Bio

This will be Gunner’s first season with Odessa College, where he will serve as the team's pitching and catching coach.

The last three seasons Gunner served as a member of the University of Nebraska- Lincoln’s coaching staff. He was the Student Assistant during the 2022 season, while also serving as the Graduate Assistant during the 2023 and 2024 seasons. During the 2024 season, he helped Nebraska to the first ever Big Ten Tournament Championship and was followed up with a regional appearance at Oklahoma State University. During these three seasons, Gunner served as the team’s catching coach, while also assisting with hitters and pitchers. As Graduate Manager, Gunner helped to develop draft picks Brice Matthews (1st round 2023), Max Anderson (2nd round 2023) Emmett Olsen (4th round 2023 Jace Kaminska (10th round 2023), Josh Caron (4th round 2024), and Brett Sears (7th round 2024). He helped Nebraska to another Big 10 Championship and regional appearance at Oklahoma State. Gunner has led multiple prospect camps helping to recruit talent and he has been a pitching, catching, and hitting instructor for the last 3 years.

As a player, Gunner was a catcher from 2018-2021 for the University of Nebraska. Gunner's accolades and awards include four Letters (2018, 2019, 2020, 2021), 2018 Big Ten All-Freshman Team, Academic All-Big Ten (2019, 2020, 2021), and Nebraska Scholar-Athlete Honor Roll (2017 - 2021). During his freshman year, sported a .310 batting average on his journey to joining the Big Ten All- Freshman Team and followed it up with a .289 batting average, while helping his team to a regional appearance at Oklahoma State. In 2021, Gunner helped Nebraska to a regular season Big Ten Championship and another regional berth at the University of Arkansas. As a player, Gunner's success included a five-hit game as a freshman against Rutgers, and a walk-off off hit against Indiana that led to a Big 10 championship in 2021. During his tenure at Nebraska Gunner caught current Big Leaguers Matt Waldron (San Diego Padres), Nate Fisher (New York Mets), Cade Povich (Baltimore Orioles), and Spencer Schwellenbach (Atlanta Braves).

Before Nebraska, Gunner attended Grace Brethren High School in Simi Valley, Calif., where he played under Coach Barry Tolli. He helped the team to a runner-up finish in the 2017 CIF Division 4 playoffs, which included a 3-for-3 performance in the quarterfinals with two home runs and five RBIs. As a senior, he batted .529 with 46 hits, 45 RBIs, 13 doubles, one triple and five home runs to earn Tri Valley League MVP. He earned 2017 Rawlings/Perfect Game high honorable-mention Preseason All-America honors. Gunner was also named first-team All-Ventura County, first-team Southern Section CIF Division 4, first-team Cal-Hi Sports and first-team Max Preps California Medium Schools All-State as a senior.

Originally from Simi Valley, CA. Gunner holds a BS in Supply Chain Management and a Master's in Educational Administration- Higher Education from The University of Nebraska- Lincoln.