Life is little more than one thick scrapbook composed of “what if” choices and moments that link one page to the next.

Which is why Nick Garritano can’t help but take a stroll down “what if” lane as he sits in his office at UNLV’s baseball complex, mere days after being named the eighth head coach in Hustlin’ Rebels history.

What if his parents didn’t move to Las Vegas when he was 5 years old? 

What if he accepted a scholarship elsewhere, rather than sign with his hometown university? 

What if, at age 26, he had succumbed to his inner doubts when Las Vegas baseball coaching icon Roger Fairless urged Garritano to succeed him at Green Valley High School in the late 1990s?

What if he hadn’t reluctantly left an extremely successful (and comfortable) gig at Green Valley to test himself in the junior college ranks — where he would cement his legacy as one of the most accomplished baseball coaches in Southern Nevada history?

If any of those snapshots are missing from his scrapbook, Garritano would not be UNLV’s new head baseball coach — and thus would not be sitting in that aforementioned cramped office, a few dozen steps from the football practice field where Garritano developed into arguably the greatest place-kicker to wear the scarlet and gray.

“When I start talking about this, I literally get goosebumps and have little hairs standing up on my bald head,” Garritano says. “Because this university, this community, means the world to me.

“I’m a 53-year-old grown man who is tearing up right now — that’s how much this means.”

'Nick the Kick' delivers

As a two-time all-state selection in both football and baseball at Las Vegas’ Chaparral High School, it’s no surprise that Garritano received scholarship offers from multiple universities. He accepted the one offered by then UNLV football coach Jim Strong for two reasons — the first being from a family of diehard Rebels fans.

“We watched [UNLV Hall of Famers] Randall Cunningham play football at Sam Boyd Stadium and Armon Gilliam play basketball at the [Las Vegas] Convention Center and Matt Williams play baseball back when it was Roger Barnson Field,” Garritano says. “So I wanted my mom and dad to have an opportunity to watch me play. This was way before every game was on ESPN.”

The other reason Garritano decided to stay home: an opportunity to be a multisport athlete, as both Strong and Fred Dallimore — the most decorated and longest-tenured baseball coach in UNLV history — agreed to let Garritano wear both uniforms.

“That was the whole goal: to play both sports.”

Unfortunately, Garritano’s mule-like right leg didn’t get that memo.

As the Rebels’ primary place-kicker during his freshman season in 1991, Garritano made 18 of 20 extra-point tries but whiffed on half of his 16 field-goal attempts. That led to a postseason heart-to-heart with his father.

“We made a decision that I needed to get better as a kicker, otherwise I might end up being the backup and lose my scholarship.” So Garritano, whose first athletic passion was baseball, hung up his spikes for good — a decision that pains him to this day: “My biggest regret in sports is not playing baseball here at UNLV."

There was a silver lining, though: Garritano swiftly regained his kicking form, making nearly 80% of his field goal attempts (49 of 57) in his final three seasons as a Rebel.

By the time his career ended in 1994, Garritano was the second-leading scorer in UNLV history and held more than 10 program records, including longest made field goal (54 yards, accomplished twice). In fact, the 1994 Rebels won the Big West Conference championship and Las Vegas Bowl thanks in large part to the player who came to be known as “Nick the Kick.”

In 2010, Garritano’s gridiron success was celebrated when he was twice enshrined into the UNLV Athletics Hall of Fame as an individual athlete and a member of the 1994 squad.

Climbing the dugout steps

A lot of teenagers don’t have an answer — or at least a realistic answer — to the age-old question “What do you want to do for a living?” Nick Garritano was one of the exceptions.

“I knew in high school that I wanted to be a physical education teacher and a coach,” he says. “When I was young, those were my mentors; I looked up to my coaches.”

So when Garritano got to UNLV, he enrolled as a kinesiology major with an emphasis on education. Soon after earning his undergraduate degree in 1995, he returned to his high school alma mater as a P.E. teacher and an assistant coach with Chaparral’s football, baseball, and wrestling programs.

A few years later, Fairless hired Garritano to serve as his understudy at Green Valley High School. In addition to his baseball chores, Garritano taught P.E., was an offensive line coach with the football team, and later coached the girls golf squad.

It was during those early days at Green Valley when Garritano faced one of his “what if” moments: After resigning in February 1999 to take the head baseball job at the Community College of Southern Nevada (now College of Southern Nevada), Fairless was eager to hand the Green Valley reins to his top assistant.

“I told him ‘No shot. I’m 26 years old, I’m getting married in a couple of months, I’m working on my master’s degree, we’re buying our first house — no way. I can’t do this.’”

Fairless kept pushing, though. So Garritano once again sought the counsel of someone he refers to as “the greatest man I’ve ever met.”

“I asked my dad what he thought, and he said, ‘It’s going to be tough. But you’ve been tough your whole life; I’ve raised you this way.’ So I took the job.”

And promptly hit it out of the park.

Over 12 seasons at Green Valley, Garritano compiled a 316-118 record, led the Gators to two state championships (2001 and 2003), and produced six high school All-Americans and 10 Major League Baseball Draft picks. (For good measure, he also coached the girls’ golf team to the 2002 state title.)

In 2011, Garritano was one of a half-dozen candidates to throw their hats in the ring to succeed Tim Chambers as head baseball coach at College of Southern Nevada after Chambers left to take over at UNLV. 

CSN initially passed on Garritano, only to double back several months later after the coach who got the job was dismissed amid rules violations. This time, it was Garritano’s turn to say “Thanks, but no thanks.”

“I told them, ‘You had your opportunity. I told you I was the best man for the job — not the best baseball guy for the job; you hired the best baseball guy. But I was the best man. So I don’t want to do it.’”

Word of that rejection quickly got to Chambers, who urged Garritano to reconsider. The rest, as they say, is history: Building on the foundation constructed by mentors Fairless and Chambers, Garritano went 632-217 in 16 seasons leading one of the nation’s top junior college baseball programs.

During Garritano’s tenure, the Coyotes won numerous conference titles, a pair of Western District Championships and twice made the National Junior College Athletic Association World Series (2017 and 2024). Along the way, Garritano earned nine conference Coach of the Year honors; had 22 players selected in the MLB Draft; and produced eight junior college All-Americans. 

He had every intention of adding to those totals at CSN in the coming years. Then his alma mater threw a curveball.

'It's now or never, buddy'

While at CSN, Garritano shipped 190 of his players to four-year universities, with dozens of those landing at UNLV (including his son, Nicky, who played the past two seasons with the Hustlin’ Rebels). Yet despite his immense on- and off-field success at the high school and junior college levels, Garritano never really considered the possibility that he might someday make “the leap” himself. 

That is, until Hustlin’ Rebels coach Stan Stolte retired this spring following 10 seasons at the helm.

“It’s now or never, buddy,” Garritano told himself.

So he polished his résumé, landed an interview, and within a couple of days was offered a four-year contract. This time, Garritano didn’t need any outside convincing to take the job — even though he recognizes he’s now playing a whole different ballgame.

“This is a huge jump for us. This is the big-boy game,” Garritano says. “This is the transfer portal and the NIL world, and I’m not used to that. 

“We have a lot to learn in a short amount of time to give ourselves the chance to be competitive. But we are going to compete. I wouldn’t have come here — as much as this place means to me — if I didn’t think we could win. I’d have gone the safe route and retired.”

At least one person firmly believes that the skipper who owns a 948-389 career record will quickly learn the nuances of Division I, rebuild the Rebels’ 34-player roster, and soon have UNLV in position to earn its first college baseball playoff berth since 2014.

“Nick Garritano is a proven winner, a respected leader, and a true Rebel,” UNLV athletics director Erick Harper said. “His record of success speaks for itself. Nick has developed championship programs, prepared young men for success on and off the field, and built lasting relationships throughout Las Vegas. We are excited to welcome him back to campus to write the next chapter of Hustlin’ Rebel baseball.”

A full-circle homecoming

It’s been 35 years since Nick Garritano first slipped on a UNLV jersey, first doing so on Sept. 7, 1991, when the Rebels opened the football season at UNR.

A week later, the 1991 squad played its home opener against Oregon State, and with his parents in the Sam Boyd Stadium stands, Garritano literally kicked off the scoring with a pair of first-quarter field goals as the Rebels rolled to a 23-9 victory.

Now flash-forward to mid-February 2027, when Garritano will slip on a UNLV jersey for the first time in more than three decades as he leads the Hustlin’ Rebels onto the field for Opening Day.

It’s a full-circle moment that undoubtedly will be filled with mixed emotions. Yes, plenty of his supporters will be cheering at Earl E. Wilson Stadium that day. However, two important people won’t be present: his father, who died in 2020, and his mother, who is dealing with dementia.

“I told my wife, ‘The only thing I wish is that I could’ve shared this moment with them,’” Garritano says. “But I know my dad is looking down and is very proud of me, and I know my mom is proud, too.”

As he says this, Garritano once again leans back in his desk chair and chokes back tears. Rest assured, when Opening Day rolls around, more tears will be shed — only this time, he’ll be able to wipe them on his scarlet and gray sleeve.

“Outside of my first year coaching at Chaparral back in 1995-96, I’ve worn royal blue — Green Valley High School’s royal blue and CSN’s royal blue — for my entire professional career. So to don these colors again? Man, oh man. It’s surreal.”