Long Beach State to hire TCU assistant TJ Bruce as next head coach

The TCU baseball team is officially losing one of their top assistant coaches, TJ Bruce. On Thursday evening, Kendall Rogers of D1baseball.com reported that Long Beach State is hiring the Horned Frogs’ assistant as their next head coach.

Bruce spent the last two years working as an assistant with the TCU program.

TJ Bruce has many ties with the LBSU baseball program

He’s got extensive ties with Long Beach State. Bruce wrapped up his playing career there in 2004, helping guide the 49ers to an NCAA Super Regional appearance. Bruce transferred to Long Beach State after spending his junior year with Texas Tech. Later on, he would return to coach at LBSU as an assistant in 2007, coaching a number of players that went on to play in the major leagues. The 49ers also made three postseason appearances when he was on the staff there (2005, 2007, and 2008).

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During his seven years with Nevada, Bruce helped guide the Wolfpack to the 2018 and 2021 Mountain West Conference regular season titles. In both seasons, Bruce was named the Mountain West Coach of the Year. The team qualified for five Mountain West Conference Tournaments during his time there, including an appearance in the 2021 NCAA Tournament.

Before joining Nevada as their head coach, Bruce was a top assistant for the UCLA Bruins (2011-2015). When he was there, the Bruins had a record of 198-102-1, advancing to the NCAA Tournament four times and bringing home the 2013 National Championship. UCLA won three Pac-12 titles (2011, 2012, and 2015) and they also served as a Regional host four different times. The Bruins also went to the College World Series twice (2012 and 2013).

More on TCU and their 2024 campaign

TCU finished 33-21 overall this year and 14-16 in the Big 12.

The highlight of the season for the Horned Frogs was without a doubt, when they made it to the 2024 Big 12 Championship Game. They lost 11-10 to the Kansas Jayhawks, but it was a classic of a game. They trailed 9-0 after the first inning, and eventually battled back to tie it up in the seventh at 10-10. But the Jayhawks put one more run on the board in the bottom of the eighth and that was the game-winner. It was an eighth inning solo shot by KU that decided it.

Kurtis Byrne of TCU hit two home runs in the game and drove in four runs. His second homer was with one out in the fifth inning to make it a 10-7 game. It was the second two homer game of his career. Byrne also tallied his 16th multi-hit game of the year and the 46th of his career. It was also Byrne’s 12th multi-RBI game of the season and the 33rd of his career.