ARLINGTON, Texas --- Mike Trapasso, a former national coach of the year at Hawai'i who joined the UT Arlington baseball staff as an assistant with new head coach Clay Van Hook this summer, has been named the nation's 16th-best assistant coach hire by D1baseball.
 
"Mike was a big hire for the future of the program," Van Hook said. "He brings so much to the table as a pitching coach, but more importantly he brings stability and experience as an individual and family man. This recognition for him is not only earned but very much deserved."
 
Prior to spending last season as a pitching coach at Navy, Trapasso spent 20 years as head coach at Hawai'i from 2002-21, recording 536 victories including eight campaigns of 30 wins or more. He guided Hawai'i to multiple NCAA Regional appearances (2006, 2010), was named Western Athletic Conference Coach of the Year three times (2004, 2006, 2011) and guided the Rainbow Warriors to consecutive WAC Championships in 2010 and 2011.
 
In 2006, Trapasso was named the National Coach of the Year by the National Baseball Foundation and was a National Coach of the Year Finalist by College Baseball Insider after leading Hawai'i to 45 wins and its first regional since 1992.
 
"Getting someone with Trapasso's experience, especially in the past as a head coach, is huge for new UTA skipper Clay Van Hook," D1baseball.com's Kendall Rogers wrote.
 
Prior to his time in Honolulu, Trapasso spent time as an assistant coach at Georgia Tech (1995-2001), South Florida (1992-94) and Missouri (1989-91).
 
While with Georgia Tech, Trapasso was named the top collegiate baseball assistant/recruiter in the country by Baseball America in 2001. In his seven years with the Yellow Jackets, Georgia Tech never had a recruiting class that wasn't ranked in the top 20 in the nation by Collegiate Baseball: 4th, 18th, 7th, 1st, 14th, 11th and 12th. The top-ranked recruiting class in 1998 was named the best-ever in the draft era, at the time, by Baseball America.
 
During his time at USF, Trapasso was the Bulls' pitching coach. He oversaw a staff which led the then Metro Conference in ERA all three seasons he was in Tampa, and made a regional trip in 1993 following a league championship.
 
Trapasso got his start in coaching at Missouri as a graduate assistant. He earned his master's degree from Mizzou in Health Promotion and Wellness Education in 1991.
 
Outside of the collegiate landscape, Trapasso was an assistant coach for Team USA at the 2004 World University Baseball Games in Taiwan. In 1983, he played for Team USA, making him the first person to play and coach for Team USA in baseball.

For the full list by D1baseball, visit here.
 
FOLLOW THE MAVS
For the latest news on UTA Baseball, log on to UTAMavs.com or stay connected to the Mavs on social media. Follow the Mavericks on Twitter @UTAMavsBSB, on Instagram @UTAMavsBSB and on Facebook /UTAMavsBSB.