Former Tampa Bay Rays minor-league pitching coach Xavier Hernandez, who spent 10 years in the major leagues as a relief pitcher, is in the 11th season of his second stint as assistant baseball coach at Houston Baptist University.
In 2018, HBU posted a 29-30 overall record, achieving its best Southland Conference finish by tying for third with an 18-12 mark. Senior pitcher Matthew McCollough was a first-team all-conference selection, finishing his career among HBU’s all-time leaders in wins, ERA, strikeouts, innings pitched and complete games. In 2019, Kyle Gruller ranked in the top five in the conference in strikeouts and earned second-team all-conference honors.
The Huskies went 29-25 during the 2017 campaign, recording their best Southland Conference finish by going 18-12 to place fourth. HBU ranked second in the league with a 4.09 ERA and righthander JT Newton picked up the conference Relief Pitcher of the Year award.
The Huskies claimed their first-ever NCAA Baseball Championship appearance in 2015 by going 4-0 in the Southland Conference Tournament. HBU set the NCAA record in conference tournament play with four-straight complete games by its starting pitchers – Matthew McCollough, Taylor Wright, Ross Kennell and Curtis Jones. Jones was named the Tournament MVP and earned his second-straight SLC Utility Player of the Year honor. Wright signed as a free agent with Arizona Diamondbacks.
In 2013, he guided the pitching staff to a 3.75 ERA and the Huskies won the Great West Conference Tournament title. Junior righthander Ryan Lower was a first-team all-conference selection and sophomore Tyler Hoelscher was named to the all-tournament team.
Hernandez was an assistant coach with the Huskies from 1999-2001, before joining the Tampa Bay coaching staff. With the Rays, he was responsible for implementing the organizational pitching program and overseeing development. Hernandez also identified and evaluated potential major league pitching prospects, and in 2008 he won the Player Development Man of the Year award.
Prior to moving to the Triple A Durham Bulls’ staff, Hernandez had stints at Double A Montgomery, Class A Charleston and Bakersfield. His pitchers have consistently ranked among the best in the league, including 19 shutouts in 2006 at Montgomery.
As a pitcher from 1986-99, Hernandez saw action in 463 major league games with the Houston Astros, Texas Rangers, Cincinnati Reds, New York Yankees and Toronto Blue Jays. He had a career record of 40-35 with 35 saves and a 3.90 ERA, and had 562 strikeouts. Hernandez also played professional winter league baseball in Mexico and Venezuela.
Hernandez and his wife, Deborah, reside in Sugar Land and have four children. His son, Michael, was a pitcher for the Huskies from 2012-15. Hernandez earned bachelor’s degrees in psychology and sociology from HBU, after playing collegiately at Louisiana-Lafayette.
