperdine and Wichita State. He coached the team in a series victory over Power Five opponent Nebraska while winning the first five three-game series of the season. During a conference series against Nicholls, the Islanders earned a series sweep in the final home games of the year. The team defeated second-seeded Southeastern in the first game of the Southland Conference Tournament before narrowly falling to New Orleans to take on the Lions again to conclude the season.  The 2021 season began with a bang as A&M-Corpus Christi would sweep Central Michigan 3-0 en route to 25 total victories on the season. They beat Houston at the Kleberg Bank College Classic and faced five Power Five teams during the season. In the Southland Conference Tournament, the Islanders would face fifth-seeded Sam Houston State, where they won 4-3 before ending the season with losses to top-seeded Abilene Christian and Sam Houston State later on. They won seven games out of the last ten played in the season.   In the COVID shortened 2020 season, the team racked up eight wins with a 2-1 record in the conference. They stood strong at home with a 6-4 record, defeating Kansas State, Missouri, and Manhattan College each once and UIW twice. The 2019 Islanders won 31 games, including a Southland Tournament first-round upset of No. 1 Sam Houston State in Sugarland. Junior Dustin Lacaze was taken in the 21st round of the MLB Draft by the Arizona Diamondbacks in June, becoming the 12th Islander drafted under Malone. Itchy Burts and Enrique Sanchez Jr. earned First Team All-Southland honors. One of the early highlights of the season included back-to-back wins over Ohio State and a four-game walk-off win streak over Central Arkansas and Prairie View A&M. Malone's 2018 Islanders started the year by winning 10 of its first 12 games and also ended the season by winning 9-of-10. Five student-athletes were named to the All-Southland Conference team and two earned Academic All-SLC honors. Aaron Hernandez was selected by the Angels in the third round of the MLB Draft, becoming the highest Islander ever taken. Teammate Harrison DiNicola was picked up by the Miami Marlins in the 27th round of the draft. In 2015, the Islanders finished the regular season with a record of 26-27 overall and 13-14 in conference play, which secured an eighth-seed in the Southland Conference Tournament. Under Malone's leadership two pitchers, Trevor Belicek and Jacob Dorris, signed with the Atlanta Braves and Houston Astros organizations, respectively. Malone led the Islanders to a 31-27 overall and a 19-12 record in Southland Conference play, finishing tied for third in the league in 2014. Several Islanders were recognized for their accomplishments both on and off the field under Malone. Russell Vaughan and Brandon Tierney. Vaughan was named to the 2014 Capital One Academic All-America Division I First Team as well as the Southland Conference All-Academic First Team. Tierney garnered First Team All-Central Region accolades and was named one of the Coastal Bend's top collegiate performers in 2014. The 2013 edition of the Islanders baseball team had their best conference finish in school history, going 17-10 in league play to come in second in the Southland. The team also had 33 total wins on the season, which tied for the second most in Islander lore. They also had eight players recognized by the Southland Conference, including three First Team All-Southland members, the most in school history. 2012 marked the second year in a row that the Islanders advanced to the league tournament, knocking off regular season champion Sam Houston State in the opening round of the tourney. Starting pitcher Daniel Minor burst onto the scene for the Islanders, becoming the highest draft pick in school history when he was picked in the 9th round, No. 279 overall, in the 2012 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft. Minor was a First Team All-Southland Pitcher, the Southland Newcomer of the Year and runner-up in the Pitcher of the Year voting. The Islander skipper has made quite an impact on the program on and off the field since taking over the leadership of the program. He has expanded the Islanders recruiting base and has improved the program's academic standing. In his first season on the Island, the Islanders advanced to the Southland Conference Tournament for the first time in school history, winning two games in the tournament over regular-season champion UTSA. They were the first No. 8 seed to win a game in the conference tournament and finished the season at 24-33-1. Under his guidance Trey Hernandez became the school's first Freshman All-American, while then-junior catcher Stephen was named the Southland Conference Newcomer of the Year. Hernandez hit .339 with 10 home runs and 56 RBI, while Flora hit .380 as a junior to lead the team and the Southland Conference. He helped direct Omar Gutierrez to a solid final season resulting in the staff's ace being drafted by San Diego Padres, while outfielder Chase Williams was a free agent signee for the Padres. In his second season, a young Islander team struggled, but for the second time under Malone's tenure a freshman earned national honors. Local product Jeramie Marek was named the second Freshman All-American in school history after leading the team in hitting with a .335 average and ending the season with a 22-game hitting streak that is tied for the longest in school history. The Islanders proved to be one of the top offensive teams in the Southland during the 2010 season. Malone's team averaged .307 on the season, which was the fourth-best mark in the league. A&M-Corpus Christi was 18th in the nation in triples and tops in the league with 24. They were sixth in the Southland with 45 home runs including 17 by Trey Hernandez, who was second-team All-Southland at first base. The rising senior shared the league lead in long balls, was first in slugging percentage at .707 and third in RBI with 63. Three other returnees hit .327 or better for the Islanders. Matt Holland averaged .357, Caleb Marx hit .343 and Omar Garcia hit .327. In 2011, Malone led the team to a school record 37 wins as the Islanders finished third in the Southland Conference title race. Offensively, the team finished second in the league with a.299 batting average, and scored the second-most runs among conference teams with 374 on the year. The 44 total home runs was also good for second in the league, as the offense helped the team to the top half of the Southland. The Islanders advanced all the way to the semifinals of the 2011 tournament before being eliminated. Malone arrived on the Island after spending the three seasons prior as an assistant coach at UNLV. In his three seasons at UNLV, he oversaw all aspects of the Rebels recruiting efforts and served as the team's hitting instructor on the field. In 2005, UNLV won the Mountain West Conference regular season and tournament titles, advancing to the NCAA Regional. Prior to joining the Rebels, Malone served as an assistant coach at two Southland Conference schools serving as the hitting coach at each stop. He was an assistant at UT-Arlington during the 2003 and 2004 seasons after spending the two previous seasons at UTSA. In four seasons in the Southland, Malone's hitters led the league in batting three times - twice at UTA and once at UTSA. He coached former Maverick and Houston Astros standout Hunter Pence and UTSA's Mark Schramek. Both were first round picks in the MLB Amateur draft. Malone began his coaching career as a student assistant at McMurry University, where he graduated from in 1998 with a Bachelor of Science degree in exercise and sports science. He then served as a volunteer assistant at both TCU and the University of Kentucky. Before embarking on his coaching career, Malone had an impressive career as a first baseman at TCU. As a collegiate player with the Horned Frogs, the Islander mentor was named the Southwest Conference Player of the Year in back-to-back seasons and was invited to the 1992 Olympic Trials. Malone was an All-America honoree in 1991 and 1992. In 2011, Malone's success both on the diamond and into the coaching sphere earned him induction into the TCU Hall of Fame. His success on the collegiate level led to Malone being selected in the ninth round of the 1992 MLB draft by the Texas Rangers. He spent five years in the Rangers farm system reaching as high as Double A before spending one year with Abilene, where he won a Texas-Louisiana League title with the Prairie Dogs. Malone, and his wife, Lee, the Islanders' Senior Associate AD for External Relations, are proud parents of Parker and Presley.

Noe Ruiz Jr. was named a Volunteer Coach for the Islanders in Aug. 2022 and was elevated to Assistant Coach after the 2023 season. The 2026 season will be his fourth season with the Islanders. To start off his tenure with the program, Ruiz helped the Islanders qualify for the Southland Conference Tournament in each of his first three seasons. In 2025, the team entered the postseason as the No. 7 seed and eliminated third-seeded Lamar from the bracket in its second game of the Edinburg Bracket. Ruiz spent the previous four seasons at Eastern Oklahoma State as an assistant coach under Matt Parker, who was announced as an assistant coach the week prior with the Islanders. While with the Mountaineers, Ruiz helped the team to a 142-39 record and two NJCAA Region II Regular Season and Tournament Championships in 2021 and 2022. Alongside Parker, Ruiz had one player drafted in the MLB Draft in the seventh round and has seen numerous other athletes succeed under him. Ruiz followed Parker from Oklahoma Wesleyan where he served as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator. The team made appearances in the NAIA World Series in 2014 and 2017 along with winning the Opening Round Regional Championship in both years.   His time at Oklahoma Wesleyan helped the program oversee 68 All-Conference Performers, 19 Conference Gold Gloves as well as two Conference Freshman of the Year and one Conference Newcomer of the Year accolades.   Ruiz earned his bachelor's degree in fitness and sports at Texas A&M-International before obtaining his master's in business administration from Oklahoma Wesleyan.   A native of San Antonio, he now resides in Corpus Christi with his wife Rebecca.

Scott Kelly became an assistant coach with the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi baseball program in August 2022. The 2026 season will be his fourth with the Islanders. The 2025 season saw Kelly help Zach Garcia etch his name into the A&M-Corpus Christi all-time record books, with the lefty setting the new program records in games started with 47 and innings pitched with 304.2 while matching the record in strikeouts with 258. Garcia was also named to the Southland Conference All-Academic First Team and the SLC All-Defensive Team. In 2024, Kelly had one of his pitchers make the leap to professional ball for first time since joining the program, as Matthew Watson was selected by the San Diego Padres in the 13th round of the MLB Draft. Watson became the first Islander to hear their name called in the Draft since 2019, and his selection with the 390th pick was the third-highest in program history. In addition to this, Watson was named to the All-SLC Second Team, and Garcia was tabbed to the SLC All-Academic Second Team. During the 2023 campaign, Kelly oversaw three SLC Pitcher of the Week performances with Matthew Watson earning one and Colin Purcell claiming two. Prior to arriving on the Island, Kelly most recently worked at Edmonds College, where he served as the head baseball coach for ten seasons and as an assistant athletic director for four years. While with the Tritons, Kelly oversaw the program while focusing mainly on pitching and coaching, his area of expertise. In his final season, he oversaw a pitcher that earned Rawlings Gold Glove honors in the Pacific Association Division and two athletes that made the PAD Northwest All-Region Team under his oversight. Under his leadership, Kelly's teams combined for a 289-128 record with nine winning seasons, leading his teams to three north division titles coming in 2014, 2015 and 2018. In addition to winning three region titles, Kelly helped them win a conference championship in his first season as the head coach.   Before coaching, Kelly played at Green River Community College and Missouri Valley College. While there, he was named an NAIA All-American pitcher, later being selected by the San Diego Padres in the 25th round of the 2001 MLB Draft.   He received his bachelor's in recreation management at Missouri Valley College in the spring of 2006. Kelly is joined on the Island with his wife Brandi and their two dogs.

DaCota Kauffman joined the staff of head coach Scott Malone and the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi baseball program in an assistant coach and player personnel role in August 2025. The 2026 season will be his first with the team, where he will look to bring a passion for player development and recruiting excellence to the Islanders program. A native of Giddings, Texas, Kauffman began his collegiate baseball career at Nelson University in Waxahachie before transferring to Texas State University. At Texas State, he served as a student assistant coach under Head Coach Steven Trout from 2018 to 2021, contributing to the Bobcats’ success while completing his bachelor’s degree in Exercise and Sports Science. After graduation, Kauffman joined the coaching staff at the University of St. Thomas (Houston) as a volunteer assistant during the program’s early years. In his first season, he helped guide the Celts to their first-ever conference tournament appearance and postseason victory. Following year two, Kauffman was promoted to Assistant Coach and Recruiting Coordinator under Head Coach Tory Peterson. During his tenure, the Celts reached the conference tournament for a second consecutive season and set new standards for the young program. Now part of the Islanders’ staff, Kauffman is committed to building a championship culture on and off the field. He and his wife, Tara, reside in Corpus Christi.