Reed Peters, transformational head coach of baseball at University of the Pacific who recently led the team to its first ever West Coast Conference Tournament appearance, died June 4 following an illness. He was 60. 

Peters had a tremendous impact on Pacific baseball, producing the first 20-win season of the decade in his first season as head coach, followed by a 24-win season this year. It’s the most single season wins since 2014 and the first back-to-back 20-win seasons since 2018-19. 

His team just completed a 15-11-1 West Coast Conference season and competed as the No. 2 seed in the conference tournament, earning a bye into the double elimination portion of the bracket. They won their first game of the tournament with a walk-off grand slam over San Francisco.

“No amount of words could possibly convey the tremendous sadness we all feel at the passing of Coach Peters,” said Director of Athletics Adam Tschuor. “Our thoughts and prayers are with Audrey, Cade, Beau, Drew and the entire Peters family. 

“Reed was with us for only two seasons, but his impact will forever be felt. When we first met, he promised to take the Tigers to new heights, and he did just that with our finest West Coast Conference performance to date, our best year this decade, and one of our highest-achieving seasons ever. He will be greatly missed, and we shall all continue to strive to ensure the program lives up to what he built.”

Peters was named head coach of the Pacific baseball program in June 2024. He spent the previous 17 seasons as the head coach at San Joaquin Delta Community College in Stockton where he compiled a 386-167 record and placed 140 student-athletes at Division I institutions during that span.

“The news is heartbreaking,” said Pacific President Christopher Callahan. “The entire Pacific community mourns the loss of a great coach and a great man. Our thoughts are with Audrey, the boys and the countless young men he coached, taught and mentored.”

Peters, affectionally known as Skip, made a lasting impact on students.

"Skip was the greatest coach I'll ever play for,” said former Pacific infielder Brendan O'Sullivan ‘26. “One of the most caring and special people around the game of baseball. He always wanted the best for everyone who played for him and cared to make us all better men. 

“Skip gave me my first opportunity to play at the college level five years ago when he called and asked me to go to Delta. He helped me to move on to UNLV, where he had played. Once I graduated UNLV, I knew there was only one place I wanted to spend my last year, and it was playing for him. I have so much love for Skip and his family. He has made me into the man I am now. I only strive to make an impact on people like he did; he has impacted every person he has crossed paths with in a positive way.”

Under Peters’ first year at the helm of the Pacific baseball program, he put an emphasis on establishing an uplifting culture and mindset while focusing on the fundamentals of the sport. The Tigers reached the 20-win plateau for the first time since 2019 and earned four conference series wins in 2025.

"Skip was a mentor and an advocate,” said former Pacific infielder Jake Tandy ‘26. “He would go to battle for any person he cared for. He was a person who the team looked up to and a person who we all rallied behind." 

At San Joaquin Delta College, Peters guided the Mustangs to a pair of State Championships in 2011 and 2018, four state Runner-Ups in 2009, 2014, 2015 and 2024, eight Final Fours and 12 Elite Eight appearances. He also mentored 19 All-Americans and 31 players who went on to play professionally, including three currently in Major League Baseball. Peters was a four-time Big 8 Coach of the Year, two-time Northern California Coach of the Year and the 2018 American Baseball Coaches Association National Coach of the Year in 2018.

His love for the sport started at a young age. A 1984 graduate of Cherry Creek High School in Denver, Colorado, he was one of only three people in the school's history to earn four varsity letters in baseball. 

As a member of Cherry Creek's first state championship teams in football and baseball, Peters received all-state honors in both sports and was inducted into the Cherry Creek High School Hall of Fame in 2006.
 
Following his collegiate career at University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Peters was a 12th-round draft choice of the California Angels in 1987. He played five years in the Angels' organization: 1987 Salem, Oregon (Short A), 1988 Palm Springs, California (High A), 1989 Midland, Texas (AA) and 1990 and 1991 Edmonton, Alberta (AAA). He played two seasons in the San Francisco Giants organization playing for Shreveport, Louisiana (AA) and the Phoenix Firebirds (AAA) in 1992. He spent the entire 1993 season with the Firebirds, followed by a season of winter ball in San Pedro de Marcoris of the Dominican Republic.
 
Peters finished his professional career hitting over .300 four times. Most of his time was in the outfield, though he played all nine positions during his pro career.

In 1994 Peters accepted a head coaching job at Colby Community College in Colby, Kansas. In his first season, he led the Trojans to the Region VI Championship, the first and only championship in the school's five decades.

From 1999-2003, Peters coached at the Air Force Academy, taking over as head coach from 2000-03. The 2002 Mountain West Conference Coach of the Year, Peters won 88 games in four years at the Academy.
 
Peters earned his bachelor's degree in business administration from University of Nevada, Las Vegas in 1992 and his master’s degree in sports administration from the United States Sports Academy in 2006. 

Peters is survived by his wife Audrey and sons Cade, Beau and Drew.