What the hell do you people want? Please do tell me who we should have hired when we got Pierce? The measuring stick for UT is and always has been going to Omaha. He's been to the CWS 3 of the past 5 seasons. The only coach to do better than that, at this point in his UT career, is Coach Gus (4 out of 5). WRT to the other coaches that turned us down, nobody has done as well as Pierce: O'Sullivan (UF) - hasn't been since 2018 Mainieri (LSU) - hasn't been since 2017 (now retired) O'Connor (UVA) - has been once in 2021 If you are unhappy about this year, do you have any concept of what was lost from last year's team? On top of that, he had to replace both his pitching coach and his hitting coach. To my mind, this team is doing better than they were projected to do considering the turnover. There is only one position player on this team that is playing the same position he played last year (Campbell). How he comes in for any kind of criticism is beyond me. He should be Big 12 coach of the year for the job he's done. Please do tell me, unhappy baseball geniuses, who you think we could get that would be better?
If WVU wins the conference and particularly going away, that’s your coach of the year. KState dudes got a claim too. You’ve got a number of good points.
Those guys suck! (the UVA coach is pretty good) Looking at the big multi-year, and future projection picture, we're in as good a position as anyone. Perhaps some more facilities upgrades (the stadium in particular) would make us even better, but we're top 10% when it comes to facilities/stadium already. I think we're looking at enlarging the Disch before going into the SEC. And that's not on the coach.
My thoughts on Pierce are well known, he was best choice at the time that he was hired who was willing to take the job. Since then he has had one bad year, which by the way every coach in the history of ever has had at least one bad year at some point, otherwise he has been consistently good and consistently had Texas in the conversation, three Omaha trips in five full seasons is something you cant ask for more from a baseball coach. This season was always a rebuilding year and yet the Horns for all their struggles still have an outside shot at a regional seed and the type of team to do some damage in the tournament and possibly even challenge for Omaha. That's called being a good coach. The debate on Pierce is not is he good, he is, the debate is really can he get to elite (and win one plus NC's) and that is still an open question.
I have my criticisms of Pierce but I think he's done a good job overall. I love reading the "we were lucky to even be in Omaha" and "we had the easiest path" and "we didn't really belong" posts. The lack of awareness and entitlement is huge on the baseball board. This baseball board is exactly the same as the Alabama football. Saban is the best coach in the history of college football and there are people who call for his job after every loss. Pierce isn't in that realm of conversation, but I don't see anything he has done to deserve as much **** as he gets around here.
Some of our "fans" are more invested in hoping their negative opinions of Pierce are correct than they are in enjoying the quite good and entertaining product provided by his coaching
I'd also like to point out that, in his 1st season as our head coach, he took over a team that was below .500 the year before, a team that did not even make the post-season, and took them to a super-regional where they were defeated in 3 games by the home team, Long Beach State.
Texas actually lost in regional against LBSU in Pierce's first year, Pierce is 3-0 in super regionals but your point is still valid that first year was impressive bounceback as was getting to Omaha in each of the two full seasons since his one losing year in 2019.
I have a few questions: (and these are for everyone that bleeds UT baseball) Just curious, how long do you give him? He's in year 7 now. How long is too long before at least a championship appearance? It's been 18 years since our last championship already (less than that for an appearance). How come the cupboard is so bare in year 7? How does a coach at UT allow the cupboard to get so bare in year 7 with the level of talent available and the prestige and history of UT baseball? Are you ok with Pierce having a similar type career as Mike Martin at Florida St.? (entire coaching career without a national championship stretching 39 years) I'm just curious what everyone else's expectations are. If you think it's bare this year, and he's done such an amazing job, next year is going to be extremely challenging if nothing changes, ALL the kids from last year's Omaha team will be gone and very few freshman look ready for next year. I do see tons of talent "Committed" to UT, but thats going to take a couple of years to develop IF they even make it on campus. He's not likely making it to Omaha this year or next. So you're talking 2-3 more years down the line in which case you are talking he's knocking on 10 years here, IF when he goes through this drought, he can even get those commits to want to follow through. Having said all that, my own personal take on Pierce is still incomplete, i think he's made some bad decisions and now the team is struggling in a state busting with talent. He has some good data points to suggest he's done well and he has about as many egregious data points that suggest he may not be the guy. He's sitting on the fence for me but as the years pass by, just getting to Omaha won't be enough in my book.
Would I be satisfied with a Mark Martin career? No. But how long does he have? I don’t have an answer for that. He’s not on the hot seat, and this year won’t put him there. This season could go anyway at this point. We’re decently well positioned right now. At the same time, I’m more dissatisfied after that TCU game than at any point this season. Bombing out this season could position him on the hot seat for next year. Three years in a row of not reaching a regional equals done. Back to back losing seasons equals done. Those are minimums. I do not believe that talent is bare. We may lack typical higher end talent, but we have depth. We have four freshmen position players that were Baseball America top 200-ish guys. We have guys that have participated in two College World Series. Starters on those teams. My biggest issue with the roster is losing a guy that was here and is a significant talent. Getting them here is the theoretical difficult part. That has hurt our production. I don’t give up on a season no matter how stubborn that may be. Omaha is the goal. That still is on the table until it’s not. Getting to Omaha half the time is incredible. So even though that’s what I feel the goal is, I’m not sure that’s reasonable moving forward. Pierce is probably very good on things we don’t realize because of the frustrations. How good was Tulo? How good is Woody? Those are still unknowns to a degree. Largely Pierce will be as good as those he surrounds himself with for the staff.
I haven't given up on this season at all, i still believe in this team and think almost anything is possible, even getting to Omaha...... but not likely. There is still serious talent on the pitching staff and if some how, it finds its groove, the race is on. And my thoughts are that Pierce will find himself on the hot seat end of next year especially if the wheels fall off this year. As it stands right now, I don't see any way we can compete next year and I hate it but it is what it is, Pierce has his work cut out for himself next year more than any. However, this year isn't finished yet, next year, is next year and he could end up with a great transfer group to change my mind on the possibilities.
That's pretty much what it comes down to. Nobody in any Regional or Super-Regional would want to face Gordon, and they may start fearing LBJ as well. That 1-2 punch could take us far, the way the system is set up.
Sooo, you guys are going to just sit on the fence WRT supporting Pierce until he wins an NC here, is that about it?
I support him. I support the team. I watch/follow/attended a few games. But yes on a website, I critique. Never once said fire him or he sucks.
I do not follow the recruiting timeline that closely. No idea when Brown, GG, Carlson came on board. We will be able to get some guys.. I do prefer mostly building from within. And the freshmen to be is a crapshoot due to the draft. Thomas, Galvan, Flores, Belyeu, Duplantier is a good group. They’ve been pretty hit or miss, but that’s a decent core.
I see all the commitments for the next few years and see little snippets of their play but I don't follow much more beyond that cause like you point out, they may not even end up on campus. Brown, GG and Carlson all portaled in this year, don't know if they will stay, Carlson is a senior. Burke, Stuart, Tole, Shaw, and Hurley all portaled in too on the pitching side and all except Stuart have contributed heavily this season. I would prefer to build from within as well, i still don't understand how he let Kash go and I don't remember him getting many bats (just looked it up, looks like around 24 at bats last year). I love our freshmen core, thats a pretty good core for the next two years, all are going to be great players.
I haven't given up on this season at all, i still believe in this team and think almost anything is possible, even getting to Omaha...... but not likely. There is still serious talent on the pitching staff and ifsome how, it finds its groove, the race is on. I agree with the comments from UTfan above. We do have talent on the pitching staff but they haven’t found their groove. I have been waiting for progression but don’t see it. We have pitchers and throwers, mostly throwers. Gordon is a good example of a pitcher. His movement is solid but nothing outstanding. What makes him really good is his ability to hit spots. He is up, down, inside, outside. Constantly changing a batters eye level and keeping batting off balance. That is what a good pitcher does. We have others that have major league movement in their pitches but they don’t have command and so they are inconsistent. Lbj had a great game his last outing, hopefully that’s here to stay. We need others to step up to make a run.
That's right - and if it wasn't the standard to begin with, he earned that by finishing DEAD LAST in the Big XII in 2019. You asked "what the hell do you people want" - well, for one thing, NEVER do that. And since you asked if I have any concept of what we lost off of last year's team - yes, I do, and it is the head coach's job to make sure that we reload instead of rebuild, especially now in the portal era. Finally, Pierce didn't "have" to replace his pitching and hitting coaches, he chose to replace them - and doesn't appear to have done a great job at that either (we'll see). Look - support Pierce if you want. But if you think it makes you look smarter to call anyone who questions him an "unhappy baseball genius", it doesn't.
I notice that Dallas Baptist is currently sitting on top of the standings in its first season with Conference USA. Dan Heefner almost always fields a competitive team, doing more with less, hmmm. I wonder how that guy might do at a school with all the recruiting advantages of, you know, a college baseball blue blood. Hmmm…
Well DBU is 3-5 against the Big 12 this year. That’s more losses than in 23 games versus conference foes.
I’m not sure comparing a lower tier conference school vs the Big12 is the proper comparison, but sure, I’ll play. How has Pierce done vs SEC schools this year?
How twisted were your panties after Augie''s 1998 season, where we finished 8th in the Big XII, with an overall losing record - at a time when baseball talent in the conference and across the nation was FAR, FAR more stratified than it is today? Were you calling for his head too?
You specifically referenced DBU. Is he really doing more with less? They probably have a better roster than their conference foes. Their roster is not good that they dominated better rosters. And most say the Big 12 is down this year.
I was fairly concerned after Augie’s first two years (second of which was 1998), as were many at the time, if you remember. However, he had already won multiple CWS titles by then, and quickly showed signs of trending in the right direction in his third year (instead of dipping to dead last in conference). But since you asked when my “panties” were twisted, tough guy, it was in 2013 when Augie did finish last in conference. It was a clear sign that he was slipping, and sure enough, he was gone three years later. With the resources and tradition at Texas, it should never be excusable to be out-performed over a season by every other team in conference. Period.
