Chris Jimenez - Catching Coach/Assistant Recruiting Coordinator - Baseball Coaches

Chris Jimenez

Title:
Catching Coach/Assistant Recruiting Coordinator
Email:
chrisji@ucr.edu

Chris Jimenez enters his first season with the UC Riverside baseball program and joins head coach Gregg Wallis’ inaugural staff.
Jimenez brings a diverse coaching background to UC Riverside, spanning junior college, collegiate summer leagues, and Division I baseball. At UCR, he will oversee the catchers while serving as the program’s assistant recruiting coordinator.

He joins the program after serving as recruiting coordinator at Yavapai College in Prescott, Ariz. Prior to Yavapai, he spent the 2025 season as the University of Hawai‘i’s Director of Catching Development & Scouting, helping lead the Rainbow Warriors to their second consecutive 35-win season. The milestone marked Hawai‘i’s first back-to-back 35-plus-win seasons since 1991–92, and the program earned its first-ever bid to the Big West Conference Tournament.

Before his time in Honolulu, Jimenez spent two years as an assistant coach at Mt. San Antonio College (2023–24), working with catchers and hitters. In 2024, he helped lead the Mounties to a 30–15 record and a CCCAA Super Regional appearance, while the offense led the South Coast League in batting average (.318), runs (385), on-base percentage (.423), and fewest strikeouts (228). His recruiting contributions played a role in Mt. SAC winning the 2025 CCCAA State Championship.

Additionally, Jimenez worked in the best leagues that collegiate summer baseball offers. In the summer of 2025, he was an assistant for the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox in the Cape Cod League. His oversight of the catchers and hitters helped guide the club to the East Division Championship and overall runner-up finish. In 2024, he was part of the coaching staff with the Willmar Stingers of the Northwoods League, where he worked with the offense and contributed to a record-breaking season that saw the Stingers set league records for batting average (.304), runs scored (589), hits (742), and home runs (75). The previous summer, he served as an assistant coach with the Kenai Peninsula Oilers of the Alaska Baseball League, working primarily with the pitchers.

As a player, Jimenez was a four-year starter at catcher for Long Beach State, appearing in 147 games with 116 starts. He finished his collegiate career with eight home runs, 65 RBIs, and 21 doubles, highlighted by a six-homer senior campaign in 2022. That same season he had a memorable series-winning walk-off against the University of Hawai‘i. Jimenez earned All-Big West Honors in 2018 and 2019. In 2018, he led the team with 32 RBIs, becoming the first Dirtbags’ freshman to drive in 30 or more runs since Troy Tulowitzki in 2003.