Tyler Lewis Graham (born January 25, 1984) is an American former professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to catch ...

and current assistant head coach for the

Michigan Wolverines The Michigan Wolverines comprise 29 varsity sports teams at the University of Michigan. These teams compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA's NCAA Division I, Division I and in the Big Ten Conference in all sports except wo ...

. He played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB) for the

Arizona Diamondbacks The Arizona Diamondbacks are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West Division. The franchise was established ...

Career

Graham went to

Charles M. Russell High School Charles M. Russell High School (also known as CMR) is a public high school in Great Falls, Montana, in the United States. It is part of the Great Falls Public Schools system. It is one of two public high schools in the city, the other being G ...

Great Falls, Montana Great Falls is the List of cities and towns in Montana, third most populous city in the U.S. state of Montana and the county seat of Cascade County, Montana, Cascade County. The population was 60,442 according to the 2020 United States census, 2 ...

. He attended

Oregon State University Oregon State University (OSU) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Corvallis, Oregon, United States. OSU offers more than 200 undergraduate degree programs and a variety of graduate and doctor ...

, where he played

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played by Student athlete, student-athletes at institutions of higher education. In the United States, college baseball is sanctioned mainly by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA); in Japan, ...

for the

Oregon State Beavers baseball The Oregon State Beavers baseball team represents Oregon State University in NCAA Division I college baseball. The team participates as an Independent, since the Pac-12 Conference's dissolution in 2024. They are currently coached by Mitch Canham a ...

team, competing in the

Pacific-10 Conference The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the Western United States. It participates at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I level for all sports, and its Co ...

. Graham was drafted by the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Division. Th ...

in the 14th round (430th overall) of the

2005 Major League Baseball Draft The 2005 Major League Baseball draft, was held on June 7 and 8. It was conducted via conference call with representatives from each of the league's 30 teams. It is widely considered to be one of the best drafts in recent memory. ''SourceMajor L ...

following his junior season at Oregon State, but he opted not to sign, returning to Oregon State for his senior season. In 2006, Oregon State won the

College World Series The College World Series (CWS), officially the NCAA Men's College World Series (MCWS), is a baseball tournament held each June in Omaha, Nebraska. It is the culmination of the NCAA Division I baseball tournament—featuring 64 teams in the ...

, and Graham made the final out in center field on a fly ball to close out the deciding game three. The Giants drafted Graham in the 19th round (566th overall) of the 2006 Major League Baseball Draft following his senior season, and he signed. With the

Fresno Grizzlies The Fresno Grizzlies are a Minor League Baseball team of the California League and the Single-A affiliate of the Colorado Rockies. They are located in Fresno, California, and play their home games at Chukchansi Park, which was opened in 2002 in ...

of the Triple-A

Pacific Coast League The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade bel ...

, Graham set a team record with 60

stolen base In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a runner advances to a base unaided by other actions and the official scorer rules that the advance should be credited to the action of the runner. The umpires determine whether the runner is safe or out ...

s in 2011. The Giants added him to the 40 man roster to protect him from the

Rule 5 draft The Rule 5 draft is a Major League Baseball (MLB) player draft that occurs each year in December, at the annual Winter Meeting of general managers. The Rule 5 draft aims to prevent teams from stockpiling too many young players on their minor lea ...

after the 2011 season. He was

designated for assignment Designated for assignment (DFA) is a contractual term used in Major League Baseball (MLB). A player who is designated for assignment is immediately removed from the team's 40-man roster, after which the team must, within seven days, return the pla ...

by the Giants on May 1, 2012, and he signed a minor league contract with the

on May 14. He made his major league debut with the Diamondbacks on September 7, 2012. On November 3, Graham was released by the Diamondbacks. He had shoulder surgery at the end of the month, but came back in time to start the season with the

York Revolution The York Revolution is an American professional minor-league baseball team based in York, Pennsylvania. It is a member of the North Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, an independent "partner league" of Major League Basebal ...

of the Atlantic League. In 2013, Graham played for

York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...

, the

Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks The Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks are a professional minor-league baseball team based in Fargo, North Dakota, in the United States. The RedHawks are members of the American Association of Professional Baseball, an official Partner League of Major Lea ...

and the

Winnipeg Goldeyes The Winnipeg Goldeyes are a professional minor-league baseball team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. The Goldeyes play in the American Association of Professional Baseball, which they joined in 2011. Previously, the Goldeyes were members of ...

of the American Association, and the Rojos del Águila de Veracruz of the

Mexican League The Mexican Baseball League (, or LMB, ) is a professional baseball league in Mexico. It is the oldest running professional sports league in the country. The league has 20 teams organized in two divisions, North and South. Teams play 114 games ...

. Graham spent the final season of his playing career in the

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...

organization.

Coaching career

Graham spent the 2015 and 2016 seasons as an undergrad assistant for the Oregon State Beaver baseball team. He spent 2017 through 2019 as the director of player development for Oregon State. Graham also coached in the Western Canadian Baseball League for the Okotoks Dawgs and in the Golden State Collegiate Baseball League for the Medford Rogues. Graham was hired by the Texas Rangers organization to serve as a coach for the

Nashville Sounds The Nashville Sounds are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers. They are located in Nashville, Tennessee, Nashville, Tennessee, and are named for the ci ...

in 2020. On July 26, 2023, Graham was named assistant head coach for

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

References

External links

Oregon State Beavers coach bio
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Graham, Tyler 1984 births Living people American expatriate baseball players in Canada American expatriate baseball players in Mexico Arizona Diamondbacks players Arizona League Diamondbacks players Augusta GreenJackets players Baseball coaches from Montana Baseball players from Montana Bravos de Margarita players 21st-century American sportsmen Connecticut Defenders players Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks players Fresno Grizzlies players Leones del Caracas players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Major League Baseball center fielders Major League Baseball right fielders Mexican League baseball center fielders Mexican League baseball left fielders Minor league baseball coaches Oregon State Beavers baseball coaches Oregon State Beavers baseball players Oregon State University alumni Sportspeople from Great Falls, Montana Reno Aces players Richmond Flying Squirrels players Rojos del Águila de Veracruz players Salem-Keizer Volcanoes players San Jose Giants players Tomateros de Culiacán players Winnipeg Goldeyes players York Revolution players Michigan Wolverines baseball coaches Charles M. Russell High School alumni