Aaron Price completed his second season as the special teams coordinator at UTEP during the 2022 season.
UTEP starting kicker Gavin Baechle capped the 2022 season by being named the Conference USA Special Teams Player of the Year after his solid campaign. Baechle, who was also named first team All-CUSA, finished 22-for-24 on field goals, including a program best 22 consecutive makes during the season. Baechle tied for the CUSA with in FGM, while ranking tied sixth nationally. Baechle added a 31-for-31 effort on PATs, while leading the Miners with 97 points. Baechle ranked fifth in CUSA in points scored.
“Bagel” concluded his career as one of the top kickers in school history. Baechle finished as UTEP’s all-time leader with 58 made field goals. His 22 consecutive makes are also a school record and were three short of the NCAA record (25 by Washington’s Chuck Nelson in 1982). Baechle’s 22 makes in 2022 is a career high while it ranks second all-time for a single season in school history. Baechle’s 91.7 percent on field goals is second best in school history. He is one of two Miners to hit over 90 percent in single season. His 79.5 percent on career field goals (58-73) places him second all-time in program history. Baechle tallied 284 career points (58 FG, 110 XP), finishing third on the program’s all-time list for overall players, and second all-time for kickers only.
Baechle finished 110-for-111 on extra points in his career and ranks third in program history with 110 made extra points. He hit 99.1 percent of his extra points during his career, ranking no. 1 all-time in program history.
Baechle tied first in C-USA in kickoffs, averaging 63.6 yards per kick, and tallied 4,004 yards on 63 kickoffs with 40 touchbacks.
Joshua Sloan, UTEP’s starting punter, had a career year, averaging 44.4 yards per punt. Sloan booted 45 punts for 1,998 yards. Sloan registered a long of 64 yards in a win over rival NM State, while he also recorded a forced fumble at Rice. Sloan ranked third in CUSA in punting.
Angleo Tejada, UTEP's starting long snapper, was named second team All-CUSA. He was the first UTEP long snapper since 2011 to be named all-conference. Tejada registered a tackle on special teams at no. 9 Oklahoma. The sophomore was part of a special teams’ unit that averaged over 44 yards a punt, while opponents didn’t block one punt. The Miners were a perfect 31-of-31 on PATs and 22-of-24 on field goals.
Marcus Bellon, a highly-touted special teams transfer in his first season, produced a 47-yard punt return for a touchdown in UTEP's upset win over Boise State on national TV.
In 2021, Baechle tallied 88 points to lead the Miners and rank eighth in Conference USA. Baechle averaged 1.4 field goals per game, ranking fifth in C-USA and 39th nationally. Baechle hit 75.0 percent (18-24) of his field goals, ranking sixth in the league, and connected on 97.1 percent (34-35) of his PAT’s. His 18 FG’s and 34 PAT’s were both career highs for the senior.
Sloan averaged a career-high 39.5 yards per punt. He booted 64 times for 2,526 yards and career-high 62 yards. Sloan placed 21 inside the 20-yard line, and tallied four touchbacks. Ten of his punts went for over 50 yards.
After serving on the Miner coaching staff for nine seasons from 2004-12, Price returned to the Sun City in May, 2021.
The son of former UTEP head coach Mike Price, "A.P." served in a variety of roles during his first stint with the Miners. He also worked with the quarterbacks, wide receivers and kickers.
The 27-year coaching veteran spent the previous two seasons as the special teams coordinator and running backs coach at Northern Arizona, where he coached a pair of All-Americans in kicker Luis Aguilar and punter DJ Arnson.
In his first term at UTEP, Price coached a pair of Miner greats in quarterbacks Jordan Palmer and Trevor Vittatoe. Both shattered program passing records under his guidance. He also mentored former Miner kicker Jose Martinez, who was a two-time all-conference selection and a finalist for the Lou Groza Award in 2007.
In Price's first year at Northern Arizona, three players from his positional groups earned All-Big Sky honors -- kicker Luis Aguilar (First Team), punter DJ Arnson (First Team) and running back Joe Logan (Second Team). Additionally, Aguilar was named the 2019 Fred Mitchell Award winner, presented annually to the top collegiate placekicker in the FCS.
Price took charge of the Lumberjacks' special teams and running back units after more than 20 years of collegiate coaching experience at nine different universities. Price has been a part of seven bowl teams as a coach or player, including three at UTEP and four at his alma mater Washington State.
Prior to joining the staff at NAU, Price served as the offensive coordinator at Humboldt State University (Calif.) in 2016. He directed a prolific offense that saw individual players break the program's single-season passing and career rushing records.
He spent the previous three seasons as the quarterbacks coach at Tulane (2013-15) after spending nine years at UTEP (2004-12) working with his father. Price also enjoyed stints on the coaching staffs at Alabama (2003), Washington State (2001-02, 1995-97), Idaho State (1999-01), Missouri Western State (1998) and Cal Poly (1994).
Price lettered as a kicker at Washington State. He was a semifinalist for the Lou Groza Award and a two-time Pac-10 All-Academic selection during his playing days. He still ranks eighth in program history in field goals made in a season (17, 1993) and 10th in season field goal percentage (.722, 1992). Price also spent time in the Canadian Football League (1994) and the Arena Football League (1995) following his playing days with the Cougars.
Price earned his undergraduate degree in physical education from Washington State in 1994. He has three daughters: Andi, Blakeanne and Maddison.
THE PRICE FILE
YEARS AT UTEP: 2nd stint. 2004-06: Assistant Coach (QB/Kickers); 2007: Assistant Coach (WR/Kickers); 2008-12: Offensive Coordinator/QBs & Kickers; 2021-Present: (Special Teams Coordinator).
PREVIOUS COACHING EXPERIENCE: Assistant OL/Punters & Kickers Coach at Cal Poly (1994); Graduate Assistant/Assistant QB Coach/Kickers & Punters at Washington State (1995-97); Quarterbacks/Special Teams at Missouri Western State (1998); Offensive Coordinator/Recruiting/QBs/Special Teams at Idaho State (1999-01); Quarterbacks/Special Teams at Washington State (2001-02); Quarterbacks/Special Teams at Alabama (2003); Offensive Coordinator/QBs/WR at UTEP (2004-12); Quarterbacks/Special Teams at Tulane (2013-15); Offensive Coordinator/QBs/WR/Special Teams at Humboldt State (2016); Special Teams Coordinator/RBs at Northern Arizona (2019-20).
EDUCATION: Bachelor's degree from Washington State in 1994.
PLAYING EXPERIENCE: College – Kicker at Washington State (1990-93); Professional – Canadian Football League (1994; Sacramento Goldminers & Edmonton Eskimos); Arena Football League (1995; Iowa Barnstormers).
