SAN JOSE, Calif. - Thomas Walker returns to the San José State baseball team as an assistant coach after spending one season at Long Beach State. Before Long Beach State, Walker originally joined the Spartans as an assistant coach in the 2020 season.
“I am very excited to announce the return of Coach Thomas Walker to our program,” said Head Coach Brad Sanfilippo. “Coach Walker is a tremendous coach, recruiter, teacher and communicator. Beyond the qualities that separate him from a successful coach, he is a high-character human being that we welcome back to the Spartan Baseball Family. Our players and our staff are excited to get back to work with Coach Walker. Coach Walker and I continue to be aligned in our goals of developing our players to compete at the highest level of the Mountain West Conference, to prepare them for professional baseball and a successful career after baseball.”
Walker helped guide the Spartans to back-to-back appearances in the Mountain West Championship Game in 2022 and 2023, and in 2023 helped lead the Spartans to their first-ever Mountain West regular-season title and the Mountain West Tournament title. The Spartans also earned a berth in an NCAA Regional for the first time since 2002.
Under Walker's guidance as the team's hitting coach, the Spartans have consistently been one of the top hitting teams in the Mountain West, particularly from a power perspective. Three of his players, Hunter Dorraugh, Charles McAdoo and Dalton Bowling, rank in the top five for most career home runs by a Spartan, and Dorraugh broke the SJSU single-season record with 15 home runs in 2022.
Walker has had success developing players to play at the next level. Two of his former position players, Ruben Ibarra and McAdoo, were taken in the MLB Draft, as Ibarra was chosen by the Cincinnati Reds in the 4th round in 2021 and McAdoo was selected in the 13th round by the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2023.
Prior to his tenure with the Spartans, Walker spent two seasons as an assistant coach for GWC, located in Huntington Beach, California. As part of the Rustlers’ staff, he worked with players on and off the field, instructing them in both fielding and hitting.
Walker split time with the Rustlers and the Rochester Honkers, a summer league team based in Rochester, Minnesota, as the team’s field manager. In the role, he was responsible for player development and served as a team mentor.
Walker’s coaching career started early as he became a youth travel baseball coach straight out of high school, where he was a three-year varsity baseball player. He played collegiately for the University of California, Riverside from 2012-16 and was a three-time captain. In 2014, he was selected as a first-team All-Big West Outfielder.
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