OSU Baseball Adds Vilade To Coaching Staff

Oklahoma State has added James Vilade to its baseball coaching staff, it was announced today by Cowboys' head coach Josh Holliday.

A coaching veteran who has spent nearly two decades at the collegiate and professional levels, Vilade comes to OSU after spending the last four seasons on the coaching staff of the Frisco RoughRiders, the Texas Rangers' Double A affiliate.

“We are excited to welcome James and his family to OSU and to Stillwater,” Holliday said. “James has strong core values when it comes to coaching and developing young men, and his experience in the game across many levels makes him very skilled in the areas of recruiting, player development and scouting. We look forward to the positive energy and passion James brings to our program as we continue to build strong relationships with current, future and past Cowboys. Our current and future players will benefit from James' unique ability to teach the game and his contagious positive energy for people.

“James brings tremendous teaching experience gained not only as a college coach but also with the Texas Rangers organization while helping develop some of their elite young players over the past several seasons and working with the player development staff of one of the finest organizations in baseball.”

Vilade is excited to rejoin the collegiate coaching ranks after previously spending 12 years at that level.

“I would like to thank Coach Holliday and the university administration for the opportunity to join the OSU coaching staff,” Villade said. “I am excited to join an already strong coaching staff as part of one of the best programs in the history of college baseball. This is a great time in the history of the OSU Baseball program and to be a part of it is an opportunity our entire family is excited about.

“I also wanted to publicly thank Jon Daniels and Mike Daley and the Texas Rangers Baseball Club for the trust they instilled in me helping develop players at the professional level for six years. The opportunity to work alongside managers Steve Buechele, Jason Wood and Joe Mikiluk helped me develop as a coach, and I have great appreciation for the time they invested in me as a part of their staff.”

Vilade served two stints with Frisco and has been a part of four Texas League Playoffs teams and two Texas League Finals clubs. His first tenure came in 2007 and 2008, when he was the RoughRiders' hitting instructor and helped develop the likes of future Major League Baseball All-Star Elvis Andrus. The RoughRiders qualified for the Texas League Playoffs both of those two seasons and was named the Minor League Team of the Year in 2008.

In 2012, Vilade joined the Frisco staff again as a coach and scout after serving as a scout for the Florida Marlins in 2010 and 2011.

At the collegiate level, Vilade has enjoyed success as a head coach at two different schools — the University of Dallas and the University of Texas at Tyler. In 11 seasons, he compiled a 348-117 record, and his career winning percentage of .748 ranks 19th in NCAA history. From 2000-10, he was the winningest NCAA baseball coach in the state of Texas.

In four seasons at the University of Dallas, Vilade led the Crusaders to a 118-52 record. He was inducted into the UD Athletics Hall of Fame in 2011.

Following his stint at UD, Vilade spent one season as an assistant at Oral Roberts, helping the Golden Eagles win a Mid-Continent Conference championship, before moving to UT Tyler to serve as the program's first head baseball coach in 2003.

In seven seasons leading the Patriots, Vilade recorded a 201-58 record (.776 winning percentage). In 2007, he led UT Tyler to a 37-1 mark, the second-best single-season record in NCAA history, and in 2009, the Patriots went 39-12, won their first-ever American Southwest Conference championship and earned the program's first NCAA Tournament berth.

Vilade also spent two years as UT Tyler's athletic director, serving in that capacity from 2008-10.

During his tenure in the college ranks, Vilade coached 112 all-conference players and 16 All-Americans, and over 60 players he coached went on to play professional baseball.

Vilade played baseball collegiately at Baylor, where he was a two-year letterwinner and helped the Bears win the 1993 Southwest Conference championship. A team captain at BU, he earned his degree in telecommunications from the school in 1995 before receiving a Master's Degree in Sports Management from the United States Sports Academy in 2003.

Highly active in community and humanitarian work, Vilade founded the Keeper of The Game Foundation in 2014. That organization supports children with special needs and disabilities in and around baseball while also promoting servant leadership among players and coaches. During the George W. Bush Administration, Vilade received the United States Presidential Gold Service Award for his volunteer efforts.

Vilade and his wife Jennifer have two sons — Ryan and Trent — and a daughter, McKenzie.

James Vilade Coaching Resumé

2012-15: Frisco RoughRiders coaching/scouting staff

2010-11: Florida Marlins scout

2007-08: Frisco RoughRiders hitting instructor

2003-10: University of Texas at Tyler head coach

2002: Oral Roberts University assistant coach

1998-2001: University of Dallas head coach