HASTINGS, Neb. – The Hastings College Baseball team is turning to a former MLB broadcaster and collegiate coach to lead its program. 

The Hastings College Athletic Department announced the hiring of Victor Rojas on Saturday. 

"We are excited to welcome Victor to the Hastings Athletics family. Victor brings a lot of knowledge from his days of covering baseball and I believe that will translate to make him a great coach," said Hastings College Athletic Director Chris Clements. "His strong communication skills will be very beneficial to make an immediate impact on the field in the Great Plains Athletic Conference,"

Rojas, the son of Kansas City Royals Hall of Famer Cookie Rojas, played collegiately at College of the Desert, where he still holds the season and career home run records.

He began his professional playing career in 1990 with the California Angels organization, transitioning to a closer role and earning Minor League All-Star honors in the Arizona League.

Rojas is best known to MLB fans as the TV play-by-play voice of the Los Angeles Angels from 2010-2020. 

After retiring from broadcasting in 2021, Rojas served as President and General Manager of the Frisco RoughRiders, the Double-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers, for two seasons.

Rojas returned to part-time broadcasting in 2022 and has periodically called college baseball games for ESPN. 

Prior to arriving at Hastings, Rojas served as the Assistant Head Coach and Recruiting Coordinator at Ottawa University - Arizona.

His responsibilities included running the offense and overseeing catchers for the entire program. In his first season, the Spirit set new team records for batting average, OPS, doubles, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, fewest strikeouts and stolen bases.

Rojas takes over a Bronco team that fired its first-year head coach on April 11.

"My family and I couldn't be more excited for this opportunity," Rojas said in a statement. "Hastings is a special place with tremendous potential, and I'm looking forward to getting to work immediately to help bring the program back to prominence. I want to thank Chris Clements and Dr. Rich Lloyd for entrusting me with the baseball program. My goal is to restore the shine that was so familiar under Coach (Jim) Boeve."