Gunner Hellstrom joined the UIW Baseball staff in August of 2025. Hellstrom joins UIW after serving as pitching and catching coach at Odessa College in 2025.
Hellstrom helped lead the Wranglers to a 40-17 record, their first WJCAC Championship in 10 years, and their first-ever super regional host site. Hellstrom helped produce 11 Division I commitments and one MLB Draft selection, Daniel Lopez (12th round, Baltimore Orioles).
Before Odessa, Hellstrom spent three seasons on staff at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln (2022–24), serving as a student assistant, then a graduate assistant. He worked closely with catchers, hitters, and pitchers. He contributed to the Cornhuskers' first-ever Big Ten Tournament Championship in 2024 and multiple NCAA regional appearances. During his tenure, he helped develop several MLB draft picks, including Brice Matthews (1st round, 2023), Max Anderson (2nd round, 2023), Emmett Olsen (4th round, 2023), Jace Kaminska (10th round, 2023), Josh Caron (4th round, 2024), and Brett Sears (7th round, 2024).
As a player, Hellstrom was a standout catcher at Nebraska (2018–21). He was named to the Big Ten All-Freshman Team in 2018. He was a three-time Academic All-Big Ten selection and a four-time Nebraska Scholar-Athlete Honor Roll honoree. He helped the Huskers to two Big Ten titles and multiple NCAA regional berths, highlighted by a walk-off hit against Indiana to clinch the 2021 championship. During his playing career, he caught current MLB pitchers Matt Waldron (San Diego Padres), Nate Fisher (New York Mets), Cade Povich (Baltimore Orioles), and Spencer Schwellenbach (Atlanta Braves).
