David Pierce Returns to Lead Rice Baseball
3/17/2025 5:07:00 PM | Baseball
Will make his debut on Friday vs. Florida Atlantic
Houston-Rice Vice President and Director of Athletics Tommy McClelland announced Monday that David Pierce has been named the new Bixby Family Head Baseball Coach at Rice, returning to South Main where he served as an assistant under Wayne Graham from 2003-11.
Pierce will be formally introduced at a press conference on Wednesday and coach his first game when the Owls open their 2025 American Athletic Conference schedule on Friday vs. Florida Atlantic in Boca Raton, Florida.
"We are excited to bring David Pierce back to South Main as the next head coach of Rice Baseball," McClelland stated "Although it is unconventional to bring a new head coach in during the season, as soon as Coach Pierce and I came to an agreement that he would be our next head coach, he expressed his strong desire to start immediately. It is a testament not only to the bright future ahead for Rice Baseball but also to the potential of our current team.
"I want to thank Parker Bangs for his leadership as our interim head coach during this transition. He provided a calming presence during a challenging time and remains an important part of the coaching staff," McClelland added.
"Rice represents a very special place for my family and me, and I am truly honored to have this opportunity to return to Reckling Park as the head coach of the Owls," Pierce said. "I owe a great deal of my success as a head coach to my time at Rice, and I firmly believe we have all the elements in place to add to the great tradition here.
"I did not want to wait until the end of the season because I believed that we have great potential and a lot of baseball in front of us this year. I can't wait to get on the field with these players and coaches and prepare for the start of conference play on Friday," he stated.
Pierce's nine seasons at Rice saw the Owls win a conference title and qualify for the NCAA tournament each year, earn five national seeds, and advance to five Super Regionals and four College World Series, winning the title in 2003. As a head coach since 2012, he took Sam Houston, Tulane, and Texas to 11 Regionals, four Super Regionals, and three College World Series while compiling a .646 winning percentage (494-271) in 13 seasons as a head coach.
His 494 wins since 2012 rank third among active coaches in Texas heading into the 2025 season (Jim Schlossnagle, 521 combined at TCU and Texas A&M, and Dan Heefner, 507 at Dallas Baptist). He was Baseball America's Coach of the Year in 2018 while at Texas and is a four-time conference Coach of the Year winner and a two-time ABCA Central Region Coach of the Year.
Most recently Pierce was 297-162 in eight seasons coaching at Texas from 2017-24, leading the Longhorns to six NCAA berths, four Super Regionals, and three trips to the College World Series. He also led Texas to its first Big XII Conference title since 2011 in 2018 and added a second in 2021.
The 2024 Longhorns made their fourth-consecutive NCAA Regional appearance, and the team hit the second-most home runs in program history with 112. Outfielder Max Belyeu had a breakout sophomore season and was named the Big 12 Player of the Year.
The 2023 team returned only two everyday starters in the lineup and just 23 home runs from the previous season and still came just one game short of advancing to a third-straight College World Series. Despite featuring an almost entirely new lineup, the Longhorns batted .293 as a team and averaged just over seven runs per game. On the pitching side, the Longhorns finished the season ranked 10th nationally with a 4.18 ERA.
In 2022, the Longhorns returned to the College World Series for the second-consecutive season and the third time in the last four completed seasons with a 47-22 overall. Texas smashed the program record with 128 home runs and a .550 slugging average. Leading the way offensively, Ivan Melendez became the first Texas player to win the USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award and swept the national player of the year awards. Melendez hit a Longhorns-record 32 home runs. The Longhorns also produced the best defensive season in program history, fielding .985 for the first time and finishing with a program-low 37 errors.
The 2021 season saw Texas return to the College World Series and come just one game shy of the CWS Finals. Pierce guided the Longhorns to the Big 12 Championship and their first 50-win season since 2010, while being named the Big 12 Conference Coach of the Year for the second time. He was also recognized as the ABCA Central Regional Coach of the Year,
In just his second season at the helm in 2018, Pierce was named Baseball America's National Coach of the Year and Big XII Coach of the Year after guiding the Longhorns to a 42-23 record and back to the College World Series for the first time since 2014. With a 17-7 mark in league play, Pierce led his team to the Big 12 Conference title—the first conference title for Texas since 2011—and hosted both an NCAA Regional and an NCAA Super Regional.
In his first season leading the Longhorns, Pierce led Texas to a 39-24 record, a 14-win improvement from the 2016 campaign. Texas came within one win of the Big 12 Conference tournament title before earning a No. 2 seed in the Long Beach Regional.
Pierce came to Texas from Tulane, where he spent two seasons as head coach following a three-year stint at Sam Houston State in the same role.
Joining the Green Wave in 2015, the Houston native guided the school into its first season in the American Athletic Conference. His team posted a school-record nine shutouts, which ranked fourth in the nation, en route to a 35-25 record and the program's first regional appearance since 2008.
Pierce's second season at Tulane brought even more success as he led the 2016 Green Wave to a 41-21 record, a regular season AAC championship, and a second-consecutive regional appearance. The 41 wins were the most for the program since 2006.
In three seasons as head coach at Sam Houston State, Pierce compiled a record of 121-63 (.658). During his tenure, the Bearkats made three straight NCAA Regional appearances for just the second time in program history. Sam Houston State was crowned Southland Conference champions in each of his three seasons (the program's only previous league title came in 1989), and Pierce was named the conference coach of the year in both 2012 and 2013.
In his first season as head coach in 2012, the Bearkats were ranked in each of the major Division I polls for the first time in program history. He was honored as an American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) Regional Coach of the Year that season. In 2014, his final season in Huntsville, Pierce guided SHSU to a 43-19 record, the second-highest single-season win total for the Bearkats since they joined Division I in 1987.
Pierce first coached at Rice as an assistant under David Hall in 1991, the year before Wayne Graham was named head coach, and then returned to South Main to coach under Graham in 2003. He served as hitting coach from 2003-05 before taking over as pitching coach from 2006-11.
Before his second stretch at Rice, Pierce spent two seasons as the hitting coach at the University of Houston, helping UH to a pair of postseason appearances, including an NCAA Super Regional showing in 2002. The Cougars hit .310 that season, the fifth-best single-season performance in team history.
Pierce's jump-started his head coaching career at Dobie High School in Pasadena, Texas, where he ran the program from 1996-2001. There, Pierce led the Longhorns to three District 23-5A titles and three Region III semifinal berths. While at Dobie, he was named district coach of the year three times and was also named a coach for the United States Junior Olympic trials.
During his tenure in Pasadena, Pierce produced three all-state players, 36 all-district stars, and 10 players who went on to perform at the college level, including former All-American Shane Nance, who went on to pitch for the Milwaukee Brewers and Arizona Diamondbacks.
Before Dobie, Pierce was an assistant coach at Episcopal High School from 1992-95 and head coach at St. Pius X High School – where he also played – from 1989-90.
Following his high school playing career, Pierce continued as a student-athlete at Wharton County Junior College (1982-83) before playing two seasons at Houston (1984-85). As a senior in 1985, Pierce helped pace the Cougars to an appearance in the NCAA Tournament. He completed his degree at Houston in 1988.
A native Houstonian, Pierce was born on October 13, 1962. He and his wife, Susan, have two children and two grandchildren. Pierce's daughter, Chelsea, graduated from The University of Texas in 2012 and is married to husband Bryan Caffey, and the couple have two daughters, Beckett and Lochlan. David and Susan's son, Shea, played for his father at both Sam Houston (2012-15) and Tulane (2016) and is married to the former Madison Olivarez, who is a 2018 graduate of The University of Texas.
Pierce will be formally introduced at a press conference on Wednesday and coach his first game when the Owls open their 2025 American Athletic Conference schedule on Friday vs. Florida Atlantic in Boca Raton, Florida.
"We are excited to bring David Pierce back to South Main as the next head coach of Rice Baseball," McClelland stated "Although it is unconventional to bring a new head coach in during the season, as soon as Coach Pierce and I came to an agreement that he would be our next head coach, he expressed his strong desire to start immediately. It is a testament not only to the bright future ahead for Rice Baseball but also to the potential of our current team.
"I want to thank Parker Bangs for his leadership as our interim head coach during this transition. He provided a calming presence during a challenging time and remains an important part of the coaching staff," McClelland added.
"Rice represents a very special place for my family and me, and I am truly honored to have this opportunity to return to Reckling Park as the head coach of the Owls," Pierce said. "I owe a great deal of my success as a head coach to my time at Rice, and I firmly believe we have all the elements in place to add to the great tradition here.
"I did not want to wait until the end of the season because I believed that we have great potential and a lot of baseball in front of us this year. I can't wait to get on the field with these players and coaches and prepare for the start of conference play on Friday," he stated.
Pierce's nine seasons at Rice saw the Owls win a conference title and qualify for the NCAA tournament each year, earn five national seeds, and advance to five Super Regionals and four College World Series, winning the title in 2003. As a head coach since 2012, he took Sam Houston, Tulane, and Texas to 11 Regionals, four Super Regionals, and three College World Series while compiling a .646 winning percentage (494-271) in 13 seasons as a head coach.
His 494 wins since 2012 rank third among active coaches in Texas heading into the 2025 season (Jim Schlossnagle, 521 combined at TCU and Texas A&M, and Dan Heefner, 507 at Dallas Baptist). He was Baseball America's Coach of the Year in 2018 while at Texas and is a four-time conference Coach of the Year winner and a two-time ABCA Central Region Coach of the Year.
Most recently Pierce was 297-162 in eight seasons coaching at Texas from 2017-24, leading the Longhorns to six NCAA berths, four Super Regionals, and three trips to the College World Series. He also led Texas to its first Big XII Conference title since 2011 in 2018 and added a second in 2021.
The 2024 Longhorns made their fourth-consecutive NCAA Regional appearance, and the team hit the second-most home runs in program history with 112. Outfielder Max Belyeu had a breakout sophomore season and was named the Big 12 Player of the Year.
The 2023 team returned only two everyday starters in the lineup and just 23 home runs from the previous season and still came just one game short of advancing to a third-straight College World Series. Despite featuring an almost entirely new lineup, the Longhorns batted .293 as a team and averaged just over seven runs per game. On the pitching side, the Longhorns finished the season ranked 10th nationally with a 4.18 ERA.
In 2022, the Longhorns returned to the College World Series for the second-consecutive season and the third time in the last four completed seasons with a 47-22 overall. Texas smashed the program record with 128 home runs and a .550 slugging average. Leading the way offensively, Ivan Melendez became the first Texas player to win the USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award and swept the national player of the year awards. Melendez hit a Longhorns-record 32 home runs. The Longhorns also produced the best defensive season in program history, fielding .985 for the first time and finishing with a program-low 37 errors.
The 2021 season saw Texas return to the College World Series and come just one game shy of the CWS Finals. Pierce guided the Longhorns to the Big 12 Championship and their first 50-win season since 2010, while being named the Big 12 Conference Coach of the Year for the second time. He was also recognized as the ABCA Central Regional Coach of the Year,
In just his second season at the helm in 2018, Pierce was named Baseball America's National Coach of the Year and Big XII Coach of the Year after guiding the Longhorns to a 42-23 record and back to the College World Series for the first time since 2014. With a 17-7 mark in league play, Pierce led his team to the Big 12 Conference title—the first conference title for Texas since 2011—and hosted both an NCAA Regional and an NCAA Super Regional.
In his first season leading the Longhorns, Pierce led Texas to a 39-24 record, a 14-win improvement from the 2016 campaign. Texas came within one win of the Big 12 Conference tournament title before earning a No. 2 seed in the Long Beach Regional.
Pierce came to Texas from Tulane, where he spent two seasons as head coach following a three-year stint at Sam Houston State in the same role.
Joining the Green Wave in 2015, the Houston native guided the school into its first season in the American Athletic Conference. His team posted a school-record nine shutouts, which ranked fourth in the nation, en route to a 35-25 record and the program's first regional appearance since 2008.
Pierce's second season at Tulane brought even more success as he led the 2016 Green Wave to a 41-21 record, a regular season AAC championship, and a second-consecutive regional appearance. The 41 wins were the most for the program since 2006.
In three seasons as head coach at Sam Houston State, Pierce compiled a record of 121-63 (.658). During his tenure, the Bearkats made three straight NCAA Regional appearances for just the second time in program history. Sam Houston State was crowned Southland Conference champions in each of his three seasons (the program's only previous league title came in 1989), and Pierce was named the conference coach of the year in both 2012 and 2013.
In his first season as head coach in 2012, the Bearkats were ranked in each of the major Division I polls for the first time in program history. He was honored as an American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) Regional Coach of the Year that season. In 2014, his final season in Huntsville, Pierce guided SHSU to a 43-19 record, the second-highest single-season win total for the Bearkats since they joined Division I in 1987.
Pierce first coached at Rice as an assistant under David Hall in 1991, the year before Wayne Graham was named head coach, and then returned to South Main to coach under Graham in 2003. He served as hitting coach from 2003-05 before taking over as pitching coach from 2006-11.
Before his second stretch at Rice, Pierce spent two seasons as the hitting coach at the University of Houston, helping UH to a pair of postseason appearances, including an NCAA Super Regional showing in 2002. The Cougars hit .310 that season, the fifth-best single-season performance in team history.
Pierce's jump-started his head coaching career at Dobie High School in Pasadena, Texas, where he ran the program from 1996-2001. There, Pierce led the Longhorns to three District 23-5A titles and three Region III semifinal berths. While at Dobie, he was named district coach of the year three times and was also named a coach for the United States Junior Olympic trials.
During his tenure in Pasadena, Pierce produced three all-state players, 36 all-district stars, and 10 players who went on to perform at the college level, including former All-American Shane Nance, who went on to pitch for the Milwaukee Brewers and Arizona Diamondbacks.
Before Dobie, Pierce was an assistant coach at Episcopal High School from 1992-95 and head coach at St. Pius X High School – where he also played – from 1989-90.
Following his high school playing career, Pierce continued as a student-athlete at Wharton County Junior College (1982-83) before playing two seasons at Houston (1984-85). As a senior in 1985, Pierce helped pace the Cougars to an appearance in the NCAA Tournament. He completed his degree at Houston in 1988.
A native Houstonian, Pierce was born on October 13, 1962. He and his wife, Susan, have two children and two grandchildren. Pierce's daughter, Chelsea, graduated from The University of Texas in 2012 and is married to husband Bryan Caffey, and the couple have two daughters, Beckett and Lochlan. David and Susan's son, Shea, played for his father at both Sam Houston (2012-15) and Tulane (2016) and is married to the former Madison Olivarez, who is a 2018 graduate of The University of Texas.
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