Noah Sanders is in his seventh season in Little Rock, being promoted to the title of associate head coach in the summer of 2022. Sanders came to Little Rock in 2018 as an assistant coach and is entering his sixth season as the Trojans' recruiting coordinator.
The 2023 season saw lots of success for the Trojans offense. Sanders led the team to the 2nd most homeruns in school history (63), 3rd most triples (16), 3rd most total bases (860), 4th highest slugging percentage (.466), 5th most hits (552), 166 extra base hits, 358 runs scored, 326 RBI, and a .388 on base percentage. Additionally, the Trojans had the most wins this season since their 2003 campaign.
Sanders led the program in what would be a record breaking year for three Trojans. Tyler Williams set the career record for triples (15) and total bases (350). Additionally, Williams moved up to 2nd in hits (212), 2nd in at bats (677), 2nd in doubles (43), 2nd in homeruns (22), 3rd in stolen bases (58), 4th in RBI (111), 4th in runs scored (124), 6th in slugging percentage (.518), and 6th in games played (166). Nico Baumbach ended the season on a 52 game on base streak which earned the best in school history in addition to being 3rd in single season home runs (14) and 5th in single season total bases (128). Ty Rhoades saw great success in his inaugural season having the highest batting average and most doubles for a freshman since 2010. Skylar Trevino earned first team all-conference honors after finishing in the top 10 of the OVC in runs scored (50), home runs (15), and walks (39). Sanders also helped the program by recruiting the OVC Pitcher of the Year and National Statistical Champion for ERA Jackson Wells for the 2023 season.
In the 2022 season he helped lead the Trojans to some of the best offensive numbers during his tenure, including a team batting average of .286, an OPS of .805 and the lowest number of team strike outs since 2016. That effort was led by Canyon McWilliams ranking second in the Sun Belt with a .382 batting average, the ninth-best in program history, with Noah Dickerson ranking eighth with a .354 mark.
He also has helped the program in a big way on the basepaths as the 2022 Little Rock team nabbed 68 bags on the year, the most since 2014. Tyler Williams paced the Trojans with 21 on the year, tied for third in the Sun Belt.
Despite a shortened 2020 season, Little Rock's bats were coming out of the gates hot, led by catchher Kale Emshoff. Emshoff led the Sun Belt Conference in batting average, home runs and slugging percentage and was among the national leaders in a number of statistical categories, leading into his signinig with the Kansas City Royals following the season.
A handful of youngsters also saw improved performance at the plate after limited appearances as freshmen. Nathan Lyons and Miguel Soto both were coming into their own in their sophomore seasons as Lyons batted .329 for the year with 23 hits (second on the team), while Soto hit .302 and had multi-hit games in his first seven games of the season, helping to jump start the Trojan offense.
Sanders helped bring the Little Rock offense to new heights in the Trojans’ record-breaking 2019 season. The team recorded the most home runs since 2013 with 54 on the year. The Trojans drew 89 hit-by-pitches in 2019, which was the most since 2010. Sanders mentored Riley Pittman during his illustrious four-year career as a Trojan. Pittman became Little Rock’s all-time home run leader (27) and earned First Team All-Sun Belt honors in his senior season. Pittman and outfielder Troy Alexander both went on to sign professional contracts after their collegiate campaigns under Sanders, Pittman signing with the Milwaukee Milkmen and Alexander signing with the St. Paul Saints.
Sanders has recruited and/or coached 21 players who have been selected in the MLB Draft and a total of 24 players who went on to play professional baseball. Two notable draftees include Tyler Zuber who was selected in the sixth round by the Kansas City Royals and Peyton Culbertson selected in the eighth round by the Miami Marlins.
There have been eight players who have received First Team All-Sun Belt honors under Sanders, including First Team NABC/Rawlings All-Region/ Second Team CoSIDA Academic All-American Riley Pittman. Sanders also mentored Sun Belt Newcomer of the year Kyle MacDonald, Louisville Slugger Third Team All-American Zach George and First Team College Sports Madness Matt Burgess.
Sanders came to Little Rock from in-state rival Arkansas State where he has served as the assistant coach since 2015. Prior to that, he served as the Red Wolves’ volunteer assistant coach for three seasons.
In 2017, Sanders handled first-base coaching duties and assisted head coach Tommy Raffo with the offense. The squad’s offense tied for the most home runs during the Raffo era with 34. The team had the highest runs per game (6.02) and RBIs per game (5.40) in the BBCOR bat era, which began in 2011. The offense also stole 62 bases which was just one away from tying the most during the Raffo era. Sanders saw three of his hitters earn Sun Belt Player of the Week honors — the most in a single season at Arkansas State since 2006.
Before Arkansas State, Sanders served as an assistant coach at Crowder College in 2012 where he was the team’s hitting instructor, worked with the catchers and assisted in recruiting.
Sanders served a two-year stint at his alma mater Arkansas-Monticello and helped six players attain all-conference honors. He was the team’s recruiting coordinator and worked with hitters, catchers and outfielders.
As a player, Sanders spent two years at Itawamba Community College before transferring to the University of West Alabama for two seasons. He spent the final year of his playing career at Arkansas-Monticello.
Sanders earned a bachelor’s degree in general studies from Arkansas-Monticello. He is married to the former Bailie Jedlicka of League City, Texas, and is the father to Kannon and Kendall.
