Sports
BREAKING: LSU to hire Texas A&M’s Nate Yeskie as next pitching coach
LSU head coach Jay Johnson brings in a familiar face as Yeskie was the pitching coach under Johnson at Arizona from 2020-21.
LSU will hire Texas A&M pitching coach Nate Yeskie to fill the same role, according to D1Baseball’s Kendall Rogers.
SCOOP: @LSUbaseball is hiring Nate Yeskie as its next pitching coach, @d1baseball has learned. Yeskie spent the last two seasons with the Aggies and helped them reach the final four in 2022. He also won @d1baseball Assistant of the Year honors in 2017 with Or St. #GeauxTigers pic.twitter.com/3QQLT4yZ23
— Kendall Rogers (@KendallRogers) June 30, 2023
Yeskie has built a reputation as being one of the best pitching coaches in the country during his 18-year career. Yeskie was Texas A&M’s pitching coach for the last two seasons, helping the Aggies to a College World Series appearance in Omaha.
Before Yeskie’s stint with Texas A&M, he served two seasons under current LSU head Jay Johnson’s staff at Arizona, including the 2021 College World Series campaign. In his first season with the Wildcats, Arizona showed vast improvement before COVID-19 shut down the season. The staff’s ERA dropped from 6.21 in 2019 to 3.87 while the WHIP decreased from 1.75 to 1.30 and the opponent’s batting average went from .287 to .212.
Before his stint at Arizona, Yeskie coached at Oregon State from 2009-2019. During his tenure in Corvallis, the Beavers earned a spot in the NCAA Tournament in 10 of 11 seasons, which was highlighted by Oregon State’s national championship run in 2018.
Under Yeskie, Oregon State’s pitching led the nation once and paced the Pac-12 in ERA three times. Oregon State’s ERA ranked in the top 20 in the nation on six different occasions and made the top four in the Pac-12 every year. Collegiate Baseball tabbed him as Pitching Coach of the Year in 2013 and ‘17.
Yeskie has twice earned National Pitching Coach of the Year recognition from Collegiate Baseball and was named as the D1Baseball Assistant Coach of the Year in 2017. His career corps of pitchers have amassed 14+ all-conference selections, 15+ All-America honors and 10+ Freshman All-America picks.
Yeskie developed 20 pitchers who earned 14 all-conference honors, three Pac-12 Pitcher of the Year Awards and one Pac-12 Freshman of the Year nod. Oregon State pitchers picked up 15 All-American accolades and 10 Freshman All-America selections under his tutelage.
His work helped Oregon State pitchers at the next level. While in Corvallis, the Beavers churned out 32 pitchers selected in the MLB Draft, including 17 taken in the first nine rounds and six who have reached the Major Leagues.
