Report: Miami to hire former Boston Red Sox staffer Laz Gutierrez as pitching coach

New Miami head coach JD Arteaga isn’t wasting much time getting his staff together. He’s set to hire Nova Southeastern head coach Laz Gutierrez as pitching coach, D1Baseball’s Kendall Rogers reported late Wednesday.

Arteaga just wrapped up his fourth season with NSU, amassing an 86-63 record during that time. Before that, he spent 13 years in the Boston Red Sox organization, including the last six of that span with the MLB club. With Boston, he worked as the mental skills coordinator, which meant he built leadership and mental skills routines for the players. He was on the staff for two World Series — 2013 and 2018.

Arteaga is gearing up to take over for Gino DiMare, who stepped down after the 2023 campaign. He spent 21 years on staff as an assistant and spent this past year as the associate head coach. His time on the staff followed a decorated career with Miami from 1994-97.

Arteaga helped lead Miami to four straight College World Series as a star pitcher. He ranks second in program history with 458.1 innings pitched and fifth with 343 career strikeouts. His No. 33 was retired in 2003.

Now, he’s getting his shot to lead the program, and he released a statement on the move when it became official earlier this week.

“This is truly a dream come true,” Arteaga said. “Growing up in Miami, playing for the Hurricanes and coaching in the orange and green the last 21 seasons has meant the world to me. I’m beyond privileged to lead one of the most historic programs in college baseball and add to our storied tradition. I want to thank Joe Echevarria, Rudy Fernandez, Dan Radakovich and the administration for this opportunity of a lifetime.”

Miami athletic director Dan Radakovich also released a statement about the decision to promote Arteaga after a wide-ranging search. Multiple coaches, including former LSU coach Paul Mainieri and Duke coach Chris Pollard, back out of the process.

Ultimately, the Hurricanes decided on Arteaga.

“We are excited to introduce J.D. as the new head baseball coach for the Miami Hurricanes,” Radakovich said. “I believe J.D. is the right leader at the right time for this storied program. He appreciates what makes Miami one of the crown jewels of college baseball, while also recognizing what is required to keep adding to that legacy.”

Miami finished with a 42-21 record and fell to Texas in the Coral Gables Regional.