COACHES

Jared Hood
Head Coach

Hood, who is a native of Marshall, Texas, enters his fifth year as the head coach and seventh at East Texas Baptist University after two years as an assistant coach. He has a strong coaching background that varies from summer ball to working with the Cleveland Indians as an associate scout and continues to take the program to higher levels.

2018 Season

Defeated #12 ranked UTT 2-1 in the three-game season series

Defeated #13 ranked Centenary College 11-4 on Woods Field

Earned the #8 seed in the ASC Tournament Blue Bracket

Had six players named to All-ASC teams

Had two pitchers (Derrick Findley, Call Florence) named ASC Pitcher of the Week

2017 Season

ASC Tournament Runners-Up
ASC Red Division Tournament Champions
Finished 30-15 and 18-6 in the ASC
Second straight 30-win season
Won 15 out of last 20 games of the year
Had 7 players All-ASC with two All-ASC first-team (Conner Combs, Zach Gartner)
Led the ASC with 49 home runs
Finished 2nd in NCAA Division III in home runs
7 walk-off wins in the season

2016 Season
Hood guided ETBU to one of their best seasons in over 10 years with 31 wins and hosting the ASC Red Division Championship Tournament. The 30-win season was the first since the 2005 season. ETBU recorded an 11-game winning streak and won 15 of their last 18 games of the season while also finishing second in the ASC wiht 18 wins. With 71 team home runs, ETBU led the nation in home runs and had one of the top offenses in NCAA Division III. The 71 home runs were 12 better than the second place team while ETBU also led the nation in home runs per game at 1.58. In the NCAA, ETBU finished 2nd in slugging percentage (.537), 10th in runs (381) and scoring (8.5 runs per game), 15th in on base percentage (.417), and 16th in batting average (.332). Indiviudally, Conner Combs (4th - 15 HRs) and Tyler Bates (5th - 14 HRs) were in the top five in home runs in NCAA Division III. Professionally, Tyler Bates became the second ETBU player to be drafted in the MLB draft as the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim took in the 38th round.

2015 Season
During the spring 2015 season, ETBU finished with an overall record of 21-22 and a 10-17 record in American Southwest Conference play. Qualifying for the ASC Baseball Championship Tournament as the sixth-seeded team, ETBU won a 10-inning game over University of Texas Dallas and later defeated Howard Payne University. ETBU reached the third round of the tournament and ended with a 2-2 record.

The victories in the 2015 ASC Championship Tournament represented the program’s first-such wins dating back to the 2005 season. Additionally, the 21 victories were the most wins since spring 2006, a season in which ETBU won 26 games.

Coaching Start
Hood received his first chance to coach collegiately at Hill College as an assistant for two years. In those two years, he recruited three players who were Major League Baseball draftees and coached in a program that produced five MLB draft picks.

Coaching in the summer leagues, Hood made stops as an assistant coach for the Cooperstown Hawkeyes of the New York Collegiate Baseball League in Cooperstown, New York, as well as the Dallas Patriots 18U travel baseball program. Last year, he was an associate scout for the Cleveland Indians.

As a College Player
In college, Hood started his playing career at Hill College before transferring to University of Texas Tyler. After two seasons with Hill College, he had a productive pair of seasons for the Texas-Tyler Patriots, twice earning ASC All-East Division recognition as an outfielder.

In total, Hood finished with a career batting average of .367 and 20 home runs and 99 RBI. In 2008, he hit .390 with 25 extra-base hits and 50 RBI en route to being named an ASC All-East Division First Team honoree. As a senior in 2009, he batted .345 with 13 home runs and 49 RBI, earning ASC All-East Division Second Team recognition. Hood served as a captain during the 2009 season as the Texas-Tyler baseball team won the ASC Championship Tournament and qualified for the NCAA Division III Baseball Championship. He was selected to the ASC All-Tournament Team as a designated hitter.

Hood graduated from Texas Tyler in 2010 with a bachelor’s degree in health and kinesiology, and later completed his master’s of education in health and kinesiology in 2015. Jared is married to his wife Madison and they have two daughters, Avynn and McClane.

Tanner Matthews
Assistant Coach

Matthews is entering his second season at East Texas Baptist University as an assistant coach and will serve as a recruiter, travel coordinator, and help with pitchers. Last year he was a graduate assistant and then hired on staff this year. He served as a student-assistant for one season in 2016.

As a player, he spent three seasons as a pitcher helping ETBU to two ASC Tournaments in 2013 and 2015. He graduated in May 2016 with his bachelors degree and earned his master's degree from ETBU in May 2017.

Cody Pierce
Assistant Coach

Jordan O'Bannon
Assistant Coach