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UT Tyler Athletics
903-566-7105
903-566-7078 Fax
athletics@uttyler.edu

 

Baseball Head Coach
James N. Vilade

James Vilade
By The Numbers...

312
Wins as a head coach
in his career

91
All-Conference Players

25
Players that have signed pro contracts
under Vilade at UT Tyler & Dallas

3
ASC East Coach of the
Year awards

4
Patriots drafted by MLB teams (Amyx, Jennings, Holland, Matthews)

1
Sports Illustrated article on Vilade (8/14/2000) honoring him for excellence in college coaching

1
Child born on MLB opening day, Trent Vilade born on 4/2/2007

James ViladeWhen James Vilade was chosen as the first coach of the University of Texas at Tyler, he knew exactly what it took to build a championship team from the ground up. For the second time in a decade, the former Baylor Bear turned a startup program into a conference champion within a few years.

In his five seasons as head coach, the Patriots have won three ASC East Championships and have finished in the top three every year. But when he arrived in Tyler in January of 2003, he faced quite a challenge. Vilade had no players, no ballfield and no practice facility. With just a name on the jersey and a tradition to build, Vilade built the Patriots into a playoff-caliber team in their first season.

In 2004, the Patriot baseball team took the field for the first time. While Irwin Field was still under construction, Vilade’s first team had to practice at eight different locations in East Texas and played their home games a half-hour away at Tyler’s Faulkner Park. In spite of all the obstacles, the Patriots surprised the American Southwest Conference by going 24-13 overall and 11-8 in conference play. They finished third in the conference, which would have qualified them for the playoffs if not for NCAA rules preventing new Division III programs from the postseason for four years.

The sophomore year for Vilade’s Patriots was even better as the team won the ASC East Championship with a 30-7 record overall and a 16-5 conference mark. The 2005 team held the honor of having the top NCAA winning percentage in the entire state of Texas. UT Tyler’s winning mark of .811 was better than even that of the Division I National Champion Texas Longhorns, and was the tenth best in the country.

Vilade’s defending conference champion team was ranked at the top of the ASC again in 2006 in a poll of conference coaches. The team overcame numerous injuries to wind up 28-11, 13-8 in conference play and finishing one game out of first place. For the third straight season, the Patriots would have advanced to the ASC playoffs if eligible. UT Tyler placed nine players on the All-Conference teams and 14 on the All-Academic roll that year, and Kendall Fox was selected as the conference’s Freshman of the Year.

In 2007, the Patriots tore through their schedule, going undefeated until the final weekend of the season and ending the year 37-1. UT Tyler's .974 winning percentage was the best in the country at any level, and the Patriots claimed their second ASC East Championship All eight starting position players and four pitchers made All-ASC teams, including ASC East Pitcher of the Year Nate Jennings. James Vilade also picked up his first ASC East Coach of the Year Award for UT Tyler. The Patriots also tied an NCAA record with a 40-game winning streak.

Following the season, Vilade's team produced the first ever draft picks for the university. Nate Jennings was draft in the 15th round by the Toronto Blue Jays, and Brett Amyx went in the 30th round to the Kansas City Royals.

In 2008, the Patriots looked to defend their ASC East title and advance to the ASC Championship tournament in their first year of post-season eligibility. If that was the team's goals, then it was "mission accomplished" for UT Tyler. The Patriots finished the year 36-9 and earned a trip to the ASC Tournament. In the first round, Vilade's team swept Hardin-Simmons at home and advanced to the championship round where they finished third. In the post season awards, Blake Booher and Brett Holland swept the top two ASC East awards as Pitcher and Player of the Year, respectively. The Patriots placed 11 players on All-East teams, six on the All-ASC Academic team, six on the ABCA All-West Region, two on CoSIDA Academic All-District teams and three players on two different All-American (D3baseball.com and ABCA).

At the conclusion of the '08 season, All-ASC East pitcher Brett Holland was selected in the 48th round of the MLB First Year Player Draft by the Oakland A's. Holland became the third Patriot overall and second Patriot pitcher to be taken in the draft.

In his five years at UT Tyler, Vilade has turned the Patriots into a baseball power and success at the collegiate level has translated into success in other areas for his players. Seventy-eight of his student-athletes have been named to All-Conference teams, and 15 more to All-American lists. Vilade has had 53 players make All-Academic rosters and placed 50 of his former ballplayers in professional baseball since 1998.

The Patriots were his second startup team to build into a powerhouse. Vilade was also the first coach at ASC rival University of Dallas, taking their program from inception to three-time conference champions.

During the summers of 2007 and 2008, Vilade was hired by the Texas Rangers to serve as the hitting instructor for the Rangers' AA affiliate, the Frisco Roughriders. The Roughriders qualified for the Texas League Playoffs each summer Vilade was a part of the organization. At the conclusion of the 2008 season, Frisco was named as the Minor League Team of the Year.

Vilade began his baseball career as an all-state player for Bernardsville, New Jersey under head coach Mike Hoppe. After high school, Vilade began his collegiate career at St. Peter's
where he played first base and served as a closer for the Peacocks. Vilade led St. Peter's in saves during his freshman year and finished second in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference.

He was an All-Star with the New Jersey Pilots in the Atlantic Collegiate Baseball League, and transferred to Baylor University after his freshman year. He played there under coach Steve Smith, winning the Southwest Conference Championship in 1993 and advancing to the NCAA Division I Tournament. Vilade was a team captain and made Baylor’s Academic Honor Roll. He also won the University’s “Fred Harris 110 Percent Award” - an honor given to him by his teammates.

He received his Bachelor’s Degree in Telecommunications from Baylor University and his Master of Sports Science in Sports Management from the United States Sports Academy. For his work in the community, with UT Tyler and with the USSA, Vilade was named as the Academy's 2010 Alumnus of the Year.

Vilade is very active in community affairs and started the “Sports Cards for Kids” in East Texas charity. He sits on the Board of Directors of the Boys and Girls Club of East Texas and Food Fast Childrens' Charities. He and his players are very active in numerous charities, including the Cal Ripken Sr. Foundation, Trinity Mother Francis Diabetes Camp and the American Heart Walk. Vilade is active in the Lanes Chapel Methodist Church.

Originally a native of Gladstone, New Jersey, Vilade lives in Tyler with his wife Jennifer, son Ryan (10), daughter McKenzie (7), and son Trent (1), who was born on MLB opening day, April 2, 2007.

James Vilade: Year-by-Year

Year
School
W
L
Results
1997
U of Dallas
Recruiting/Program Development
1998
U of Dallas
25
17
ASC East, 5th Place
1999
U of Dallas
26
16
ASC East Champions
2000
U of Dallas
34
11
ASC East Champions
NCAA #6 Ranking
2001
U of Dallas
33
8
ASC East Champions
NCAA #7 Ranking
2002
Oral Roberts
Assistant Coach (48-19)
NCAA #20 Ranking
2003
UT Tyler
Recruiting/Program Development
2004
UT Tyler
24
13
ASC East, 3rd Place
2005
UT Tyler
30
7
ASC East Champions
2006
UT Tyler
28
11
ASC East, 2nd Place
2007
UT Tyler
37
1
ASC East Champions
2008
UT Tyler
36
9
ASC East Champions
2008
UT Tyler
39
12
ASC Champions
ASC East Champions
NCAA Regional Qualifier
Career:
312
105

Coach James Vilade can be reached at (903) 565-5640 or by email at jvilade@uttyler.edu.

Baseball Coaching Staff

Assistant Coach
Stan Phelps

Stan PhelpsStan Phelps is a 1999 graduate of New Boston High School in New Boston, Texas, where he played four seasons of varsity baseball.  During his career at New Boston, he collected All-District honors as junior and All-Area/All-District honors in his senior year.  After graduation, Phelps attended Richland College in Dallas, Texas where he compiled a 10-1 career record as a pitcher.  He was a member of the NJCAA National Runner-up team in 2000.  Phelps collected All-Region and All-Conference honors after the 2001 season and was named the team’s Pitcher of the Year.

After his time at Richland, Phelps went on to play at Eastern New Mexico University for his junior season.  Finally, he returned to Texas and spent his senior year as a starting pitcher for the inaugural University of Texas at Tyler Patriot team.

Under his guidance in 2008, the Patriots carried the lowest staff ERA (3.02) in the entire ASC and was the fifth lowest in all of Division III. In 2007, the UT Tyler pitching staff ranked fourth in the nation with an ERA of 2.68, and also led the American Southwest Conference by more than a full run in that category. In 2005, UT Tyler’s staff also led the conference in ERA at (3.43). UT Tyler has had 12 All Conference pitchers, including the ASC 2008 Pitcher of the Year, Blake Booher.  Of the fourteen players UT Tyler has sent to professional baseball, seven have been pitcher. Following the 2008 season, for the second year in a row, Phelps had a player (Brett Holland) taken in the MLB draft.

During the summer of 2008, Phelps served as the inaugural head coach of the East Texas PumpJacks, a Texas Collegiate League team based in Kilgore.

Phelps earned his Masters of Science in Human Resource Development from UT Tyler in December of 2006, and also received his Bachelor of Arts in Marketing from UT Tyler in May 2004.  Phelps also has coached UT Tyler’s summer baseball camps, and served as Pitching Coordinator for the Babe Ruth League, located in Newark, Ohio. Phelps worked in the league under Tom O’Connell, former Princeton University coach and ABAC Hall of Fame member. 

Phelps lives in Flint with his wife Kristee, who is the head volleyball coach for UT Tyler.

Assistant Coach
Josh Dickerson

Assistant Coach
Paige Hodges

 

Assistant Coach/
Coordinator of Special Projects

Kyle Welsh

Kyle graduated from Bullard High School in 1998. While at Bullard he lettered in football and baseball, spending all four years on the varsity baseball team. Kyle was also an All-District track selection, and he earned tournament MVP honors in baseball. In 1996 he was named East Texas Sophomore of the Year, Newcomer of the Year, and first team All-District. Kyle’s academic honors included the All-American Scholar Award, National Honor Roll, USAA Award Program, and the National Leadership and Service Award.

Kyle went to Temple College to play college baseball but returned home to attend Tyler Junior College, where he majored in computer science and was a member of the Dean’s list in 1999. Kyle was set to complete his degree in the fall of 2000 when he was involved in an accident on September 24. He spent 51 days on life support and 118 days in ICU. Kyle uses a wheelchair but does not let it slow him down.

Kyle has spent his summers and falls coaching baseball, his first love in sports. Kyle has a seven and eight-year old team, the Panthers, who have been playing together for three years. The team’s parents and supporters have been impressed with Kyle’s care and effort in coaching the little league team. Because he loves baseball and children, Kyle felt the best thing to do would be to teach the game to younger players since he was no longer playing college ball.

Kyle has been involved, along with his father, with Team Penning and cutting horses. He also enjoys deer hunting and was awarded the “Big Game Award” for his trophy deer in 1998.

 

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