JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Jacksonville University baseball announced the hiring of Colby Bortles as an assistant coach on Monday.
Bortles will oversee recruiting efforts and work with the hitters and infielders.
"We are fired up to have Colby Bortles join our staff and program," said Head Coach
Chris Hayes. "He brings a pedigree of winning, passion for coaching and dedication to the development of our student-athletes.
"Colby is a motivated, hungry competitor and a proven winner. He understands what it takes to be successful."
The Oviedo, Florida native most recently served as an assistant at East Carolina for the past three seasons. As the program's volunteer assistant, he worked specifically with the hitters, and played a crucial role in helping the Pirates to 137 wins, two NCAA Regional titles, three straight NCAA Regional appearances, a pair of Super Regional berths, three American Athletic Conference regular season championships and the 2022 AAC Tournament title.
"We are extremely grateful and blessed for the opportunity from Coach Hayes and JU," said Bortles. "I look forward to helping JU continue its winning tradition as well as leading our student-athletes to become outstanding people."
Just last season, ECU totaled the second-most wins in a single-season in program history, with 47, and led the conference in nine offensive categories, sitting second-best in the league in two others. The team was top-25 in three of those benchmarks: sacrifice flies, hits and doubles, sitting just outside the top-25 in runs scored, sacrifice bunts and walks drawn.
Prior to his stint in Greenville, he was the volunteer assistant at Charleston Southern and an assistant hitting coach at Rollins College.
Bortles, the younger brother of former Jaguars quarterback Blake, was a standout baseball player at Ole Miss from 2014-17, earning a bachelor of science in criminal justice, with a minor in parks and recreation, and was a Dean's List member. He finished his career 10th in program history in RBI with 153. He played 213 games in his college career, helping the program win 153 times, qualify for three NCAA Regionals and advance to the 2014 College World Series. He was taken in the 22nd round of the MLB Draft by the Tigers and played three years in the their professional system.
"He knows the game and is a tremendous communicator," said Hayes. "His passion, energy and work ethic are contagious and will be so beneficial for our guys. His experience will serve as a tremendous resource for our players and he is a great fit within our program and culture.
"We welcome Colby and his wife Sam to the Dolphin family!"
