GREENSBORO, N.C. – UNC Greensboro (UNCG) baseball's Head Coach Cody Ellis announced the hiring of Kris Taveras as an assistant coach and Tristan McAlister as director of operations on Monday.

Kris Taveras
Taveras comes to Greensboro from Young Harris College (YHC), where he was serving as a baseball coach since August of 2017. He was promoted to associate head baseball coach and recruiting coordinator in May of 2024 after being promoted to full-time assistant in the spring of 2021, when he began to lead YHC's recruiting efforts.

"Kris brings a wealth of knowledge from all aspects of college baseball to our program," said Ellis. "He will be a great addition to our offense and be a relentless recruiter for our program. We are excited to have Kris on staff as he will help this program continue to compete for championships and mold these young men."

Under Taveras' leadership, YHC had multiple top-five high school recruiting classes, according to Perfect Game. He was also responsible for recruiting the 2023 Peach Belt Player of the Year, 2024 Conference Carolinas Pitcher of the Year and the 2024 Conference Carolinas Freshman of the Year. On top of that, he also recruited the 2024 Southeast Region Pitcher of the Year as well as two 2024 American Baseball Coaches Association All-American right-handed pitchers, Dylan Beck and Zachary Murray.

With Taveras in the wings, the Mountain Lions broke school records for national rankings in each of the last three seasons, which included being rated as high as No. 5 in the country this past season.

In seven seasons working with the Mountain Lions in Young Harris, Georgia, Taveras helped lead the team to multiple record-breaking seasons. It included a historic run last season to the NCAA Division II Southeast Regional title game backed by a final record of 41-15. Additionally, the 41-win season marked a program record, which was previously set with Taveras helping the Mountain Lions to 39 victories in 2022. Altogether, YHC won a pair of conference championships in 2019 and 2022 as well as reaching the NCAA Tournament in three of the past five seasons (2019, 2022 & 2024).

While working at Young Harris, Taveras spent the summer of 2019 working as an assistant coach for the North Adams SteepleCats in the New England Collegiate Baseball League. Taveras' one season in North Adams, Massachusetts, was a memorable one that saw him coach in the league's all-star game. Seven members of the team also went on to sign professional contracts.

Taveras, who graduated from Greensboro College with a bachelor's degree in English communication in 2017, was an outfielder for the Pride baseball team for four seasons (2014-17).

Taveras is a native of Miami, Florida, and obtained certification to coach both in pitching and hitting from OnBase University back in 2021.

Tristan McAlister
McAlister comes to Greensboro from Mount St. Mary's University, where he served as the director of baseball operations since July of 2023.

"I am excited to add Tristan to the staff as he will handle the baseball operations along with being an asset to our player development," Ellis said. "Tristan was one of my former players whose attitude, work ethic and character was exceptional. He will be a great addition to our staff and resource for our student-athletes."

While working with the Mountaineers baseball program, McAlister was responsible for managing, collecting and organizing Trackman data. Additionally, he organized and coordinated events for the team and played a large role in scouting, coaching and skill development through video and written reports.

With McAlister in the wings, the 2024 season saw the Mountaineers achieve their first back-to-back seasons with at least 22 wins since the 2006-07 campaign. The team went on to win a playoff game in their first postseason appearance since 2018. They also set a new standard in the program for stolen bases when they broke their record with 102 on 136 attempts.

While working at Mount St. Mary's, where he competed as an outfielder from 2022-23, McAlister also got a taste of working in the major leagues while working as an associate scout for the Baltimore Orioles from February to May. He was responsible for recording videos of top MLB prospects and writing evaluation reports. He also assisted the Detroit Tigers with workouts by throwing batting practices, hitting fungos for fielding during practice and setting up/tearing down field setups for MLB prospects.

While McAlister was in school, he offered private lessons to peers as a baseball trainer from June 2021 to May 2023 and mentored professional, college and high school baseball players. He specialized in teaching athletes hitting, stealing bases and defense.

McAlister's college baseball career began at Patrick Henry Community College under Ellis during the 2020-21 campaign, where he batted .353 and finished the season as a member of the NJCAA World Series All-Tournament Team. While at Patrick Henry, he led the country with 52 stolen bases and was named to the all-region team. McAlister then transferred to compete at Mount St. Mary's through the 2023 campaign, where he was a .323 hitter to land inside the top 15 in program history as well as finishing top five in stolen bases (37).

During the summer, McAlister competed with the Mystic Schooners (2022) in the New England Collegiate Baseball League as well as with the Winchester Royals (2021 & 2023) and Purcellville Cannons (2023) in the Valley Baseball League.

McAlister is a native of Fredericksburg, Virginia, and earned a bachelor's and associate degree in business in May of 2023.