Completed Event: Baseball at Washington State on March 22, 2026 , Loss , 2, to, 6
Baseball
at Washington State
L 2-6
Grand Canyon University Athletics
Panaccione takes full-time assistant coach role
7/31/2023 10:11:00 AM | Baseball
Lopes alum, former pro enters 5th season on GCU coaching staff
2024 COACHING STAFF |
|
| Gregg Wallis | Head coach |
| Nathan Bannister | Pitching coach |
| Nate Causey | Assistant coach / recruiting coordinator |
| Paul Panaccione | Assistant coach |
| Matt Haggerty | Director of operations |
A 2016 graduate of GCU and former Washington Nationals draft pick, Panaccione has served as a volunteer assistant coach for four total seasons in two stints on the Lopes staff.
"Paul Panaccione is one of the best young coaches in college baseball, and it's great to promote him to a full-time position," second-year Lopes head coach Gregg Wallis said. "Paul will be the lead coach of infield and baserunning, while assisting with hitters and recruiting. Our players love Coach Panaccione, and it's going to be fun to watch him work in this new, expanded role."
In January, the NCAA Division I council voted to "modernize a number of rules," including the elimination of the volunteer coach designation. This change allows baseball programs to add a third, full-time paid assistant coaching role.
Panaccione first joined GCU's staff as its volunteer assistant in 2019 and spent three seasons with the program, culminating in a 2021 WAC regular-season championship and the program's first trip to the NCAA tournament at the Division I level. GCU went 84-54-1 overall and 47-16 in conference play in his first stint on staff. He stepped away for one season to lead Prep Baseball Report's Arizona scouting coverage. He returned as the volunteer assistant coach last season, helping lead GCU to another regular-season crown.
"I'm unbelievably fortunate to be able to put on a Lopes uniform for the third time," Panaccione said after rejoining the program last summer. "The program is as strong as it's ever been, and this place is a second home to me. The opportunity to be a part of this university means the world to me."
In his new role, Panaccione serves on Wallis' staff with second-year pitching coach Nathan Bannister and first-year assistant and recruiting coordinator Nate Causey. The staff also includes Panaccione's former Lopes teammate in director of baseball operations Matt Haggerty.
Panaccione was a member of the GCU baseball team from 2013 to 2016, playing a key role during the Lopes' transition to Division I. Following his senior season, he was a 10th-round draft pick of the Washington Nationals and spent three seasons playing in the organization.
While at GCU, Panaccione appeared in 198 games and hit .309 while driving in 112 runs. During his junior year in 2015, he helped lead the Lopes to a WAC title while batting .376. He started 55 games as a freshman in 2013, when GCU reached the Division II College World Series in the season before making its jump to Division I.
TWO grand slams. ONE game. #collegebaseball
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