T.J. Bruce enters his seventh season leading the Wolf Pack baseball program in 2021-22. Bruce was hired by Nevada on June 26, 2015 and arrived on the Nevada campus as one of the top assistant coaches in the nation after spending five seasons at UCLA where he helped the Bruins to four postseason appearances and a 2013 College World Series title.
It was a historic season in 2021 for Bruce and the Wolf Pack as the program captured its third Mountain West regular season championship overall and its second MW title under Bruce with 2018 being the other. Due to the conference tournament not being held in 2021, the Wolf Pack also earned the league’s automatic bid to NCAA Regionals, the program’s first trip to regionals since 2000 and its fifth trip overall in program history. After a slow start to conference play and sitting at 7-9 in league action, Bruce and the Wolf Pack rattled off 15 consecutive Mountain West wins to end the regular season and climb up the standings into first place. Nevada finished the regular season 25-20 overall and went 22-9 in league play. With all of those accomplishments, Bruce earned Mountain West Coach of the Year honors for the second time in his career.
Bruce wasn’t the only one to represent Nevada on the postseason all-conference awards list as the Wolf Pack earned a league-high eight selections with Bruce and Dillan Shrum winning ‘Of the Year’ honors. Shrum was named the league’s player of the year and also garnered first team all-conference honors as well. Shrum was joined on the first team all-conference list by Dario Gomez, Tyler Bosetti, Shane Gustafson and Cam Walty. Jake Jackson and Joshua Zamora earned second team all-conference honors. Bruce and the rest of his staff also pieced together one of the top offenses in the country in 2021 as the team ranked in the top 10 nationally in batting average, doubles per game and slugging percentage. The team was also strong defensively as it ranked fifth nationally in double plays per game and was in the top 25 nationally in team fielding percentage.
Bruce has established himself as one of the top recruiters in the nation as Collegiate Baseball ranked the Wolf Pack’s 2016 class 35th in the country. It was the first nationally ranked recruiting class in school history. D1Baseball.com ranked Bruce as one of the top 10 head coaches in recruiting.
Before the 2020 season was cut short due to the COVID-19 outbreak, Bruce once again showed his pitching and defense philosophy as Nevada ranked first in the Mountain West with a team fielding percentage of .982 and 16th in the nation. His pitchers shined as well, as Owen Sharts led the conference with 32 strikeouts through four starts, and Jake Jackson boasted a 3.00 ERA in 24 innings pitched, tied for second in the conference for innings thrown.
In 2019, Bruce led Nevada to the Mountain West Tournament for the fourth-consecutive year under his leadership. The Wolf Pack had four players earn All-MW honors on the season, as it won 30 games for the second time with him at the helm, including sweeping No. 2 and 2018 National Champion Oregon State in two home contests.
2018 was one of Bruce’s best seasons since taking over the program, posting a 29-24 record and guiding the Wolf Pack to its second Mountain West regular season championship in the past four years. Nevada finished with a 20-9 record in conference play and went 18-4 at home in Peccole Park’s 30th season. Following the regular season, Nevada swept the top honors in the conference, beginning with outfielder Grant Fennell being named the Tony Gwynn Mountain West Player of the Year. Third baseman Joshua Zamora was named the Freshman of the Year, and Bruce took home his first ever Coach of the Year honors.
In MW play during that season, Bruce led Nevada to a conference-best .338 team batting average and ranked third in the league with a 5.71 team ERA. Six members of the Pack were award All-MW honors including Fennell, Zamora, Mark Nowaczewski and Kaleb Foster on the first team. Designated hitter Mike Echavia and freshman pitcher Jake Jackson were named to the second team. Zamora and Jackson were each named freshmen All-Americans by Collegiate Baseball, while Fennell was award third-team All-American honors by the American Baseball Coaches Association. Fennell was later signed by the Chicago Cubs. These were the first All-Americans for the Nevada baseball program since 2015.
In 2017 Nevada went 19-36 and finished fourth in the MW with a 13-16 record. The Pack won two-of-three games at New Mexico, the regular season champions, the final weekend to secure the last spot in the conference tournament. The team was involved in several close games going 6-10 in one-run contests. The difficult non-conference schedule included a three-game series at No. 6 Clemson where Nevada won the middle game 7-5 and dropped the other two games in hard fought battles.
Four members of the 2017 team earned MW honors led by first-team pitcher Mark Nowaczewski. Nowaczewski led the team with six wins and was named the MW Pitcher of the Week three times. Shortstop Justin Bridgman, pitcher Trevor Charpie and utility player Grant Fennell were selected to the second team. Bridgman and infielder Jordan Pearce were both selected in the MLB Draft. Bridgman was taken by Tampa in the 28th round while Pearce was chosen by Detroit in the 21st round. Charpie signed as free agent with Tampa. Outfielder Michael Echavia was selected to the American Baseball Coaches Association All-Region second team. Echavia was named to the MW All-Tournament team and was selected as the MW Player of the Week after batting .600 with eight RBI in the final series of the season at UNM.
In Bruce’s first season in 2016 the Pack posted a 37-24 overall record with a 20-10 mark in MW play, taking a title fight into the last week of the season before finishing tied for second. Nevada’s record in its final 24 games were a testament to Bruce’s work with the team and vast improvement, as the Pack posted a 20-4 record in that span. Bruce and the Pack capped the 2016 season by advancing to the MW tournament finals for the first time in program history. Nevada won a program-record four tournament games, which included a 25-6 rout of top-seeded Fresno State.
Bruce guided three players to all-conference honors as TJ Friedl was named to the first team, while Jordan Pearce and Miles Mastrobuoni were named to the second team. Nevada also had three players selected in the 2016 MLB Draft with Mastrobuoni (14th round – Tampa Bay Rays), Trenton Brooks (17th round – Cleveland Indians) and Sam Held (29th round – Washington Nationals). Additionally, Friedl was named to the ABCA/Rawlings West All-Region second team before being named to the final roster for the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team. Friedl was one of 10 position players in the nation to make the USA collegiate team, joining the squad for international competition over the summer. Friedl batted .401 for Nevada in 2016, becoming the first player to eclipse .400 at Nevada since 2001. Friedl went on to sign the largest contract by a domestic non-drafted free agent player with the Cincinnati Reds.
Despite losing nearly 80 percent of its at bats from 2015, the Wolf Pack posted a stellar .319 batting average on the season, which ranked second in the conference and ninth out of 295 Division I teams. Bruce’s defensive expertise also paid dividends as Nevada led the MW with a .977 fielding percentage, which set a new program record and ranked in the top 25 nationally. The Pack also posted a 5.07 team ERA, ranking third in the league. Nevada was the only team in the conference to rank in the top three in team batting, pitching and fielding.
Prior to his time at Nevada, Bruce served as an assistant coach at UCLA from 2011-15 under Wolf Pack alum John Savage. During that span, Bruce helped lead the Bruins to a 198-102-1 record, four postseason appearances and the 2013 College World Series title. UCLA also won three Pac-12 titles in his five years and set the school record with 22 conference wins in 2015.
A former four-year collegiate player and letter winner, Bruce spent 11 seasons as an assistant coach, racking up 391 wins in that span and a .621 win percentage. Bruce spent 10 of those seasons at the Division I ranks with UCLA and Long Beach State, making seven appearances in NCAA Regional competitions.
In his final season at UCLA, Bruce served as the Bruins’ infield coach, recruiting coordinator and assisted with the hitters as an assistant coach in his fifth season with the program. He helped lead the team to a 45-16 overall record – the team’s second-highest win total in program history – and a Pac-12 championship. Bruce and UCLA earned a No. 1 seed and won three games at their host NCAA Regional. He helped UCLA post a .977 fielding percentage, which tied for the conference lead and also helped nine players earn All-Pac-12 honors in 2015.
UCLA posted a 25-win season in 2014, which marked Bruce’s fourth season with the team. Three players earned all-conference honors and six earned all-academic honors, while Bruce helped the team post a .971 fielding percentage.
The 2013 season was a magical one for Bruce and the Bruins, as UCLA posted 49 wins and went an undefeated 10-0 in the postseason to claim the 2013 College World Series. UCLA’s victory over Mississippi State in the finals marked their first national title in program history. Bruce led the team to a school-record .980 fielding percentage, which ranked sixth in the nation. Additionally, Bruce coached shortstop Pat Valaika to Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year and Rawlings Golden Glove honors. Six Bruins were named to the 2013 all-conference team.
As the team’s recruiting coordinator, Bruce was largely responsible for the Bruins’ second-ranked signing class in the nation according to Baseball America in the fall of 2012. Bruce later helped lead UCLA to a 48-16 overall record, a Pac-12 championship and a trip to the College World Series in the 2012 season. UCLA fielded at a .976 clip on the season, which ranked tied for third in program history.
Bruce’s first season at UCLA was in 2011 as he assisted with recruiting efforts, coached the infield and worked with the hitters. The Bruins won the Pac-12 title with an 18-9 record before posting 35 wins on the season and hosting an NCAA Regional. Bruce led UCLA to a .976 fielding percentage, which ranked second in the league, while eight players earned all-conference honors.
Prior to his stint at UCLA, Bruce spent five seasons as an assistant coach at Long Beach State. He helped the 49ers to NCAA Regional appearances in 2005 as an undergraduate assistant coach and in 2007 and 2008 as an assistant coach. Bruce helped lead LBSU to 37 wins in 2005, 39 in 2007 and 38 in 2008 as each season resulted in postseason competition.
Bruce worked with the development of All-Big West Conference selections Troy Tulowitski (2003-05), Evan Longoria (2005-06), Danny Espinosa (2007), Matt Duffy (2010) and Devin Lohman (2010) while at LBSU. Tulowitski (Blue Jays), Longoria (Rays), Espinosa (Rays) and Duffy (Rays).
Bruce was an assistant coach at Cerritos College in 2006, where he helped the Falcons to the Southern California College playoffs. Cerritos finished the season 27-17 and tied for second in the South Coast Conference. Two of his players were selected in the 2006 MLB draft.
Bruce played for Long Beach State as a senior in 2004 after spending his first two seasons (2001-02) at Cerritos College and his junior year (2013) at Texas Tech. In 2004, Bruce helped lead LBSU to an NCAA Super Regional before falling one game short of the CWS.
At Texas Tech in 2003, Bruce played in all 55 games with 53 starts and batted at a .321 clip. He also belted three home runs and 11 doubles with 38 RBI and 44 runs on the season. The Red Raiders posted a 30-25 record that season.
Bruce played at Cerritos College from 2001-02, earned All-South Coast Conference honors and led the team to the first round of the Southern California College playoffs in each of his two seasons. He batted .320 as a freshman in 2001 before hitting .330 with 37 RBI and 28 stolen bases as a sophomore in 2002.
Bruce earned three letters as a prep athlete at St. John Bosco High School and twice was named to the Long Beach Press-Telegram’s “Dream Team” as a shortstop. His junior and senior seasons he was named league MVP and helped the Braves to the league championship his senior season.
Bruce and his wife, Heather have two daughters; Rhowan and Harloe, and two sons, Jaxon and Nash.
