Abe Alvarez is entering his fourth year with the Wolf Pack in 2021-22, and his third as a paid assistant coach after being promoted by head coach T.J. Bruce in August of 2019.
In 2021 Alvarez helped the Wolf Pack capture its third Mountain West regular season championship overall and its first since the 2018 season. 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, 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 Alvarez on staff in 2018 as a volunteer assistant coach, Nevada posted a team ERA of 4.60, the lowest in Bruce’s four-year tenure with the Pack. Two of the Wolf Pack’s pitchers from last season, Grant Ford and Ryan Anderson, were drafted in the 2019 MLB Draft. Ford was selected in the fifth round by the Pittsburgh Pirates, the highest by a Wolf Pack player since 2013.
The Fontana, California native attended Long Beach State, where he was named Big West Pitcher of the Year and second-team All-American from 2002-03. He was also ranked as one of the 30 greatest baseball players in school history from 1954-2006. During that time, he racked up a 23-5 record and struck out 195 batters. His junior year, he helped lead Long Beach to its first-ever Super Regional appearance.
After the 2003 season, Alvarez was drafted in the second round, 49th overall, by the Boston Red Sox. He made the quickest trip from single-a to the MLB in franchise history, and made his first big league appearance in July of 2004. That year, he was the youngest member of the team that won the World Series. Alvarez would spend six seasons with the Red Sox organization, with 3 stints of Major League duty, before retiring in 2009.
Following retirement, Alvarez served as an undergraduate assistant coach at his alma mater until 2011, while earning his bachelor’s degree in History. Alvarez later earned a Master’s degree in Secondary Education from Loyola Marymount University in 2017.
After Long Beach State, Alvarez coached at Cerritos High School, then at St. Bernard High School where he was a teacher, Dean of Students, and the head baseball coach. At St. Bernard he led the team to its first league title in 30 years and also to back to back quarterfinals appearances in CIF.
Alvarez and his wife Natalie have two kids, Isabella and Benjamin.
