Bio

Tyler Willis enters his second season as an assistant coach for the Simpson baseball team in 2023. He returned for his second stint on head coach Nathan Roling's staff in July 2021 after serving as a graduate assistant for the Storm from 2018-19.

In addition to his role at Simpson, Willis spent this past summer as field manager for the Waterloo Bucks of the Northwoods League after serving as an assistant for the 2021 season. The Bucks had success by winning the first and second halves of the Great Plains East Division and led the league in batting average, on-base percentage, runs scored and runs per game in 2021. Willis coached two infielders selected in the 2022 Major League Baseball Draft; Josh Kasevich (Oregon) was drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays in the second round and Garrett McGowan (Pitt State) was taken in the 17th round by the Houston Astros. 

After his previous stay in Indianola, Willis landed a role as the hitting coach with American Rivers Conference rival, Central College. While in Pella, Willis had three players earn all-conference honors and one tally ABCA/Rawlings All-Central Region Third Team honors. He was part of a coaching staff that guided the Dutch to two conference tournament appearances.

Willis' roots run deep in the conference as he is a 2016 graduate of Wartburg College. He played in 100 games for the Knights with a career batting clip of .277. He was an all-conference second team performer as a junior and was part of a senior class that appeared in three NCAA Regionals. Willis sits in Wartburg's top 10 in infield assists (253) and double plays turned (50) as a mainstay in the team's infield as a two-year starter.

The Waverly, Iowa native obtained a master's of science degree in criminal justice from Simpson in 2020 and a bachelor’s of science degree in business administration and sport management from Wartburg in 2016.