Mike Garza is a seasoned American baseball coach serving as the Associate Head Coach/Hitting/Recruiting for the Rutgers Scarlet Knights in New Brunswick, New Jersey. Entering his third season as Rutgers’ hitting coach in 2026, Garza was promoted to his current position in July 2023 after two seasons as a volunteer assistant and is in his fifth overall season with the program. In his expanded role, he oversees Rutgers’ hitters, infield defense and recruiting efforts, helping establish the Scarlet Knights as a nationally competitive unit both offensively and defensively. Under his leadership, Rutgers consistently ranks among the top teams in fielding percentage, while also developing high-caliber offensive talent—Rutgers produced top draft picks such as Trevor Cohen (2025), Josh Kuroda-Grauer (2024) and Ryan Lasko (2023), marking the program as the only Big Ten school with top three-round MLB Draft selections in three straight years. Additionally, Rutgers secured its highest-ranked recruiting class in program history in 2024 and a nationally top-20 transfer portal class in 2025.
Before rising to Rutgers’ associate head coach title, Garza built a strong résumé nationally for his work with infielders, offense, baserunning and recruiting. In 2024, his hitters paced the Big Ten with a .307 batting average and led the conference in hits, stolen bases, triples and other offensive categories; junior shortstop Josh Kuroda-Grauer earned Big Ten Player of the Year honors, the first for a Scarlet Knight since joining the conference. Garza’s early coaching career included roles as coordinator of video and scouting at Virginia, where he contributed to the Cavaliers’ College World Series run in 2021, and as an assistant coach at Navy in 2018. A former professional player, Garza was drafted in the 20th round of the 2012 MLB Draft by the Milwaukee Brewers and played several seasons in affiliated and independent leagues. He played collegiately at Stanford before transferring to Georgetown, where he earned All-Big East First Team honors. A native of San Antonio, Texas, Garza resides in New Jersey with his family.
