Indiana University Athletics
Baseball
- Title:
- Assistant Coach/Hitting & Recruiting Coordinator
- Email:
- zweathe@iu.edu
- Phone:
- (812) 855-9155
Zach Weatherford completed his fourth year as a full-time assistant coach and his fifth season on staff during the 2026 campaign. He added additional duties as the team’s recruiting coordinator following a promotion in August of 2024. He is also charge of working with the program’s outfielders and base runners.
Weatherford, a Gold Glove outfielder at Wright State, also assists head coach Jeff Mercer with the hitters and offensive strategy. During games, he coaches the third base box and works on the scouting report for opposing teams.
Indiana Era (2022-Present)
2026
Weatherford was tasked with introducing an entirely new outfield cohort to the lineup in 2026 after losing Korbyn Dickerson and Devin Taylor to the MLB Draft. Hogan Denny became a primary corner outfielder during his sophomore season and earned First Team All-Big Ten honors under the guidance of IU’s assistant coach.
After playing sparingly as a freshman, Cole Decker and Caleb Koskie became lineup regulars for the Hoosiers. The two players combined for 109 hits and each started in 43-or-more games. Koskie finished second in the Big Ten in batting average (.372) while Decker continued the strong lineage of talented defensive center fielders in Bloomington.
IU’s offense picked up as the year went along and finished with 515 hits, 92 doubles, 66 home runs, 330 RBIs, 261 walks and 45 stolen bases. All five players that hit at least .300 (with 100+ at-bats) were members of IU’s deep and talented sophomore class. The three outfielders that played in 45-or-more contests all hit at least .315 on the season and combined for just three errors in over 300 chances in the field.
2025
Despite playing a number of true freshmen in the lineup, IU’s offense continued to chug along during the 2025 season. The Hoosiers led the Big Ten in batting average (.298), on-base percentage (.418) and scoring (8.2 runs per game). IU was also among the top three in the league in home runs (90), runs (459) and slugging percentage (.512).
Behind a pair of disciplined hitters at the top of its lineup, IU was 21st nationally in on-base percentage (.418). Third baseman Will Moore was the conference leader and second among freshmen in the county in getting on base (.514). Veteran outfielder Devin Taylor was also top-50 nationally (.494).
One of IU’s biggest success stories of the season was the development of outfielder Korbyn Dickerson. Behind the help of Weatherford, Dickerson slugged 19 home runs and finished second in the conference in RBIs (77). He was also one of the best defensive players in the conference, earning a spot on the Big Ten’s All-Defensive team (CF).
In 2025, IU continued its historic trend of letting freshmen play early and often in its lineup. First baseman Jake Hanley was the Big Ten Freshman of the Year and one of three rookie players to make the Big Ten All-Freshman team. Four different IU freshmen had at least 40 hits on the year.
Taylor and Dickerson, two of IU’s starting outfielders, were picked in the second and fifth rounds of the MLB Draft respectively. The Athletics and Mariners snatched up the two productive IU bats in the proceedings. Over the last two seasons, Weatherford has helped develop four outfielders to be selected in the top-five rounds of the draft.
2024
In his first season as a full-time assistant coach, Weatherford helped assist the Hoosiers to one of the best offensive seasons in program history. IU led the Big Ten in hits (625), RBIs (451), total bases (1,030), runs (482) and doubles (140). The Hoosiers hit 83 home runs, good for second in the conference.
Shortstop Tyler Cerny transformed himself into one of the best hitters in the Big Ten. He led the team and conference in doubles (24), helping IU to a single-season program record for two-baggers. Seven different players had at least 10 doubles including third baseman Josh Pyne (22) and center fielder Carter Mathison (16).
As the coach for the outfielders, Weatherford helped transition Mathison into a premier defensive threat. In 56 games as the team’s starting center fielder, Mathison had a perfect fielding percentage (1.000). He had 145 putouts and one outfield assists with no errors on the campaign. Devin Taylor improved his fielding percentage by 48 points, spending most of the campaign as the team’s left fielder.
2023
Outfielder Devin Taylor broke onto the scene as a freshman in 2023, breaking the Indiana freshman RBI record (59) and earning Big Ten Freshman of the Year honors. He hit 16 home runs in his rookie year which is No. 2 among freshmen in program history behind only Carter Mathison’s 19 in 2022. Taylor made 42 starts in the outfield in 2023.
2022
In 2022, the trio of position players, Carter Mathison, Josh Pyne and Brock Tibbitts were all tabbed to Freshman All-America teams, with Mathison setting the Indiana freshman home run mark at 19 home runs. That total ranked No. 3 nationally among freshmen. Along with the trio of Freshman All-America picks, Evan Goforth joined them on the Big Ten All-Freshman Team. On the bases, Indiana stole 65 bags, its most since 2018 (72) season.
Early Coaching Career
Weatherford also spent his first season in collegiate baseball as the Director of Operations at Wright State. The Raiders advanced to the 2021 NCAA Knoxville Regional when they swept through the Horizon League Tournament by outscoring its three opponents 40-10 after a Horizon League-record 28 conference victories in the regular season.
Player & Personal
A four-year letterwinner at Wright State, he helped WSU to the NCAA Baseball Championships twice and signed a free agent contract with the Cleveland Indians after graduation. After he redshirted his first season on campus, he helped the Raiders to two Horizon League regular season (2016 & 2018) and two tournament titles (2016 & 2018).
On the field, Weatherford won the 2019 NCAA Rawlings Division I Gold Glove in the outfield, which is awarded to the nation’s best defender at each position and was a first-team All-Horizon League selection. In his final season, he was a major part of one of the best offensive teams in the history of the program, hitting .345 with nine home runs, 66 RBI and 21 stolen bases. As a junior, he broke the WSU single-season stolen base record with 36 on his way to first-team all-league honors.
In his career, his 78 stolen bases came on 86 attempts, a success rate of 90.6 percent. His stolen base percentage ranks No. 2 all-time in program history, while the 78 career stolen bases sit No. 6 on the all-time list at Wright State.
He and his wife, Kat, who lettered in soccer at Wright State, were married in summer 2022. They are expecting a baby boy in October of 2026.
