A veteran coach with a quarter century of experience mentoring student-athletes at all levels, Jon Wente joined the Sacramento State coaching staff for his first season in August of 2022 and enters his third year on staff in 2025.
"We are excited to have Jon join us as our new pitching coach," Christiansen said. "Jon has a tremendous track record and has won at every step of his career. Our players and staff are excited to welcome him to Sacramento."
A native of Cave Creek, Ariz., Wente spent the previous eight seasons as the pitching coach at a pair of Western Athletic Conference rivals, the last two at Grand Canyon following six years as the associate head coach, recruiting coordinator, and pitching coach at UT Arlington.
He also has experience as a head coach at Hutchison Community College in Kansas (2003-04), Odessa College in Texas (2005), and a nine-year run at Central Arizona College (2006-14), while also serving as an assistant for the Vaqueros following his collegiate playing career.
"My family and I are grateful for this tremendous opportunity to coach at Sacramento State," Wente said. "Coach Christensen and Coach (David) Flores have been great to work with throughout the entire process and I am very excited for the chance to work with and learn from some great pitchers."
During his time as an assistant with the 'Lopes and Mavericks, Wente saw 11 of his student-athletes selected in the Major League Baseball first-year player draft — five of those at GCU and six more during his time on the staff at UTA — including five of those in the top 15 rounds.
Over his two seasons in Arizona, Wente helped lead Grand Canyon to a combined 80-42-1 overall record and a 54-12 mark in Western Athletic Conference play, capturing the league tournament title in 2021 and lifting the 'Lopes to a pair of NCAA regional berths. Last year, GCU broke into the top 25 for the final three weeks of the regular season and set a new program Division I record with 41 victories, while the pitching staff ranked No. 10 in the nation in strikeout-to-walk ratio (3.00), No. 19 in walks allowed per nine innings (3.31), No. 27 in strikeouts per nine innings (9.9), and No. 36 in WHIP (1.38).
Individually, closer Vince Reilly was fifth in the NCAA with 14 saves while conference pitcher and freshman of the year Daniel Avitia ranked among the top 30 in both strikeouts (No. 28 with 111) and strikeouts per nine innings (No. 29 with 5.84).
In 2021, Wente helped mentor a 'Lopes pitching staff to a 3.98 ERA — the second-best mark in the program's Division I history — and a 2.98 ERA in league games. For the year, Grand Canyon's staff set program bests in saves (15), shutouts (seven), and opponent batting average (.247), while staff ace Pierson Ohl was named the program's first Division I All-American and first WAC Pitcher of the Year.
Prior to his arrival in Phoenix, Wente built a strong staff at UT Arlington, including a combined 2.42 team ERA in 2020 — a mark that ranked No. 18 nationally. The Mavericks also ranked No. 14 in the nation with 6.33 hits per nine innings that year and claimed a Sun Belt Conference Western Division title in 2017 with a staff that led the league in saves (18) and finished second in ERA (3.27).
After earning his first head coaching positions at Hutchinson CC and Odessa College, Wente built an impressive resume at Central Arizona College as its head coach, leading the Vaqueros to six consecutive Region I championships, including 56 wins and a runner-up finish at the 2011 World Series and a third-place World Series finish in 2008.
In nine seasons with the Vaqueros, Wente posted a 402-165 (.709) record and saw 28 of his players drafted by Major League clubs — including major leaguers Ian Kinsler, Scott Hairston, and Josh Spence — and holds a 513-226 (.696) mark overall in 11 seasons as a head coach.
He also has experience on the international level as a coach for USA Baseball, helping lead the 18U team to a silver medal at the 2006 World Championships in Cuba, coaching the likes of Matt Harvey, Freddie Freeman, Blake Beavan, and Mike Moustakas.
As a player, Wente began at Central Arizona (1994-95) before finishing his career at Arizona State (1996) and McNeese State (1997), setting the Cowboys' single-season record for innings pitched (119.0) in 21 appearances (16 starts). He also played professionally for the independent Moose Jaw Diamond Dogs.
Wente graduated from Arizona State in 1998. His wife, Sandra, is an assistant softball coach at Grand Canyon and they have a son, Tyler.
