Tod Brown was named the 12th Lobo Baseball Head Coach on June 17, 2021. In his five seasons at the helm at UNM, the Lobos improved in overall wins and win percentage from 2023-25 and made have made three trips to the Mountain West Tournament in a row for the first time since 2017. He's led the Lobos to four consecutive winning seasons in which they've ranked among the most productive offenses in the nation in each.
| Year | School | Overall Record | Conference Record |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | New Mexico (MW) | 21-33 (.389) | 10-20 (.333) |
| 2023 | New Mexico (MW) | 26-25 (.510) | 13-17 (.433) |
| 2024 | New Mexico (MW) | 28-26 (.519) | 17-13 (.567) |
| 2025 | New Mexico (MW) | 30-23 (.566) | 17-13 (.567) |
| 2026 | New Mexico (MW) | 29-24-1 (.546) | 12-11-1 (.520) |
| 5 Seasons at New Mexico | 134-131-1 (.506) | 69-74-1 (.482) | |
| UNM CAREER HIGHLIGHTS |
- Three MW Tournament appearances in a row
- First MW Tournament win for UNM since 2017
- Three years in a row ranking in the Top 10 in program history in pitching strikeouts
- Four winning seasons in a row
- Ranked among the Top 10 in the nation in batting average, doubles and scoring in three of the last four seasons
- 19 All-MW Selections
- Five-Time ABCA Team Academic Excellence Award recipient
- Akili Carris: 2026 MW Scholar-Athlete of the Year
- Jake Holland: 2024 MW Co-Player of the Year
| 2026 |
The Lobos made their third-straight MW Tournament appearance in 2026 and won their first MW tournament game since 2017 with a 13-4 opening-round victory over #4-seed Nevada. New Mexico finished the season 29-24-1 overall and 12-11-1 in Mountain West play, securing a winning record for the fourth consecutive season.
UNM opened the season with 12 consecutive victories, sweeping Fordham, Northern Colorado and St. Thomas in three straight four-game series to become one of the last three undefeated teams remaining in college baseball. The Lobos also picked up a 6-3 road victory at Arizona — their first win in Tucson since 2019 — won road series at UNLV and swept eventual MW regular-season champion San Diego State at home.
Offensively, New Mexico remained among the nation’s most productive teams, finishing with a .301 team batting average, .407 on-base percentage and 7.8 runs per game. The Lobos ranked among the Top 40 nationally in:
Doubles Per Game (10th, 2.33)
Sacrifice Flies (17th, 34)
Doubles (24th, 126)
On-Base Percentage (36th, .407)
Batting Average (39th, .301)
Scoring (40th, 7.8)
UNM also led the Mountain West in walks (287) and sacrifice flies (34), ranked second in the league in on-base percentage and doubles per game and finished third in total doubles, runs and scoring.
Khalil Walker led the Lobos with a .352 batting average while producing 63 hits, 15 doubles and a .458 on-base percentage. Gene Trujillo finished with a team-high 20 doubles, tying for second in the Mountain West and ranking 45th nationally, while Anthony Diaz’s 18 doubles ranked fifth in the conference. Diaz also scored a team-high 52 runs, with his 1.08 runs per game ranking sixth in the MW.
On the mound, Ryan Castillo anchored the staff with an 8-3 record, 4.20 ERA and 83 strikeouts in 81.1 innings while throwing UNM’s lone complete game of the season. He ranked third in the Mountain West in strikeouts and tied for third in complete games. The Lobos also continued to play strong defense, finishing 43rd nationally and second in the MW with a .977 fielding percentage that stands as a new program single-season record.
Shortstop Karsen Waslefsky was also named one of 50 semifinalists for the Brooks Wallace Award, presented annually to the nation’s top collegiate shortstop.
Four Lobos picked up All-MW honors, with Castillo earning First Team All-MW and Akili Carris, Cooper Corkrean and Khalil Walker all named to the second team. Akili Carris went on to win MW Scholar-Athlete of the Year honors, making him just the fifth Lobo and second UNM baseball player to earn the honor.
| 2025 |
In 2025, the Lobos maintained the momentum from a big step forward the previous season, cracking 30 wins for the first time since 2017 for their third year in a row with an improvement in total wins and win percentage (.566). They also qualified for the MW Tournament again, securing back-to-back postseason appearances for the first time since 2017. The last time UNM increased its winning percentage over three consecutive seasons was 2012-2014.
The Lobos finished third in the MW standings with six All-MW first and second team selections – the most since 2013. They ranked among the best offensive teams in the nation, matching a program record with 93 home runs and ranking No. 1 in the nation (NCAA D-I) upon the conclusion of the regular season in:
- Team Batting Average (.339)
- Total Doubles (148)
- Doubles Per Game (2.85)
UNM also ranked among the Top 20 in the nation in:
- Batting Average (2nd, 0.337)
- Home Runs Per Game (16th, 1.75)
- Doubles Per Game (1st, 2.79)
- Slugging Percentage (3rd, 0.574)
- On Base Percentage (14th, 0.425)
- Scoring (7th, 9.2)
The Lobos led the league in batting average and on-base percentage for a third season in a row – something UNM had only done once prior from 2012-2014.
Along with the single-season record in homers, UNM’s 2025 offense ranked among the Top 10 single-season statistical performances in program history in RBI (#6), OBP (#6), Slugging (#2), Total Bases (#6) and Doubles (#9).
UNM wrapped up the season with the most home wins (19) since 2017 and best home win % (19-8, .704) in a season with 15 or more home games since 2016.
| 2024 |
At the conclusion of the 2024 regular season, UNM ranked No. 8 in the nation in batting average (.319), No. 15 in the nation in double plays (51) and No. 17 in doubles per game (2.24). The Lobos led the MW in nearly every offensive category that season, with a slugging percentage of .515 that tied for the 10th-best in program history (No. 35 in the nation) and an on-base percentage of .421 that was also 10th-best in program history and No. 15 in the nation.
Jake Holland was named MW Co-Player of the Year and ABCA All-Region Second Team following the season, with four Lobos making the All-MW team (most since 2017) and UNM taking home eight MW weekly awards (most since 2013).
After finishing just a game out of first place in the Mountain West standings, the Lobos returned to the Mountain West Tournament for the first time since 2017, with their season ending in San Diego, Calif. after falling to San Jose State and eventual tournament champion Fresno State. In total, they won 28 games, making it back-to-back years over .500.
| 2023 |
In Brown’s second season at the helm, the Lobos posted their best winning percentage in a full season since 2017 (.510), finishing fifth in the Mountain West standings (26-25, 13-17 MW) and leading the league in a variety of categories including team batting average (.328), runs (441), RBI (411), triples (24), home runs (87), slugging % (.559) and on-base % (.406). UNM also improved from a 9.06 ERA as a team in Brown’s first season to a 5.95 ERA — the program’s lowest in a single season since 2016 — while averaging only 3.20 walks per nine innings, its fewest since 2014. Following the completion of that season, RHP Isaac Gallegos became the first UNM player coached by Brown to be selected in the MLB Draft, going in the 16th Round to the Atlanta Braves.
The 2023 Lobos ranked in the Top 10 in the country in a variety of team statistical categories:
- No. 3 in Batting Average (.329)
- No. 9 in Double Plays per Game (0.94)
- No. 5 in Doubles Per Game (2.45)
- No. 10 in Runs per Game (8.60)
- No. 4 in Slugging Percentage (.560)
- No. 5 in Triples (24) and Triples per Game (0.47)
- No. 10 in Walks Allowed per Nine Innings (3.20)
Following the 2023 season, the Lobos also got three All-MW selections — first baseman Reed Spenrath was a first-team selection, while third baseman Dylan Ditzenberger and left fielder Lenny Junior Ashby were second-team selections. Ditzenberger went on to be named a CSC Academic All-American for his efforts on the field and in the classroom. Both UNM teams that Brown has coached (2022, 2023) have earned the ABCA Team Academic Excellence Award for their academic accomplishments.
| 2022 |
In the 2022 season — Brown’s first season in Albuquerque — UNM went 21-33 and finished sixth in the MW standings, with Lenny Junior Ashby and Jeffrey David named to the All-MW Second Team.
| PRIOR TO UNM |
Brown came to New Mexico after a successful 14 years and 341 wins with North Dakota State, where he currently sits as the second-winningest coach in program history and is the all-time leader in wins per season (24.4). In 2021, Brown led the Bison to the 2021 NCAA Tournament, winning its first Division I postseason game 6-1 over Mountain West opponent Nevada. In the same season, NDSU broke a school record with 20 Summit League victories, besting the previous record of 19 set by his 2017 team, and posted an overall record of 42-19. The Bison also led the nation with 25 road wins and set new school records in strikeouts (474) and putouts (1,567) in a single season.
Brown is no stranger to winning as he owns the two highest single season win totals in NDSU history (42 wins in 2021, 40 wins in 2012), and the only two 40+ win seasons by the program. Brown also owns three of the top-five single-season win totals in NDSU history. Under Brown’s leadership, NDSU has played in five Summit League championship games, winning it outright in 2021 and 2014, and qualified for the league’s baseball championship eight out of the last 11 years.
Brown took the helm of NDSU in 2008 and turned around a program that had faced three consecutive losing seasons, posting just 38 wins from 2005-07. In 2012, NDSU won a then-school-record 40 games, including an 8-2 win over a No. 5-ranked Arizona team that went on to win the 2012 College World Series. North Dakota State had a school-record .973 fielding percentage and posted a team ERA of 3.38, which was the program’s lowest ERA in 37 years.
In 2016, the Bison posted a 29-25 overall record and set a new record for home wins at Newman Outdoor Field with 17 victories. In addition, North Dakota State set a new single season record in saves (17). NDSU defeated No. 19-ranked Minnesota on April 26 in Fargo, marking the second-ever win over an NCAA Division I top-25 opponent.
In the Summit League, Brown has coached two Summit League Players of the Year, one Summit League Newcomer of the Year, 46 All-Summit League selections, 22 Summit League Players of the Week, and 30 Summit League Pitchers of the Week. Under his leadership, Brown has also led players to two Collegiate Baseball Freshmen All-America selections and two College Baseball National Players of the Week.
During his tenure at NDSU, Brown has had three NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship Winners, one Senior CLASS Award All-America, one CoSIDA Academic All-America Athlete of the Year, nine CoSIDA Academic All-America selections, 11 CoSIDA Academic All-District selections, one Summit League Scholar-Athlete of the Year, 16 Summit League Academic All-League selections, and was twice honored by NCAA with Public Recognition for perfect APR scores (2012-13 and 2015-16).
The Tucson, Ariz. native, was a left-handed pitcher for the Arizona Wildcats from 1990-94, leading the team in 1992 to a Pac-10 Championship. In 1993 he won six games and saved eight, setting a record with 35 appearances as Arizona fell one game short of the College World Series.
Brown then made a career out of coaching college ball in the northern tier of the country. He came to NDSU after eight seasons in Ohio as the pitching coach and recruiting coordinator for Bowling Green State University.
During this time, he recruited or helped develop eight players who have reached the major leagues, including former UNM pitching standout Jamie Vermilyea, who played for the Lobos from 2001-03. This list also includes Jay Flaa, who made his MLB debut this year, J.J. Hardy and pitcher Tim Wood from Sabino High School, in Tucson, Ariz., outfielder Shelley Duncan and pitchers Josh Pearce and Ben Diggins at the University of Arizona, and pitcher Burke Badenhop and outfielder Nolan Reimold from Bowling Green.
After two years as the pitching coach at Sabino High School in Tucson, Ariz., Brown began his collegiate coaching career in 1999 as a volunteer assistant for Arizona. He worked with pitchers and catchers and was the first-base coach for the Wildcats, who qualified for an NCAA regional.
Brown was also a head coach for the San Francisco Seals of the California Coastal Collegiate League in the summer of 1999, compiling a 43-29 record and making a fourth-place finish in the National Baseball Congress World Series.
Tod and his wife Janet have a son, Brooks, and a daughter, Blake.