Matt Perea completed his first season as the Cougars graduate assistant after working the 2019 season as a student assistant at New Mexico State where he helped the Aggies to a Western Athletic Conference Regular Season Championship. The past two summers, Perea coached with the Waterloo Bucks in the Northwoods Collegiate Summer League.
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In his first season with the Cougars, Perea worked with pitching coach Anthony Claggett and saw the WSU pitching staff post improved numbers in nearly every category highlighted by a team ERA over three runs lower than the previous campaign. Sophomore Zane Mills tied for third in the Pac-12 Conference in wins, was fourth in strikeouts and seventh in batting average against while senior A.J. Block made the most of his decision to return to school after being drafted in the 17th round the prior summer. Block led the league in innings, tied for second in strikeouts and became the first Cougar pitcher in the last 33-plus seasons to record 10-strikeout games in three straight starts.
Perea was a two-year letterwinner as a left-handed pitcher at New Mexico State (2017-18) where he made 23 appearances, mostly out of the bullpen as a senior and helped the Aggies to a NCAA Regional appearance. As a junior in 2017, Perea led NMSU with 17 appearances out of the bullpen. Prior to NMSU, Perea played two seasons at Dodge City Community College (Kan.) where he set season and career records in both wins and ERA, and helped DCCC reach the JUCO World Series as a freshman in 2015.
Perea is a native of El Paso, Texas where he played at Cathedral High School and later earned his bachelor’s degree in general studies from New Mexico State.Â
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