Chad Highberger

Chad Highberger enters his fourth year on the Golden Bears Baseball Coaching staff. 2024 will mark his first as a full-time assistant coach after being promoted from the position of volunteer assistant coach he held for the previous three seasons.

Highberger joined the Cal coaching staff as a volunteer assistant in 2022 and has been in charge of catchers, infielders, and coaching at third base. Two Bears – Cole Elvis (2022) and Caleb Lomavita (2023) have been named to the Buster Posey Award Watch List under Highberger's tutelage. Lomavita, a rising junior, has earned back-to-back all-conference honors and was the first freshman to earn First Team All-Pac-12 honors at Cal since Andrew Vaughn in 2017.

Before joining Neu's staff in 2022, Highberger served as an assistant coach at Holy Names in Oakland. During his first season with the Hawks (2019) he helped the Hawks' catchers allow 20 fewer stolen bases than the previous year while also cutting down on past balls. The HNU offense produced a program-record 24 home runs in the same season. In 2017-18, Highberger was an assistant coach at Los Medanos College, serving as the first base coach while working with the catchers and hitters. The Mustangs reached the playoffs in Highberger's two seasons with the program, and he was instrumental in recruiting the 2019 Mustang team that went on to win the program's first Bay Valley Conference title and reached the NorCal Final 4.

Prior to his coaching career, Highberger played three years of independent professional baseball with the Pittsburg Diamonds (2016-17, 2018) and the Gary Southshore Railcats (2017).

An East Bay native, Highberger started his collegiate playing career at Los Medanos College in 2012-13. He later transferred to Eastern New Mexico (2014-15), where he earned a Bachelor of Science in Community Physical Education with a minor in coaching. He earned a masters degree in Education from Holy Names University in 2017.

Highberger currently resides in the East Bay with his wife Stephanie.