New Mexico State University Athletics

The 2021-22 academic year marks Mike Kirby's third season at the helm of the NM State baseball program. He was tabbed the 11th head coach in program history on June 27, 2019.

Through the course of his first full season as the Aggies' leader, NM State posted a 20-34 mark which included a 16-20 showing in Western Athletic Conference (WAC) action. Kirby's club made the cut for the WAC Tournament as the fourth seed and seven different Aggies secured spots on various All-WAC teams. Headlining that group was outfielder Zerek Saenz who was NM State's lone representative on the All-WAC First Team. 

As a first-year head coach during the pandemic-shortened season in 2020, Kirby led the Aggies to the best 10-game start (9-1) in program history. NM State went on to match its best 13-game start (12-1) in school history following a four-game series sweep of Purdue Fort Wayne.

Infielder Nick Gonzales blossomed in his one season under Kirby’s tutelage. The Vail, Ariz., native was named the 2020 Collegiate Baseball Newspaper National Player of the Year after hitting .448 through the first 16 games of the pandemic-shortened season. Gonzales ranked first nationally in home runs (12), runs (28), runs batted in (36) and total bases (67).

Under Kirby’s watch, Gonzales was selected seventh overall by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 2020 MLB Draft, becoming the highest-selected draftee in New Mexico State baseball history.

Kirby came to the City of Crosses with a championship pedigree, having won seven conference titles as well as the 1995 College World Series at his alma mater Cal State Fullerton. He’s also seen 106 student-athletes and counting selected in the MLB Draft during his coaching career, including 27 that have played in the MLB.
 
The Huntington Beach, Calif., native spent five seasons at Nebraska (2014-19), where he served as an assistant head coach. While in Lincoln, Kirby worked with the infielders and served as the team’s third base coach. In those five seasons, he mentored 13 student-athlete who were later selected in the MLB Draft.
 
Nebraska made three NCAA Regional appearances while Kirby was on staff in addition to a Big Ten regular-season title in 2017. The Huskers also had five All-Americans during that stretch – three of which were infielders, including a second-round draft pick in Ryan Boldt.
 
Prior to joining Darin Erstad's staff, who was a longtime player for the then-Anaheim Angels, Kirby was in his second stint at Cal State Fullerton as part of Rick Vanderhook's staff from 2012-14, where he served as the recruiting coordinator, first-base coach and worked with the infielders.

In his first season back with the Titans in 2012, CSUF had the 23rd-ranked recruiting class in the country by Baseball America, producing National Freshman Pitcher of the Year Thomas Eshelman and Big West Conference Pitcher of the Year Justin Garza. Both pitched for the USA Collegiate Baseball National Team during the summer of 2014. Eshelman was named an All-American in each of his last three seasons and was a second-round pick by Houston in 2015.
 
Before returning to CSUF for his second stint, Kirby helped his former head coach, George Horton, lead the Oregon Ducks' return to the national spotlight. During his time in Eugene, he coached first base and worked with the outfielders, playing an integral role in Oregon earning four consecutive nationally-ranked recruiting classes, including three ranked in the top-10 and a program-best top-5 ranking in 2010.
 
Kirby made his return to the coaching ranks in 2008, joining Buddy Goldsmith's coaching staff at UNLV after a nine-year hiatus working in sales for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (1999-2008). While with the Rebels, Kirby played a critical role in Xavier Scruggs winning the Mountain West Conference triple crown with a .379 average, 20 homers and 65 RBI.
 
Kirby saw his first action at CSUF in 1991 and spent eight of the next nine seasons as either a student assistant (one year), facilities manager (three years) or assistant coach (four years). He left the Titans briefly to assist at Los Angeles City College in 1996. During that stretch, CSUF hauled in six conference titles four College World Series appearances (1992, 1994, 1995, 1999) that culminated with a National Championship in 1995. Under his tutelage, the Titans saw nine position players reach the Major Leagues (Frank Charles, Steve Sisco, Phil Nevin, Dante Powell, Jeremy Giambi, Mark Kotsay, Mike Lamb, Aaron Rowand and Reed Johnson) while coaching four of the five Titan Olympians (Brian Loyd, Kotsay, Jason Moler, Nevin).
 
Kirby played his first two years of collegiate baseball at Cerritos College under Horton from 1988-89 where he helped guide the Falcons to two state championships before wrapping up his career at Long Beach State under then-head coach Dave Snow, who was also a former CSUF assistant.
 
A 1994 graduate of Cal State Fullerton with a degree in kinesiology, Kirby and his wife Melissa have two daughters – Payten and Lauren.