Breaking: Chris Del Conte’s silence on Texas Key man now speaks volumes

For the Austin Longhorns baseball coach, there’s no hope left when there’s not even the feared vote of confidence.

After the Texas Longhorns suffered a humiliating 10-2 defeat to the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns in the College Station Regional, ending a season marred by numerous disappointing losses, head coach David Pierce faced questions about his future. This was his eighth season at Texas, which ended with a 36-24 record, and the inquiry into his job security was telling.

Reporters only pose such questions when they become inevitable, often signaling a potential future firing.

Pierce addressed the issue as best he could. “Will I return? That’s not in my hands,” he said. “I know how well our team plays and how hard our staff has worked. I’ve been doing this for a long time with a lot of success, so I’ll just leave it at that.”

During his tenure at Texas, Pierce has compiled a 297-162 record, with one first-place finish, two ties for first in the Big 12 Conference, three College World Series appearances, and another Super Regional appearance. Despite the shadow of legendary head coach Augie Garrido, Pierce has achieved significant success, highlighted by the 2021 season where Texas reached Omaha and was arguably the second-best team, narrowly losing to eventual national champion Mississippi State.

However, since then, Pierce’s program has faced challenges. Following a disappointing 2022 season, the team lost its No. 1 ranking and failed to secure a protected national seed, exiting the College World Series after two straight losses. Last season, Texas tied for first in the Big 12 but again missed out on a top national seed. Their season ended in a Super Regional in Palo Alto, with a heartbreaking loss due to a fly ball misjudged by right fielder Dylan Campbell in the outdated lights at Sunken Diamond.

 

 

The hard ceiling for Texas in Pierce’s eighth season was apparent early on, with three losses in the Astros Foundation College Classic in March, culminating in midweek defeats to Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and UTRGV. Despite a late-season push in a lackluster Big 12 Conference, Texas failed to gain postseason momentum, losing both games in the Big 12 Tournament and ending up as the No. 3 seed in the College Station Regional.

Given Texas’ storied history in college baseball, which includes the most wins in Division 1, 38 College World Series appearances, 88 CWS game victories, and 63 NCAA tournament appearances, Pierce’s tenure raises questions. Despite six national championships, the program’s high standards make even runner-up finishes seem disappointing. As the fifth head coach since Billy Disch’s 1911 hiring, Pierce’s performance appears underwhelming.

The upcoming move to the SEC, the nation’s top baseball conference, further pressures a program that has regressed over the past three seasons. Since the season’s end, Texas athletics director Chris Del Conte has remained silent, which speaks volumes about Pierce’s job security. Typically, if Pierce’s job were safe, contract negotiations would be underway and publicly known.

Industry insider Kendall Rogers recently shared a pessimistic view of Pierce’s future at Texas. During an ESPN radio appearance, Rogers noted, “His answer over the weekend in College Station was… I didn’t think it was real positive. I thought it was kind of telling a little bit. Everything I’m hearing around there is that they’re more than likely going to make a change.” According to Rogers, Texas is already in back-channel discussions with agents of high-profile targets like Texas A&M’s Jim Schlossnagle and LSU’s Jay Johnson, indicating Del Conte’s ambition for a major hire.

“I know how Chris Del Conte works,” Rogers continued. “He will want to make a splash. He does not want them to repeat what happened when they hired Pierce. And I think he’s going to try to make a big splash.”

When interim athletics director Mike Perrin hired Pierce in 2016 after Garrido’s forced retirement, the public search was messy, with many coaches securing contract extensions as they passed on the Texas job. Del Conte aims for a more professional approach. After announcing football coach Tom Herman would return, Del Conte quickly replaced him with Alabama offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian.

 

Beyond Sarkisian, Del Conte’s hiring record has been stellar. Even without immediate returns, hires like Bob Bowman for men’s swimming and diving and Laura Ianello for women’s golf—both national champions at their previous posts—show his high standards.

With the College World Series starting Friday and running until June 24, Pierce’s replacement might be among the current field, leaving Pierce in limbo as Del Conte prepares for another significant coaching hire. Pierce remains optimistic, saying, “The future of this program is going to be in great hands and it’s going to be in a good spot. We have so many young players. We’ve got a coaching staff that’s very capable of pushing guys to create the standards that we want: doing it the right way with character and integrity. We’ll continue to do that, and as long as the University of Texas gives me the opportunity, they’ll get everything that I have.”

However, indications suggest that Pierce has already given his last to the Longhorns, destined to be remembered as a good coach who couldn’t meet the lofty standards of college baseball’s all-time winningest program.