Staff Directory
Ari Adut
- Title:
- Assistant Coach & Hitting Coach
- Email:
Saint Mary’s baseball head coach Eric Valenzuela officially announced the hiring of new assistant coach and lead hitting coach Ari Adut in July of 2026.
Adut returns to California after serving as the lead hitting coach for Jacksonville State for the past two seasons (2025-26). Adut was an integral part to the Gamecocks 2026 campaign where they won 48 games including a CUSA Regular Season title, the program’s first ever CUSA Tournament Championship and its sixth NCAA Division I Regional appearance. Jax State earned the three-seed in the Hattiesburg Regional hosted by No. 9 overall seed Southern Miss. The Gamecocks defeated two-seed Virginia twice to advance to the regional final where they fell to Little Rock 6-3 to end their postseason run.
Over the course of the season, the Gamecocks led the conference in batting average (.300), hits (616), doubles (127) and on-base percentage (.403) for one of the top offenses in the CUSA. Jax State earned 13 total All-CUSA selections including Freshman of the Year Jaxon Pate and First Team selection Grayson Ashe. Pate hit .347 for the Gamecocks out of the leadoff spot and led the team with 76 hits and 42 walks for the program’s first Freshman of the Year award winner since 2009 while Ashe led Jax State with 64 RBI while hitting .317 from the plate over his 63 games played. Jacksonville State ranked just seventh in batting average in the CUSA in 2025 as Adut helped boost the team average by nearly 30 points, putting them in the national ranks in several offensive categories in 2026.
After graduating from East Central University in Oklahoma back in 2015, Adut got his coaching career started at LA Valley College where he began his collegiate career as a student-athlete from 2013-14. A Burbank native, Adut spent four years with the community college program where he also doubled as a Strength and Conditioning coach. Prior to the 2020 spring season, Adut departed LA Valley and began his professional coaching ranks with the likes of the New York Yankees, Philadelphia Phillies and the Kansas City Royals.
Adut started as a hitting coach for the Yankees Dominican Summer League in 2019 where he developed bilingual hitting plans and individual curriculum for the players. He then moved to the Florida Complex League in January of 2021, working within the Phillies organization. Adut’s promotion came a year later in 2022 where he moved into the High-A affiliate for the Phillies during the 2022-23 season. His last minor league stop came in Columbia, South Carolina for the Kansas City Royals from 2022-24 before taking an assistant position with CUSA member Jacksonville State.
Adut holds a bachelor’s degree in Kinesiology from East Central University (ECU) in Oklahoma and a Master of Arts in Kinesiology from Fresno Pacific University. While at ECU, he was a member of the baseball program and earned multiple academic honors, including an All-Great American Conference Academic Team selection and a spot on the ECU President’s List in 2014 and 2015.
Adut prides his work on individualized player development plans and the integration of data systems and video analysis to best aid the success of his players. He will join a surging Gaels baseball program that continues to reach new heights after winning its second consecutive WCC Tournament Championship and reaching the program’s first ever NCAA Regional final.
I’m incredibly honored and grateful for the opportunity to join the Saint Mary’s baseball program as the new hitting coach”, said Adut. “Thank you to the coaching staff and administration for their trust and belief in me. I’m especially grateful to my wife, family, and close friends whose support has helped get me to where I am today in my coaching journey. I also want to thank everyone at Jacksonville State for the relationships, experiences, and lessons that have helped shape me as a coach and person. I’m excited to get to work with this staff, invest in our players, build strong relationships, and help continue the winning tradition of Saint Mary’s baseball (Adut).
Adut returns to California after serving as the lead hitting coach for Jacksonville State for the past two seasons (2025-26). Adut was an integral part to the Gamecocks 2026 campaign where they won 48 games including a CUSA Regular Season title, the program’s first ever CUSA Tournament Championship and its sixth NCAA Division I Regional appearance. Jax State earned the three-seed in the Hattiesburg Regional hosted by No. 9 overall seed Southern Miss. The Gamecocks defeated two-seed Virginia twice to advance to the regional final where they fell to Little Rock 6-3 to end their postseason run.
Over the course of the season, the Gamecocks led the conference in batting average (.300), hits (616), doubles (127) and on-base percentage (.403) for one of the top offenses in the CUSA. Jax State earned 13 total All-CUSA selections including Freshman of the Year Jaxon Pate and First Team selection Grayson Ashe. Pate hit .347 for the Gamecocks out of the leadoff spot and led the team with 76 hits and 42 walks for the program’s first Freshman of the Year award winner since 2009 while Ashe led Jax State with 64 RBI while hitting .317 from the plate over his 63 games played. Jacksonville State ranked just seventh in batting average in the CUSA in 2025 as Adut helped boost the team average by nearly 30 points, putting them in the national ranks in several offensive categories in 2026.
After graduating from East Central University in Oklahoma back in 2015, Adut got his coaching career started at LA Valley College where he began his collegiate career as a student-athlete from 2013-14. A Burbank native, Adut spent four years with the community college program where he also doubled as a Strength and Conditioning coach. Prior to the 2020 spring season, Adut departed LA Valley and began his professional coaching ranks with the likes of the New York Yankees, Philadelphia Phillies and the Kansas City Royals.
Adut started as a hitting coach for the Yankees Dominican Summer League in 2019 where he developed bilingual hitting plans and individual curriculum for the players. He then moved to the Florida Complex League in January of 2021, working within the Phillies organization. Adut’s promotion came a year later in 2022 where he moved into the High-A affiliate for the Phillies during the 2022-23 season. His last minor league stop came in Columbia, South Carolina for the Kansas City Royals from 2022-24 before taking an assistant position with CUSA member Jacksonville State.
Adut holds a bachelor’s degree in Kinesiology from East Central University (ECU) in Oklahoma and a Master of Arts in Kinesiology from Fresno Pacific University. While at ECU, he was a member of the baseball program and earned multiple academic honors, including an All-Great American Conference Academic Team selection and a spot on the ECU President’s List in 2014 and 2015.
Adut prides his work on individualized player development plans and the integration of data systems and video analysis to best aid the success of his players. He will join a surging Gaels baseball program that continues to reach new heights after winning its second consecutive WCC Tournament Championship and reaching the program’s first ever NCAA Regional final.
Monday, June 01
Sunday, May 31
Sunday, May 31
Saturday, May 30
