Gonzales Tapped as New Islander Assistant Baseball Coach

Two-time All-Southwest Conference player Eric Gonzalez has been named the Islanders’ assistant head baseball coach.

“Eric brings a great knowledge of the game of baseball to our program,” said interim baseball coach Gene Salazar. “He has experience in all aspects of running a collegiate program on and off the field and he’ll be a tremendous asset for this program.”

Gonzalez, who was an All-Southwest Conference player for the Texas Aggies in 1992 and 1993, has professional and collegiate experience as a player and coach. He served as the head coach at Texas-Brownsville from 1996 to 2002 and at Del Rio during the 2004 and 2005 seasons. Gonzalez also spent time as the hitting and infield instructor for the Coastal Bend Aviators of the American Association.

Gonzalez played two seasons at Texas A&M University in College Station and was a starter on the 1993 team that competed in the College World Series and was the top-ranked team in the nation for much of the season. He received a GTE Academic Achievement Award in both 1992 and 1993.

After graduation, Gonzales played for the Corpus Christi Barracudas during their inaugural season in the Texas-Louisiana League helped them win the 1994 league championship. Gonzalez also played for the Abilene Prairie Dogs when they won the 1996 Texas-Louisiana League title.