Texas on Monday fired David Pierce after eight seasons at the program’s helm.
Pierce went 297-162 with the Longhorns and led them to the College World Series three times (2018, 2021, 2022). They missed the NCAA Tournament just once (2019), won the Big 12 title three times and hosted regionals three times. Pierce was Baseball America Coach of the Year in 2018, had the Preseason No. 1 team in 2022 and won more than 40 games four times.
But, at Texas, the expectation isn’t so much Omaha as winning in Omaha. The Longhorns made the bracket final in 2021, finishing the season ranked No. 3 in the country, but never broke through to the championship series. Texas has won six national championships, third most in college baseball, and has played for the title six other times. It has not done either since 2009.
Texas this season went 36-24, finished third in the Big 12 and had a tough NCAA Tournament exit. It was knocked out of the College Station Regional after a brutal, extra-innings loss to archrival Texas A&M.
That NCAA Tournament exit came more than three weeks ago now. Pierce’s ouster has been heavily rumored throughout college baseball for at least as long. Now, on the day of the final college baseball game of the season, Game 3 of the CWS championship series between Texas A&M and Tennessee, athletic director Chris Del Conte made his move.
Del Conte arrived at Texas about six months after Pierce was hired. Since then, he has made a series of high-profile moves for one of the biggest brands in college athletics. He will undoubtably swing for the fences when hiring for this job, which has always been one of college baseball’s biggest. The stakes are even higher today, as Texas will officially join the SEC next Monday and could tonight see its biggest rival win its first ever CWS title.
Don’t expect this job to be open long. When Pierce was hired in 2016, it came at the end of a long, protracted search that saw several high-profile coaches interview only to decide to stay at their current jobs and get big raises. Texas doesn’t want that again, especially in the transfer portal era. It will likely have a new coach by the end of the week.
While some are already questioning how good the Texas job truly is, make no mistake, it’s a great job. It might not be the shining star it was in the 20th century, but the brand, facilities, fan base, tradition and location are all elite. The next coach will have to figure out how to engage a bit better in…