A few weeks ahead of returning to practice ahead of the 2026 season, Arizona’s coaching staff is complete.
The school formally announced the hiring of pitching coach Sean Kenny on Monday, giving the Wildcats
another veteran assistant with nearly 30 years of experience at the collegiate level.
The 53-year-old Kenny replaces John DeRouin, who had been pitching coach for only six months before taking a job in the New York Mets’ organization. DeRouin had taken over after Kevin Vance became head coach at San Diego State.
Kenny comes to Tucson from Iowa, where he spent the 2025 season and helped the Hawkeyes rank 16th in the country in ERA and 11th in strikeouts per nine innings. He was at Houston in 2024 and previously had stops at Georgia, Michigan, Maryland, Pepperdine and San Diego.
The 2026 season will be Kenny’s 30th in college.
Arizona is coming off a trip to the College World Series and brings back the bulk of a pitching staff that ranked 11th nationally in strikeout-to-walk ratio and 8th in walks allowed per nine innings. The Wildcats bring back starters Smith Bailey and Owen Kramkowski, both of whom made starts in the CWS, as well as NCBWA Stopper of the Year Tony Pluta and several other relievers.
The 5th season under Chip Hale, who picked up a contract extension over the summer through 2030, is set to begin Feb. 13 against former Pac-12 foe Stanford at a tournament in Surprise, Ariz.
