Nathan Bannister

Biography

Path to GCU 2009-12 Liberty HS (Peoria, Ariz.) Student-athlete 2013-16 Arizona (Tucson, Ariz.) Student-athlete 2016-18 Seattle Mariners organization Minor leaguer 2019-22 Seattle Mariners organization Pitching coach 2022- Grand Canyon Pitching coach Nathan Bannister is in his fourth season as Grand Canyon's pitching coach in 2026 after joining the program in July 2022. He began serving as the program's interim head coach on March 27, 2026. In Bannister's first two seasons on staff, the Lopes won both WAC Regular-Season Championships. In 2024, GCU claimed its first ever NCAA tournament victory at the D-I level, defeating Bannister's alma mater (No. 15 Arizona 9-4) and also beating No. 25 Dallas Baptist 12-10 to advance to a regional championship. In his first season, a late-season tear by the Lopes coincided with an impressive run from GCU's pitching staff, posting a 2.84 earned-run average in the final 12 games of the regular season — all wins. Bannister coached All-WAC pitchers Daniel Avitia (first team) and Zach Thornton and Brodie Cooper-Vassalakis (second team). Two pitchers gained professional opportunities from Bannister's first year on staff in 2023. Thornton was a fifth-round pick of the New York Mets and righty reliever Cody Tucker signed a free agent deal with the San Francisco Giants. Bannister joined GCU from the Seattle Mariners organization, where he was most recently serving as a pitching coach for the Modesto Nuts. A Phoenix native, Bannister pitched for the U

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