Bio

Coach Gilich completed his 9th season as Head Coach and 16th overall at Central Arizona College.

The Vaqueros finished 2023 season as the conference champions for the 3rd consecutive year and the 47-12 record ranks 4th best winning percentage All-time in the history of the program. Gilich was voted as ACCAC Coach of the Year for the fouth time. 

Coach Gilich guided the 2022 Central Arizona baseball team to an NJCAA NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP defeating Cowley (KS) 4-2 in the title game.  The National Championship is the 4th in school history and 2nd under Gilich's leadership.  The 2022 Vaqueros also won the West District Championship, Region 1 Championship and were the ACCAC Conference Champions.  Along the way, Gilich earned ACCAC Coach of the Year, West District Coach of the Year, ACCAC Coach of the Year, the Walter "Bus" Bergman Coach of the World Series and the ABCA National Coach of the Year.  The 59-13 record was he most wins in school history.

The Vaqueros finished 2021 as ACCAC Conference Champions, West District Champions and National Runner-Up at the JUCO World Series. The 51-9 record is the best winning percentage (.850) in school history. Coach Gilich was named ACCAC and West District Coach of the Year. The Vaqueros started the season with a school record 31-game win streak.

The 2019 season ended with the Vaqueros winning the Region 1 Championship, the Western District Chanpionship and the NJCAA World Series NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP defeating Iowa Western 13-8 in the title game. 2019 is one of 3 Central Arizona teams to win a National Championships joining the 1976 & 2002 clubs.  For his efforts, Gilich was named Western District Coach of the Year, was awarded the prestigious Walter "Bus" Bergman JUCO World Series Coach of the Tournament and ABCA National Coach of the Year.  The Vaqueros finished the year 50-20 including winning 19 of their last 21 games as well as fighting off 12 elimination games in pursuit of their 3rd national title.

In only his second year as head coach, the Vaqueros won the ACCAC Conference championship and Gilich was awarded ACCAC Coach of the Year. 

He currently owns the best winning percentage among all coaches in the history of the program (.749) with a 395-132 record and started the 2016 campaign with 17 consecutive wins.  In his 9 years, 50 players have been selected ALL-ACCAC, 3 named ACCAC Player/Pitcher of the Year (Caleb Henderson, Mat Olsen, Matt Wilkinson), 7 NJCAA All Americans (Grant Townsend, Mat Olsen, JD McLaughlin, Hunter Omlid, Kiko Romero, Matt Wilkinson, Patrick Steitz), 2 NJCAA Rawlings Gold Glove (Pikai Winchester, Mat Olsen), 1 National Pitcher of the Year (Matt Wilkinson), 25 players drafted and 132 have committed to four-year universities.

2017 saw the Vaqueros finish as the District Finals and Region 1 Runner-up and fall one game short of a NJCAA World Series appearance.

In his inaugural season as head coach the Vaqueros finished 37-19, including a conference best 13 game win streak.  The 37 wins ranks him #1 all-time among CAC coaches in their first year at the helm.  The 2018 team, recorded two consecutive 14-game win streaks.

In 2008, as an assistant under the direction of Gilich, CAC broke the all-time fielding percentage record in NJCAA Division I history with a .977 rate. His infielders finished in the Top 15 of the NJCAA I in fielding each year.

Gilich's offense led the ACCAC in stolen bases in 2011 and set a school record with 203. Also, during his tenure as recruiting coordinator, 75 CAC players committed to NCAA Division I schools while 24 were drafted - including first-rounder Keenyn Walker and third-rounder Fernando Perez. Also, six Vaqueros were named ACCAC Player of the Year and six have earned NJCAA Rawlings Gold Glove Award.  As an assistant at Central, Gilich coached Josh Spence, AJ Schugel, Joel Kuhnel and Jared Koenig who all played in the MLB.

Gilich coached from 2003-07 at the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, Wash., where he was the associate head coach and recruiting coordinator. He was responsible for managing the third base box and coaching the team's infielders.

In 2004, UPS led the Northwest Conference in stolen bases and in stolen base percentage, converting 90 of 115 attempts during the season. In addition, the Loggers had a higher fielding percentage and fewer errors every season upon his arrival in 2003. During Gilich's tenure, five Puget Sound infielders were selected All-Northwest Conference.

Gilich also has served as the head coach of the highly-recognized Triple Play Hornets from 2004-07. In 2007, he guided the Hornets to a 47-16 record as well as winning their second consecutive USABF World Series Championship in San Diego. During his tenure with Triple Play, every player was placed at the college level including former Vaqueros Cade Thompson, Joe Anson and Tim Steggall.

Gilich had an outstanding prep career at Gig Harbor High School (WA) where he earned First Team All-State honors as a shortstop and also won a state championship in 1997. He still holds the school record for most saves in a season and most career saves.

Collegiately, he finished his playing career at Santa Barbara City College.

In 2003, Gilich graduated cum laude from Central Washington University with a degree in speech communication and a minor in sociology.  Gilich is married to Alison Smith and they reside in Chandler, AZ with their son Grady.