Derek Cartaya joined Bethune-Cookman Baseball as Assistant Coach/Hitting/Infielders in August, 2023.
"We are happy with the addition of Coach Cartaya to our baseball coaching staff here at B-CU," Hernandez said. "It's always tough to replace assistants as often as we have, but that also speaks to the work that our assistants have put in and the success that our previous assistant coaches have had during their tenure in the Maroon and Gold."
Cartaya joins the Wildcats after four seasons as Volunteer Assistant Coach at Florida International University.
The Pembroke Pines, Florida, native's responsibilities included coaching infielders, assisting with hitters and serving as the Panthers' Camp Coordinator.
"Coach Cartaya is a young and upcoming coach within the college baseball ranks," Hernandez said. "We are excited about what he will bring to our coaching staff."
Cartaya wrapped his collegiate playing career at FIU in 2021 with a .296 career batting average over 199 games, the14th most games played in Panthers program history.
Playing mostly middle infielder, Cartaya finished his collegiate career with 195 hits, which ranked 18th all-time in FIU program history.
A heart and soul leader for FIU, Cartaya also swiped 35 bags in during his five year tenure on Eighth street. He batted .269 with two home runs and 16 runs batted during his fifth-year senior season of 2021.
"We look forward to continuing to build on the momentum that we had this past season and continuing to build on the historic tradition of our basseball program here at B-CU," Hernandez said. "With the addition of Coach Cartaya, we feel that we will be able to continue to accomplish some great things here in the 386."
