Zach Dillon was announced as Baylor's hitting coach and recruiting coordinator on June 25, 2022. A former Baylor baseball player from 2003-06 and volunteer assistant coach in the 2012 season, Dillon returns to Waco for his third season as the Bears' assistant coach in 2025.
Dillon has helped the Bears extend their streak to 52 consecutive seasons with 20 or more wins, including four victories over ranked opponents in his first two seasons on staff. In 2024, Dillon assisted in mentoring junior designated hitter Wesley Jordan to All-Big 12 Second Team honors after the slugger hit a team-leading .351 in league action with five home runs and 17 RBIs and finished the year with a .331 batting average, .632 slugging percentage, nine home runs and 32 RBIs. Additionally, fifth-year senior infielder Cole Posey (.315 AVG, 5 HR, 20 RBIs in 35 games) was tabbed an All-Big 12 Honorable Mention selection.
In his role as the first-base coach, recruiting coordinator, and primary defensive responsibilities with the catchers, Dillon helped BU hit .273 as a squad in 2024 with 42 home runs, including four players batting above .300 in Enzo Apodaca, Ty Johnson, Wesley Jordan and Cole Posey. Defensively, junior catcher Cortlan Castle played elite defense with a .997 fielding percentage and caught 12 runners stealing.
In 2023, Dillon mentored sophomore catcher Cortlan Castle to All-Big 12 Honorable Mention honors after he hit .393 in league play, the fifth-best average in the conference. Freshman infielder Kolby Branch was also unanimously named to the Big 12 All-Freshman team after leading the team in most offensive categories, including batting average (.325), hits (69), home runs (6) and RBI (41). Branch's 17 doubles were one shy of the program's freshman record, set by Matt Williams in 1998.
Prior to joining the Baylor staff, Dillon spent six years as the director of operations for Twelve Baseball, a premier select youth and high school program based out of Katy, Texas. Since the 2016-17 calendar year, Dillon’s work with Twelve Baseball has been influential, particularly in the 2018-2025 recruiting classes. On a daily basis, he assisted in youth and high school practice planning, ensuring a competitive culture and environment that maximized player development. Off the field, he created the club’s annual operating budget, handled program development and fundraising, managed scheduling and other organizational administrative duties. Dillon’s relationships with college coaches and next-level resources greatly helped in sending Twelve Baseball players to college programs around the nation.
Previously, Dillon worked on Thompson’s staff at McLennan Community College during the 2016 season as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator. That year, the Highlanders went 45-12 and won the NTJCAC regular-season title. Under Dillon’s guidance, MCC hitters combined for a .342 batting average with 80 home runs, 144 doubles and a team OPS of 1.018. Dillon played a part in sending 22 players to Division I schools and saw seven of his products selected in the MLB Draft.
In 2015, Dillon served as the volunteer assistant coach and coordinator of camps at Mississippi State. While there, he directly assisted in the development of future SEC Player of the Year Brent Rooker, All-SEC selections Gavin Collins, Ryan Gridley and Jacob Robson, and 2016 first-round draft pick Dakota Hudson.
Prior to joining the MSU staff, Dillon spent the 2014 season as the director and head coach of the 18U Iowa Sticks, the premier youth baseball club in Iowa. Additionally, he worked as the director of the Premier Baseball High School Spring League as well as the PPC Showcase Camps.
Before his time in Waukee, Iowa, Dillon served as an assistant coach at the University of Iowa. While there, he served as the Hawkeyes’ third base coach, hitting coach and recruiting coordinator responsible in all areas of program development.
Dillon returned to Iowa City after helping Baylor in 2012 as a volunteer assistant. He aided the Bears in reaching the Waco Super Regional and finishing 49-17 overall, one win shy of a school record and a trip to Omaha for the College World Series. The Bears captured the regular-season Big 12 title, reached No. 1 in the nation for the first time in school history and entered the postseason as the No. 4 overall seed.
Dillon coached a school-record 11 All-Big 12 players the season, including six first-team selections, including Big 12 Player of the Year Josh Ludy and Big 12 Newcomer of the Year Nathan Orf. A conference-record four Bears garnered Louisville Slugger All-America recognition, while a total of six players were taken in the 2012 MLB Draft.
Before coaching in Waco, Dillon worked as the volunteer assistant and camp coordinator at Iowa. In his first two seasons in Iowa City, Dillon was part of a coaching staff which led the Hawkeyes to 50 victories and six All-Big Ten honors. Off the field, the Hawkeyes tallied 20 Academic All-Big Ten honors, including a school-record 12 in 2011.
As a player, Dillon played collegiately at Baylor from 2003-06 where he was an integral part of three NCAA Tournament squads, two NCAA Super Regionals appearances and a College World Series berth in 2005. He was a two-time All-Big 12 selection, two-time ABCA All-Region pick and was named to a pair of NCAA Tournament All-Regional teams. In 2006, Dillon garnered Big 12 Player of the Year honors from the San Antonio Express-News and was named a semifinalist for the Johnny Bench Award, which recognizes the nation’s top catcher.
During his senior season at BU, Dillion hit .421 with an eye-popping .496 on-base percentage in Big 12 play. He led the league in average and walks, finishing in the top-20 nationally in walks per game. Dillon wrapped up his career with a .307 average, 124 RBIs and 115 walks.
Away from the diamond, Dillon was a four-time academic all-conference selection, a first-team ESPN The Magazine Academic All-American and a 10-time member of the Big 12 Conference Commissioner’s Honor Roll. In 2009, he was also the recipient of a spring post-graduate scholarship.
Dillon was selected by the Baltimore Orioles in the 20th round of the 2006 MLB Draft. In 2007, he powered the Frederic Keys (Class-A Advanced) to the Carolina League championship and earned a big-league spring training invited a few months later.
Dillon graduated Magna Cum Laude from Baylor with a bachelor’s degree in education in 2005. He later earned his master’s degree in education and sports management in 2009. Dillon has a son, Hayden. Dillon and his wife, Heather, were married in December 2023.
