David Pierce let go by the University of Texas

The head coaching position of the most successful program in college baseball is vacant. Texas baseball head coach David Pierce was let go on Monday, the school announced. The Houston Chronicle first reported the news. In eight seasons as head coach of the Longhorns, Pierce was 297-162 with three College World Series appearances and three Big 12 regular season titles.

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“CDC and I met after the season and we mutually agreed that the best thing for the program was to go in a different direction,” Pierce said in a statement. “It’s been an honor and privilege to lead this program for the last eight years. It certainly is a time I will always cherish as a coach, and I am so appreciative of The University of Texas for the opportunity. Thank you to Longhorn Nation, the fan base, our support staff, student assistants and the media who covered us so well. I especially want to thank the coaches and our former and current players who helped us win a lot of games and represented our program in a first-class manner. Thank you all for your hard work, dedication and commitment to Texas Baseball. You will forever be in my heart, and I look forward to continuing to cheer you on in baseball and beyond.”

Said Chris Del Conte, “After the season, Coach Pierce and I had some time to visit about the year, the future of our program, where we are, and where we’re headed. It was a difficult decision for us both, but we have mutually agreed that we should make a change. I am so grateful for Coach Pierce and all he has poured into our baseball program for the past eight years. He is an incredible person, and I’ve truly enjoyed my time working with him. I appreciate the passion, pride and steadfast commitment he had for coaching and working with our student-athletes and am thankful for all he’s done for Texas Athletics and our entire university community as our head coach. I wish Coach Pierce and his family the best in the future.”

The move is a major one within the world of college baseball. The Texas head coaching position has only been held permanently by five men since 1910: Pierce, Augie Garrido, Cliff Gustafson, Bibb Falk, and Billy Disch. There was one short stint where former head football coach Blair Cherry filled in for Falk during his wartime service, but aside from that stretch the position has been a bastion of consistency.

It thrusts Texas onto the coaching carousel for the first time since 2016, when athletic director Mike Perrin had to sort out the college baseball landscape in the wake of Garrido’s resignation. Pierce was the Longhorns’ choice after a process not as sloppy as the public maligns.

It does so at the end of the 2024 college baseball season as well, a decision not made without specific reasoning.

Pierce made the College World Series thrice and missed the postseason just once during his tenure, but staff volatility especially toward the end of his time at the end of the bench became a consistent theme. Pitching coaches came and went on an almost yearly basis, as original pitching coach Phil Haig was let go after the 2019 season. Sean Allen replaced him but left for Ohio State in 2022. Woody Williams replaced Allen but lasted just one season before Pierce took over pitching coach responsibilities to mixed results.

Plus, Philip Miller, a member of Pierce’s staff dating back to his Sam Houston State days, took a personal leave of absence in the middle of the 2024 season. Junior utilityman Cam Constantine functioned as the Longhorns’ first-base coach in the interim, a decision entirely foreign to programs like Texas.

The Longhorns peaked under Pierce in 2021 when they reached the semifinals of the College World Series, falling to eventual national champion Mississippi State. They also made the 2018 College World Series on the bat of Kody Clemens and the 2022 College World Series thanks to the standout Golden Spikes season put together by Ivan Melendez. Other great players such as Pete Hansen, Ty Madden, Mike Antico, and countless others created high points for the Texas baseball program during Pierce’s time.

Since that 2022 season, the volatility has resulted in diminishing results on the field. A year after making the College World Series in 2022, the Longhorns won the 2023 Big 12 regular season title but failed to reach the College World Series after an unfortunate dropped fly ball in the Stanford Super Regional ended their run. In 2024, Texas failed to make it out of the College Station regional and were eliminated by Louisiana at the home park of rival Texas A&M, part of continuing struggles against Southeastern Conference teams.

Speaking of the SEC, Texas is set to transition to the SEC this July, with the competition stepping up and Texas not finding the heights nor talent it had during the peak of Pierce’s time. That’s undoubtedly a consideration of the move, in addition to the constant staff reorganization and other struggles the program has seen over the last two seasons.

Texas is set to begin a coaching search under athletics director Chris Del Conte. Moving quickly is importance, as the transfer portal window is open and runs through July 3.

For Del Conte, this will be his first hire of a baseball coach. While athletic director at Rice and TCU, the Owls had college baseball legend Wayne Graham at the helm while the Horned Frogs were boosted by Jim Schlossnagle to great heights. Del Conte arrived at Texas in 2017 with Pierce at the helm, and supported him throughout his tenure.

But Pierce’s tenure now ends, and Texas is in the college baseball head coach market. As it was in 2016 and even in the 1990s, Texas’ decision will have wide ranging effects on other head coaches. Many might lock in contract extensions, which many head coaches claimed they did in light of Garrido’s departure in 2016.

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Who follows Pierce will be tasked with keeping a premier college baseball program at the forefront of conversation in the sport as it enters the SEC.