Channy Ortiz - Assistant Coach - Staff Directory - Grand Canyon University Athletics

Staff Directory

Channy Ortiz

Title:
Assistant Coach

Channy Ortiz rejoined the Grand Canyon baseball program as a student assistant coach in September 2024.

Ortiz is returning to the GCU campus after three years of professional baseball to finish his business management degree while serving as a student assistant coach GCU.

"I always wanted to get into coaching," said Ortiz, whose older brothers, Ernesto and Hector, are baseball and softball coaches. "I'm very content with the way my career went. I fell in love with this place when GCU Ballpark was barely getting built. To see everything grow afterward for 3 1/2 years is amazing, and I still want to be part of it."

Nearly 10 years after he secured Ortiz's commitment as a Glendale Apollo High School sophomore, Lopes head coach Gregg Wallis will be able to use Ortiz's turnaround collegiate career and pro experience to help every area of the program.

Ortiz can be relatable to each clubhouse situation as a player who was overwhelmed by the speed of D-I baseball as a 134-pound freshman ("I got punched in the face") and needed a junior college sophomore season to return for two more GCU seasons of fine fielding and hot hitting.

As a senior, Ortiz hit .313 with a .413 on-base percentage to earn All-WAC first-team honors and a 14th-round MLB Draft selection by the Arizona Diamondbacks. He reached Triple-A for three games in 2022 and retired after 181 pro appearances last year.

"I'm really excited to bring Channy back and help him start his coaching career," Wallis said at the time of the hire. "He was a really high-IQ player. He was our field general. He was our leader that led us to our first postseason. That was kind of his team. Channy was the senior leader who set the direction for the guys after him."

Ortiz walks back into Tim Salmon Clubhouse, where a framed photo commemorates his walk-off home run that beat No. 16 Arizona in 2021. Ortiz has a coaching model to follow in Lopes assistant coach Paul Panaccione, who also went from GCU standout shortstop to 10th-round pick to staff.

Ortiz already has a wildly successful case in player mentoring. Jacob Wiilson, now the Oakland Athletics starting shortstop, was a Lopes freshman third baseman next to Ortiz in 2021. Wilson credits Ortiz with helping him through the collegiate learning curve, when he helped him with all aspects from scouting reports to program routines.

"You got to this point by putting in work," Ortiz said. "It doesn't stop. You've got to keep going. We'll be here to gladly help and get you where you want to go."

"The players are really going to gravitate toward him, and he's going to help every one of us on the staff," Wallis said. "He's going to be able to pour into those younger guys who are playing for the first time or not playing as much. He's going to be a great coach. This is going to launch a career that's going to be awesome for him."