Nate Rasmussen was named Utah Valley's fourth coach in their Division I history on July 12, 2024. "
Nate Rasmussen has earned the opportunity to lead our baseball program," Sumsion said. "This was an extremely deep and competitive candidate pool due to our upward trajectory and the opportunity to win at Utah Valley. We have seen firsthand the impressive work that Coach Rasmussen has put into helping construct this program over the past three seasons. He is a relationship builder with a proven track record of success in NCAA DI and Major League Baseball. We look forward to the continued ascent of UVU baseball under his leadership and are thrilled to see us compete for WAC Championships with Coach Rasmussen at the helm."
Rasmussen has served Coach Smith’s staff since he arrived during the 2021 summer. Originally named Recruiting Coordinator, Rasmussen was promoted to Associate Head Coach following the 2023 season. During the 2023 season, Utah Valley reached unmatched success on the field by winning 34 games, making the biggest winning percentage turnaround in the country from 2021, in which they went 10-47. In 2023, Rasmussen landed on D1Baseball’s “
100 Assistant Coaches Athletic Directors Should Know”, as well as getting him an invite to the Surefire Forum, where only top assistants in the county are invited.
The 2024 season will mark the third year at UVU for Rasmussen, who is responsible for bringing in 23 newcomers to the roster for the 2022-2023 season from major junior colleges on the West Coast, high schools around the country, and other D1 programs. Rasmussen was involved in coaching First Team All-Conference infielder Danny Dickinson and led UVU to have the best fielding percentage in school history.
During the 2022 season, Rasmussen coached the UVU infielders to the fifth-highest fielding percentage in the UVU DI era of .967 and the fourth-fewest errors. He coached Mick Madsen through a position change from the infield's left side to the right side. Madsen recorded 125 assists and was responsible for 30 double plays. Kyle Coburn added 92 assists on the season with 19 fielding double plays. In the summer of 2022, Utah Valley saw their first incoming player sign a professional baseball contract with the Philadelphia Phillies. Andrew Walling was one of the most sought-after players in the country as a 6’6 LHP up to 99 mph who was transferring to UVU from Mississippi State. Other notable commits were two players who played on teams that made the NJCAA World Series, a Friday night starter from the PAC 12, and many other players with notable accolades that should transition well to UVU in the years to come.
“Nate is a Utah native with an extensive resume. He has recruited the Western United States in his time as a recruiting coordinator at Pacific University and in the WAC at Northern Colorado,” said Smith. “Growing up in Utah, Coach Rasmussen will be able to help us establish our program as a destination in the state. He comes to us from coaching in the Minnesota Twins organization, where his experience will bring great insight to our player development.”
Rasmussen is a Utah native as he grew up in Sandy and played his high school ball at Bingham High School. He then went on to play collegiately at Pacific University in Oregon where he was a three-time all-conference performer for the Boxers. He began his coaching career as the hitting coach at the University of Puget Sound from 2012-14 and then moved back to his alma mater as he served as Pacific University’s associate head coach from 2014-16. Rasmussen then moved into the Division I ranks at fellow WAC foe Northern Colorado where he served as the program’s recruiting coordinator from 2017-19. He then most recently worked as a hitting coach in the Minnesota Twins organization from 2019-21 and spent time with the Gulf Coast League Twins as well as the Fort Myers Mighty Mussels.
During his time with the Minnesota Twins, Rasmussen worked at the Advanced Single-A level and helped to perfect the swings of a number of professional athletes in the Twins organization. He spent the 2019 season working primarily with the Gulf Coast Twins and the 2020 and start of the 2021 season with the Fort Myers Mighty Mussels.
Prior to working with the Minnesota Twins organization, Rasmussen spent two seasons as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at the University of Northern Colorado. During his time in Greeley, he also served as the team's hitting coach, outfield coach, third base coach, and helped run the offensive gameplay on the field.
In 2018, he was key in helping Northern Colorado's offense burst on to the scene as one of the best in Division I baseball. Rasmussen’s offense posted a top 50 ranking in almost every offensive category that season including BABIP (.388,1st), Runs Per Game (7.06,17th), On Base Percentage (.392, 28th), Batting Average (.295, 28th), Doubles Per Game (2.02, 32nd), and Hit by Pitches (76, 32nd). The Bears truly did this as a team, as there were 11 players with 5+ extra-base hits, 8 players with 17+ walks, 6 players with .425+ on-base percentages, 10 players with 20+ runs and 12 players with a home run. That year, UNC also scored almost half of their runs on the year with two outs (3.28 per game).
Often stated, Colorado gets a name for exaggerated offense because of the elevation, but the 2018 Bears were just as good away from Jackson Field. They averaged 6.57 Runs Per Game on the road, which included 5.22 walks, 2.91 extra-base hits and over 10 hits per game on the road. The Bears offensive approach was key to winning their most games since joining the WAC in 2013 (29).
In 2017, Rasmussen's first season as Northern Colorado's hitting coach, the Bears had their best offensive year since joining the WAC. The Bears tallied their most runs, hits, doubles, home runs, and RBIs. The explosive Bear offense also recorded its highest team batting average and on-base percentage since becoming a WAC member. The 2017 Bear offense featured 4 different players with double-digit doubles for the first time since 2011, and 13 different players with a home run for the first time since 2009.
Rasmussen spent the previous four seasons as the associate head coach and recruiting coordinator at his alma mater of Pacific University in Forest Grove, Ore. While at Pacific, Rasmussen worked with a variety of defensive position groups, was the hitting coach, and also ran the offense and served as third base coach. In addition, Rasmussen was also the head coach of Pacific’s junior varsity program.
During his time at Pacific, Rasmussen signed five all-conference players and one all-region player in three recruiting classes. The 2016 Boxer offense combined to break eight individual school records, lead all of Division III baseball in runs per game, and senior right fielder Walker Olis was selected by the Miami Marlins in the 29th round, the first Pacific ballplayer drafted since 1991. Rasmussen has strong recruiting ties in Washington, Oregon, California, Hawaii, Arizona, Nevada, and his home state of Utah.
In the summer of 2015, Rasmussen was the head coach of the Portland Lobos in the NWCBL. He also spent time as a hitting coach for the Boys of Summer Baseball Club out of Bellevue, Wash. Rasmussen is also an established clinician who has served as a guest instructor and Stanford University, University of Washington, Head First, and Top 96 baseball camps.
As a player, Rasmussen was a three-time All-Conference selection at Pacific. He was selected as a first-team All-NWC selection at second base in 2011 and was the team captain of Pacific’s 2012 NWC championship team. Rasmussen played his prep baseball at perennial baseball powerhouse Bingham High School in South Jordan, Utah. He was a first-team all-state selection, leading Bingham to a second-place state finish in 2008.
Rasmussen graduated from Pacific University in 2012 with a degree in business with an emphasis in marketing. He and his wife, Alissa reside in Utah County with their two boys Reggie and Royal.
WHAT THEY ARE SAYING ABOUT RASMUSSEN
“In modern baseball, there is so much data and technology available at our fingertips. However, very little of that is usable for the young athlete without the right coach to guide and interpret information along the way. Nate Rasmussen is one of the top coaches in the business at doing just that. He has a proven track record of distilling complicated concepts and information into relatable terms, unique drills, and individualized plans. His ability to blend old and new school baseball concepts has helped him develop a strong history of improving individual players and overall teams across multiple levels. Eddie found the perfect local product to bring back home to Utah.”
-Kai Correa
San Francisco Giants
Bench Coach
