University of Miami head baseball coach J.D. Arteaga announced Thursday the hiring of Laz Gutierrez as the program’s pitching and mental skills coach. Gutierrez’s hire is pending completion of a standard University background check.
“Laz is a widely-respected member of the South Florida and professional baseball community, having served as a head coach at Nova Southeastern and working with the Boston Red Sox during their three most recent World Series Championships,” Arteaga said. “As a hometown guy, he understands our storied tradition and knows what it takes to help our program get back to Omaha. We are thrilled to welcome Laz and his family back to the University of Miami baseball program and I’m looking forward to working alongside him as our new pitching and mental skills coach.”
Gutierrez returns to his alma mater after spending the past four years as the head coach at Nova Southeastern, where he helped the Sharks return to national prominence. Under Gutierrez, Nova posted an 86-63 record, highlighted by a 36-win campaign and trip to the NCAA Regional Tournament in 2022.
Despite his first two seasons as skipper of the Sharks being impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, Gutierrez mentored nine All-Sunshine State Conference honorees and five All-Region designees.
Gutierrez, who graduated from Miami in 2000, returned to South Florida in 2019 after 13 years with the Boston Red Sox. Over his final five seasons with the organization, Gutierrez served as the mental skills coordinator in Boston, designing and applying leadership and mental skills routines that helped the Red Sox win three World Series Championships (2007, 2013, 2018).
Prior to his time with the big-league club, Gutierrez worked as the coordinator of player development programs and amateur scout.
Before joining the Red Sox, Gutierrez was the manager for the North Adams Steeplecats, where he led the New England Collegiate Baseball League team to a franchise-high 25 wins in 2006, following his two-year tenure as pitching coach at Barry University.
“I am very excited and honored to be back at my alma mater, “Gutierrez said. “I would like to thank J.D. and Dan Radakovich for this incredible opportunity to build on the rich tradition established by Ron Fraser and Jim Morris. I am looking forward to working with our incredible student-athletes and coaching staff.”
A Miami native, Gutierrez began his coaching career by spending three seasons as the head coach at Coral Gables High School, mentoring future Hurricanes and MLB standouts Yonder Alonso and Eddy Rodriguez.