Rice University is hiring David Pierce as the school's new head baseball coach, the school announced on Monday night.
The move was first reported by Kendall Rogers of D1 Baseball.
The 62-year-old Pierce is replacing Jose Cruz Jr., who was fired last week.
Pierce, a former Rice assistant, most recently served as an assistant on Texas State's staff. He was fired as the head baseball coach at the University of Texas last year, after guiding the Longhorns to a 297–162 record across seven seasons that included three College World Series appearances. He was named National Coach of the Year by Baseball America in 2018.
"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 in a statement. "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."
Rice is 4–16 and begins American Athletic Conference play this weekend against Florida Atlantic.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Rice Hires Former Texas Baseball Coach David Pierce to Lead Owls.
