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Baseball Head Coach
James N. Vilade
James Vilade
By The Numbers...
237
Wins as a head coach in his career
67
All-Conference Players
13
UT Tyler players that have signed pro contracts under Vilade
3
ASC East Coach of the year awards
2
Patriots in the 2007 MLB Draft (Jennings, Amyx)
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
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 When 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 four seasons as head coach, the Patriots have won two ASC East Championship 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 his four 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. Sixty-six of his student-athletes have been named to All-Conference teams, and 12 more to All-American lists. Vilade has had 47 players make All Academic rosters and placed 49 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.
Following the 2007 season, Vilade was hired by the Texas Rangers for the summer. Vilade served as hitting instructor for the Rangers' AA affiliate, the Frisco Roughriders.
Vilade began his baseball career as an all-state player for Bernardsville, New Jersey. He was an All-Star with the New Jersey Pilots in the Atlantic Collegiate Baseball League, and attended Baylor University. 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.
Vilade is very active in community affairs, founding the “E.H. Almand Scholarship Fund” and also “Sports Cards for Kids” in East Texas. He sits on the Board of Directors of the Boys and Girls Club of East Texas and is active in the South Tyler Rotary Club. 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 (7), daughter McKenzie (4), and son Trent, who was born on MLB opening day, April 2, 2007.
James Vilade: Year-by-Year
Year |
School |
W |
L |
Results |
1997 |
U of Dallas |
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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 |
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|
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 |
Career: |
|
237 |
84 |
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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 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 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 9 All Conference pitchers, including the ASC 2007 Pitcher of the Year (Nate Jennings). Of the thirteen players UT Tyler has sent to professional baseball, seven have been pitchers.
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 Tyler with his wife Kristee, who is the head volleyball coach for UT Tyler. |
Assistant Coach
Wes Davis
 Wes Davis returns for his fourth year as an Assistant Coach at UT Tyler. Coach Davis is responsible for the Patriots strength and conditioning, defense, baserunning, and assisting with hitters. Under Davis, the Patriots have led the ASC in best fielding percentage in 2006 and 2007, and also led the ASC in hitting all three years (2005-2007). Davis spent this past summer as the Hitting Coach of the Wilson Tobs of the Coastal Plain League, and led them to the playoffs. During the summer of 2005, Davis worked as the Hitting Coach for the Kenai Peninsula Oilers of the Alaskan Baseball League. From that Oilers team, 12 players are currently playing professionally.
Davis graduated from national high school baseball powerhouse Owasso High School in Owasso, Oklahoma. During his time at Owasso, the Rams played in four 6A state championships, winning two. Davis then played shortstop for two years at Seward County Community College in Liberal, Kansas The Saints won back to back conference championships, including a conference tournament championship and a regional runner up in 2002. Davis then finished his playing career at Oklahoma Baptist University in Shawnee, Oklahoma. Playing middle infield, he helped lead his team to a NAIA regional appearance in 2004.
In addition to coaching baseball, Davis also is an assistant coach for the UT Tyler Men’s and Women’s Cross Country Teams. The men’s team has won back-to-back ASC Championships in 2005 and 2006. Davis also holds a position in the Herrington Patriot Center as a Recreation Program Assistant working in Fitness, Intramurals, and Rec Sports.
Davis holds a B.A. in Psychology and is currently completing his M.A. in Interdisciplinary Studies with concentrations in Psychology and Kinesiology.
Wes is the son of James and Pat Davis of Owasso, Oklahoma. His brother Stockton recently retired from pitching 4 seasons in the Washington Nationals organization. Wes, 25, now resides in Tyler with his wife Kara and their dog Mickey. |
Assistant
Coach
Bernie Martinez
 In 2007, Coach Bernie Martinez will begin his second season with the UT Tyler baseball staff after spending five seasons at nearby ASC East Division rival LeTourneau, including three seasons as the head coach.
While at LeTourneau, Martinez produced a two-time first-team Academic All-American and the first .400 hitter in ten years (Damon Stokes). He coached an ASC East Player of the Year (Josh Ross) in 2003. Also in 2003, LeTourneau had a record offensive year, cracking 41 homeruns, 80 doubles and averaged six and one-half runs per game. He has had four of his student-athletes move on to the professional ranks. For three seasons, a member of his pitching staff led the ASC in either strikeouts or strikeouts per inning between the 2003-2005 seasons. In his last season at LeTourneau ironically shared the lead in team stolen bases in the ASC with UT Tyler with 81 and had series wins against Mississippi and UT Dallas who respectively finished first and second in the ASC east. He just completed being the head coach of the Mineral Wells Steam in the Texas Collegiate League.
Martinez comes to the staff with over ten years of coaching experience at both the college and high school level. He spent three seasons assisting Joey Kalmus at Longview High School then moved on to work one season with Mike McGilvray and Ron Eastman at The Woodlands High School. He has also had the privilege to coach along side Jim Wing, a former longtime assistant and pitching coach for Jerry Kendall at the University of Arizona.
A New Jersey native like Vilade, Martinez played his high school baseball in Hudson County at North Bergen High School for Mike Zadroga. He went on to play a season at Rutgers University for Fred Hill and his sophomore season at County College of Morris ( Dover, N.J.) for Dennis Morgan before finishing his college career at LeTourneau for Elliot Johnson.
Martinez received his Bachelor of Science degree in physical education with an English minor, along with certification to teach at the secondary level in the state of Texas, from LeTourneau. He is also an alumnus of UT Tyler where he received his Masters of Education in health and kinesiology in December of 1997.
“I have been blessed to have played with and against some outstanding baseball players. I have played for outstanding coaches and have coached with and against some outstanding baseball minds. I was once told that the key to success is to surround yourself with better people. I am both excited and honored to be a part of Coach Vilade’s staff, a member of the team, and part of the UT Tyler athletics family,” said Martinez.
Along with his coaching duties Bernie is currently teaching middle school Spanish at Forest Park Magnet School of Global Studies in the Longview Independent School District. He is also an adjunct professor at LeTourneau in the Graduate School for Professional Studies. He is married to the former Janelle Bowser and has four children: Marcus (12), Isaiah (5), Alyson (1) and Gabriella in August. |
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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