JT Keith
Artesia found its man when athletic director Jeremy Maupin promoted assistant baseball coach Gentry Doolittle to head coach of the Bulldogs.
“Gentry Doolittle is a good family man with head coaching experience,” Maupin said. “He has been on the staff for the last several years.”
Doolittle has served as an assistant coach for the past two years. He steps into the lead role after Jackson Bickel resigned to become an assistant principal at Artesia High School.
A coach shaped by family and mentors
Doolittle, 30, is a 2014 graduate of Texico High School and comes from a coaching family. His father, Steve Doolittle, also served as an assistant coach there and spent 25 years coaching football, basketball and baseball.
“My dad never wanted to be a head coach,” Gentry Doolittle said. “That drove me to want to be a head coach because I knew how good a coach he was.”
Doolittle said his father was his mentor who taught him to be professional and to build strong relationships. He also pointed to former Texico basketball coach Scott Karger, who helped show him what it takes to be a head coach, and former University of New Mexico baseball coach Ray Birmingham as key influences.
Doolittle said he hoped to walk on at New Mexico, but when that did not work out, he attended Eastern New Mexico University and later Arizona Christian University in Glendale, Arizona.
He has stayed in touch with Birmingham over the years. Birmingham even spoke to one of Doolittle’s teams at Muleshoe during the 2023 season.
“I love the hire for Artesia,” Birmingham said. “It is a grand-slam hire. He is ready. He is everything a young man needs in a coach to help him become a good person and a champion.”
Birmingham said Doolittle’s character, work ethic and coachability are the qualities that can make Artesia a winner.
“Anytime he needs me, I am there, baby,” Birmingham said. “I love Artesia, the baseball coaches, the football coaches. Artesia is one of the last places where they do it right all the time.”
A new era for the Bulldogs
Doolittle and his wife, Bailey, have two children, Bryar, 3, and Nash, 6 months.
Doolittle takes over a roster that will be young in both experience and class. The Bulldogs are set to return three seniors next year: pitcher Lucas Atkins, Elijah Carrasco and Destin Pacheco.
The cupboard is not bare. Artesia returns several players who saw varsity action this season, including Jared Flores, who hit a home run this year, along with freshman pitchers Kolton Hamilton, Kai Greathouse, DeAngelo Catano, Kaden Chavarria and Logan Rodriguez.
On offense, the Bulldogs also bring back Hayden “Mo Hitting” Moser, who played well as a sophomore.
“With the group that we have coming back, we are going to build a culture and a program,” Doolittle said. “I like what I see from these guys and seeing them flourish and become their own players. I am blessed to be the coach of this team.”
JT Keith can be reached at 575-420-0061 or on X at @JTKEITH1.