BLUE DRAGONS AGUIRRE NAMED NFCA ASSISTANT COACH OF THE YEAR

Hutchinson CC Sports Information

Hutchinson Community College assistant softball coach Ray Aguirre earned a national honor on Wednesday being named the Easton/National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) NJCAA Division I National Assistant Coach of the Year.

Aguirre has been with the Blue Dragon softball program for since 2017. He became a full-time assistant coach in 2021. Over that span, the Blue Dragons have won 198 games, two Jayhawk Conference titles, a Region 6/Plains District championship and was part of Hutchinson's first-ever appearance in the NJCAA Softball World Series.

Aguirre serves as the Blue Dragons' pitching coach, first-base coach and Recruiting Coordinator. He is also in charge of field maintenance.

"Ray is a tireless worker and recruiter," Blue Dragon head coach Jaime Rose said. "His compassion for the players in unmatched."

As the Blue Dragon pitching coach, Hutchinson's average staff ERA has been 3.60 since 2021.

Aguirre's 2022, 2023 and 2024 pitching staffs all rank in the Top 5 in program single-game history. The 2024 Region 6 champion's team ERA is second all-time at 2.75. The 2023 team is fourth at 2.80 and the 2022 team is fifth at 2.89.

The 2025 pitching staff endured injuries throughout the season and under Aguirre's tutelage, the Blue Dragons still posted a 3.59 team ERA en route to a conference title. Pitcher Morgan Tomlinson, a two-time 20-win pitcher at Hutchinson, was a first-team All-KJCCC selection, Jessica Schmidt was a second team selection and Aubree Thomas as an honorable mention all-conference player.

Aguirre has coached two All-American pitchers in his tenure: Dakota Lake (2024/NFCA) and Riley Wertz (2022/NJCAA).

Aguirre's overall recruiting as netted the Blue Dragons 34 all-KJCCC selections and eight All-America awards.

Before coming to Hutchinson, Aguirre was the pitching coach for Friends University in Wichita for 11 seasons.

Under Aguirre, the Falcons had one of the best earned run averages over the last nine years at the NAIA level, increasing win totals along with strikeouts and reducing walks. In 2008 and 2009, Friends had an ERA in the top-10 in the nation.