Grand Canyon University Baseball Camps

Coaching Staff

Nate Causey
Assistant Coach / Recruiting Coordinator

Nate Causey joined the Grand Canyon baseball program as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator in July of 2023.

A former professional baseball player in the Colorado Rockies system, the Gilbert native makes the move to GCU after most recently holding the position of assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at New Mexico.

"It's an opportunity of a lifetime to get to work with off-the-charts coaches and people like Coach Wallis and his staff," Causey said at the time of his hiring. "I grew up in Phoenix, so this is home for me. This is the type of elite program you dream of being a part of, and I can't wait to get to work."

The 2023 season marked Causey's return to Albuquerque after a previous three-year stint with the Lobos as a volunteer assistant coach. In 2023, Causey also held the role of New Mexico's hitting coach for an offense that ranked third nationally with a .329 batting average and fourth nationally with a .560 slugging percentage. He helped second-year head coach Tod Brown post a winning record and log wins over nationally ranked opponents, including Oregon State and Texas Tech.

"I am very excited to welcome Coach Causey to Grand Canyon University," said Wallis, who leads a Lopes program that has won three consecutive WAC regular-season championships. "Over the last five years, I've seen Nate's relentless work ethic on the recruiting trail. I can't wait for him to get going with our program and help us recruit the best student-athletes in the West and nationally.

"With Nate, we are getting not only a great recruiter, but also a great catching and hitting coach. He is the perfect fit for our program, and I'm proud to bring him back home to Phoenix to help us continue to move GCU Baseball forward."

In between his stints at New Mexico, Causey took on the recruiting coordinator title for the first time back in the Grand Canyon State at Pima Community College for the 2022 season. In his lone season, Pima set a program record with 38 wins and ranked in its league's top three in most offensive categories.

Causey's first stint with the Lobos came under longtime head coach Ray Birmingham. With the program for the 2019, 2020 and 2021 seasons, the Lobos had five players drafted and were off to a 14-4 start in the COVID-shortened 2020 season.

The product of Gilbert High School was twice selected by the Colorado Rockies in the MLB Draft. A 46th rounder out of high school in 2011, Causey elected to play at Arizona State. Following his three-year career with the Sun Devils, he was a 19th-round pick of the Rockies.

Causey spent the 2014 and 2015 seasons in the Rockies' minor league system, playing in Grand Junction (Rookie), Boise (Single-A Short Season) and Asheville (Single-A). He hit seven home runs, racked up 43 RBIs and got on base at a .378 clip in his two professional seasons.

In three seasons at Arizona State, Causey was a catcher and first baseman. A career .298 hitter, Causey improved to be an All-Pac 12 first-team selection as a junior and hit .323 with 33 runs, 14 doubles, four home runs and 31 RBIs.

Causey earned his Bachelor of Science in Sociology from Arizona State

Nathan Bannister
Pitching Coach

Nathan Bannister is in his second season as Grand Canyon's pitching coach after joining the program in July 2022.

In his first season on the Lopes staff, Bannister helped lead GCU to a WAC Regular-Season Championship. The Lopes' late-season tear coincided with an impressive run from GCU's pitching staff, posting a 2.84 earned-run average in the final 12 games of the regular season — all wins. Bannister coached All-WAC pitchers Daniel Avitia (first team) and Zach Thornton and Brodie Cooper-Vassalakis (second team).

Bannister joined GCU from the Seattle Mariners organization, where he was most recently serving as a pitching coach for the Modesto Nuts.

A Phoenix native, Bannister pitched for the University of Arizona from 2013 to 2016. He was 19-7 with a 3.22 ERA in 245 2/3 career innings spanning 61 appearances and 27 starts. As a senior in 2016, Bannister was a workhorse for the Wildcats, going 12-2 with a 2.59 ERA in 142 1/3 innings. He helped lead the Wildcats back to the College World Series in his final season.

Bannister was drafted in the 28th round of the 2016 MLB Draft by the Seattle Mariners. He debuted professionally in 2017 and was pitching for Triple-A Tacoma by his sixth appearance. Bannister's pro career lasted two seasons and spanned 54 starts and 285 2/3 innings. He went 16-16 overall.

Bannister attended Peoria, Arizona's, Liberty High School where he was named the 2012 Arizona Republic Big Schools Player of the Year and landed on the USA Today All-USA Baseball Second Team. He finished senior season with 104 strikeouts in 74 2/3 innings and posted a 1.88 ERA. A two-way player, Bannister also played third base and hit .454 on the season with 35 RBIs. He threw a perfect game against Copper Canyon in May of his senior year. Bannister helped lead the Lions to a state championship as a sophomore in 2010.

Paul Panaccione
Assistant Coach

After a four-year playing career at Grand Canyon, Paul Panaccione completed his fourth season as an assistant coach for the Lopes program in 2023.

Panaccione was an assistant coach for the 2019 through 2021 seasons before departing for a scouting role with Prep Baseball Report in Arizona. Panaccione returned to the coaching staff for the 2023 season under first-year head coach Gregg Wallis.

In his first year back on staff, Panaccione helped lead the Lopes to the 2023 WAC Regular-Season Championship. GCU won its final 13 WAC games to claim the title on the regular season's final day.

Panaccione was also a member of GCU's coaching staff in 2021 that helped lead the program to its first NCAA tournament.

Panaccione was an infielder in the Lopes program from 2013 to 2016 and was one of its leaders during the transition to Division I. He appeared in 198 games during his four-year career finishing with a career batting average of .309 and driving in 112 runs. As a junior in 2015, Panaccione batted .376 and helped lead GCU to the WAC regular season title.

The shortstop also started 55 games as a freshman in 2013, an everyday member of a GCU team that reached the Division II College World Series the season before making the jump to D1 play.

Following his time at GCU, Panaccione was selected in the 10th round of the 2016 MLB Draft by the Washington Nationals. At the time, he was the highest-drafted position player from GCU since 2001. He spent three seasons playing in the Nationals organization.

In his first season on the GCU coaching staff, Panaccione has the unique opportunity to coach some of the players that he once shared the field with. As a senior in 2016, current Lopes Austin Bull, Tyler Wyatt, Preston Pavlica, Marc Mumper and Josh Andrews were freshmen.

Panaccione is a native of Peoria, Arizona, where he starred at Liberty High School. Off the baseball diamond, he was an accomplished football player as well, earning first team All-State honors.