Pitching strategist takes on full-time coaching role after two standout seasons
TUCSON — Arizona baseball head coach Chip Hale has announced the promotion of John DeRouin (pronounced duh-ROY-in) to assistant coach, effective immediately. DeRouin will serve as the Wildcats’ pitching coach.
DeRouin joined the Arizona program in 2024 as director of player development, then advanced to director of pitching performance and strategy in 2025. Over the past two seasons, he has been a key figure in the success and transformation of the Wildcats’ pitching staff.
“Since joining our program, John has been a tremendous resource for our student-athletes and staff, and a major part of our improvement on the mound over the previous two seasons,” said Hale. “Retaining and promoting John into a full-time coaching role overseeing our pitching is a great opportunity to continue our upward trajectory and sets us up for near-term and long-term success.”
DeRouin played a central role in establishing the Wildcats’ Pitching Wing lab, a state-of-the-art development space, and was instrumental in lowering the team’s ERA and improving performance metrics.
“I would like to extend a sincere thank you to coach Hale for his support and belief in my ability to take on this new role,” said DeRouin. “In two years at Arizona, we’ve built a world-class pitching development program. I look forward to continuing that success. With championship-caliber facilities, staff, and student-athletes, we’re in the perfect position to achieve our goals.”
2 All-American pitchers
3 first-team all-conference pitchers
4 MLB Draft selections
Top 12 national rankings in K/BB ratio and BB/9 in both 2024 and 2025
One standout example is Tony Pluta, who had one of the best relief seasons in program history in 2025. He earned the NCBWA Stopper of the Year award and was named an All-American by every major outlet.
In 2024, DeRouin’s first year, Arizona’s ERA dropped by over 1.5 runs compared to the previous season, and the team led the nation in strikeout-to-walk ratio and walks per nine innings.
DeRouin coaching history
2026–present: Arizona, assistant coach
2025: Arizona, director of pitching performance and strategy
2024: Arizona, director of player development
2022–23: Detroit Tigers, rehab pitching coordinator
2019–22: Hop’s Athletic Performance, pitching coordinator & instructor
2020–22: Northeast Baseball, pitching coordinator, instructor & coach
2019–20: New England Scorpions, pitching coach
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