J.P. Arencibia - Student Assistant Coach - Staff Directory

Staff Directory

J.P. Arencibia

Title:
Student Assistant Coach

Former Vol and Major League catcher J.P. Arencibia was tabbed Tennessee’s student assistant coach prior to the 2018 season.

Arencibia returned to the University of Tennessee to finish his undergraduate degree after 10 years in the professional baseball ranks, six of which were spent in the Majors.

The Miami native was taken with the 21st overall pick of the 2007 Draft by the Toronto Blue Jays. He spent three years in the minors before making his debut on Aug. 7, 2010, in a game against the Tampa Bay Rays that became one to remember. Arencibia homered twice and finished with four hits, earning a standing ovation from the Rogers Centre crowd.

He became Toronto’s starting catcher in 2011 and held onto the position through 2013 before signing with the Texas Rangers as a free agent for the 2014 season. He notched 36 hits and 35 RBI while with the Rangers.

In 2015, Arencibia played a 24-game stint with the Tampa Bay Rays and recorded the best average of his career (.310). He went 22-for-71 and drove in 17 runs over that span.

He finished his MLB career with a .212 batting average, 80 home runs and 245 RBI over 466 games. In the minors, he hit .263 over 647 games, homered 135 times and drove in 445 runs. Arencibia earned 15 accolades including AL Player of the Week in May of 2012 and finished the 2011 season ranked 25th in triples among American League players.

In his first season as a player at Tennessee in 2005, Arencibia helped lead the Vols to their last College World Series appearance and finished the year ranked second on the squad in RBIs (71) and home runs (14) while ranking third in hits (91). By the end of the 67-game slate, Arencibia’s freshman stats placed him in UT’s single-season record book in multiple categories, including second in at-bats (283), tied for eighth in hits, tied for ninth in homers and sixth in RBI. The campaign also earned him Freshman All-America honors from Baseball America and Louisville Slugger, and the title of SEC Freshman of the Year. He earned additional postseason recognition when he was named to the SEC All-Tournament team and NCAA Knoxville Regional All-Tournament team.

Following his freshman season, Arencibia immediately joined the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team and proceeded to lead the elite club in hits (23), RBI (12), total bases (33) and slugging percentage (.579).

As the Vols’ starting catcher, he hit a career-high .352 during his sophomore season. Arencibia totaled 76 hits, 28 of which were extra-base knocks. He also recorded a career-high slugging percentage of .583 en route to driving in 52 runs. The stellar campaign earned him All-America accolades from Louisville Slugger and College Baseball Foundation.

During his final season on Rocky Top, Arencibia posted a .450 on-base percentage while tallying 63 hits and 42 RBI. He finished his UT career with a .333 batting average, 230 hits, 165 RBI and 145 scored runs through 174 games. Arencibia started all but one contest while at Tennessee and ranks among the top 10 all-time at UT in hits (seventh), doubles (seventh), home runs (sixth), RBIs (fourth) and total bases (third).