Baseball Head Coach
James N. Vilade

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 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.

James Vilade: Year-by-Year

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

Baseball Coaching Staff