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The Roost Podcast | Ep 197 – David Pierce takes over Rice Baseball right now

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Fresh off the presses, Rice baseball has a new head coach, right now. David Pierce will lead the Owls beginning this week. Let’s break down the details.

The last time The Roost Podcast was recorded we ran through offseason news on the football front and mused about what might come when spring arrived. Rice Baseball was just beginning to take shape at that time. Since then, everything has changed, including the Owls’ head coach.

The Roost broke the news last Thursday that Cruz was out and reported late Monday afternoon that Pierce was in. Now it’s time to talk through the logistics of the move, something that might just be a first for Rice and the sport.

You can find previous episodes on the podcast page. For now, give a listen to Episode 197.

Episode Notes

DCTF

The Roost Podcast is now part of the Dave Campbell’s Republic of Football Podcast Network. You’ll still get the same content with the same hosts, but now under the DCTF banner.

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Homefield

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Rice Baseball to hire David Pierce, right now.

  • The timing of the coaching change and how Pierce’s availability figures into the logistics
  • Why the Owls believe Pierce is the right fit for the program right now
  • Pros and cons of installing Pierce right now rather than after the season

Where can you find us?

The Roost Podcast is part of the Dave Campbell’s Republic of Football Podcast Network. You can find this podcast and all of our partner podcasts on Apple, Spotify and wherever you get your podcasts.

Subscribe on Patreon for exclusive Rice football recruiting updates, practice notes and more.

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BREAKING: David Pierce to be named Rice Baseball head coach this week

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In a potentially unprecedented move, David Pierce is expected to be introduced as the next Rice baseball head coach, effective this week, The Roost has learned.

On Thursday, Rice baseball made a change, dismissing head coach Jose Cruz Jr. A week later, the Owls expect to have a new coach in place. David Pierce, currently serving as the assistant to the head coach at Texas State, will be officially appointed Rice baseball head coach this week and will be the manager as Rice Baseball opens conference play against Florida Atlantic on Friday, The Roost has learned.

Pierce’s availability as an assistant and the timing of the Owls’ coaching vacancy set up a first for the Owls, and perhaps most of college baseball. Pierce will get hands-on experience evaluating the roster, managing the team, and familiarizing himself with the program.

Typically, this would happen in the offseason. With Pierce available right now, the Rice administration is moving with much more urgency. Pierce will be formally introduced at a press conference during the week.

Roost Pod: David Pierce takes over for Rice Baseball… midseason!

Pierce is an alum of the University of Houston who had two stints as an assistant with Rice, the first in 1991 and the second from 2003 to 2011 where he was part of the Owls’ national championship-winning team. He then went on to head coaching stops at Sam Houston, Tulane and Texas.

Although Pierce shares ties to the program as Cruz did, his track record as a successful college baseball coach spanning multiple stops across a decade-plus of work is thought to be the differentiator here. He won six conference championships, went to the College World Series in 2018 and was named Baseball America’s Coach of the Year that season.

Stay tuned to The Roost on Patreon for updates as well as game analysis and more as the Owls look to finish out the season.

The athletic department has since issued a release with comments from Athletic Director Tommy McClelland and coach David Pierce:

From McClelland

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.

From Pierce:

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. 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.

**Updated to reflect comments from Rice Athletic Director Tommy McClelland and David Pierce **
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Rice Baseball splits weekend series with HCU

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Led by interim manager Parker Bangs, Rice Baseball split a four-game set with Houston Christian this weekend, winning back-to-back games for the first time this year.

FRIDAY | HCU 4, Rice 3 (11 inn)

The pitching tandem of Garrett Stratton and Marco Fuentes delivered a marvelous nine innings of work on Friday night, combining to allows two runs with nine strikeouts, keeping Houston Christian at bay and giving the Owls’ bats every opportunity to make a difference.

More: Jose Cruz Jr. out as Rice Baseball head coach

HCU went in front with an RBI single and a RBI groundout in the fourth. Rice countered with RBI from Trey Duffield and Tobias Motley in the sixth to bring things even. Deadlocked at 2-2, Jack Ben-Shoshan got through the 10th unscathed before HCU struck for two more in the 11th. The Owls would get some traffic on the bases in the bottom half of the inning, but came up one run short.

SATURDAY AM | HCU 6, Rice 2 (7 inn)

In the first seven-inning game of a Saturday double-header, Houston Christian hit home runs in the second and third inning off Rice starter JD McCracken to take a 4-0 lead. Motley got one of those runs back with an RBI single in the fourth, but HCU tagged McCracken for two more runs in the fourth, jumping out to a 6-1 lead.

The shortened game left the Owls without much time to mount a comeback. Although the Huskies wouldn’t score again, another RBI single from Motley in the sixth was all the Owls could muster in response. The defeat marked the 12th straight defeat for Rice baseball.

SATURDAY PM | Rice 7, HCU 4 (7 inn)

The Rice bats finally got going in the second half of the double-header, exploding for seven runs in the first three innings, highlighted by a five-run second and a home run from Trey Duffield. That early onslaught put the Owls in the drivers seat and gave starter Tucker Alch a cushion to work with as the game progressed.

Last Weekend: Rice Baseball swept by Yale

Houston Christian would get to Alch for four runs in the fourth, but Alch returned to put up a couple of additional zeroes in the subsequent frames. Von Baker entered in the seventh and closed out the game, earning his first save as an Owl and the securing the first win for Rice Baseball since February 23.

SUNDAY | Rice 6, HCU 2

Both sides swapped single runs in the first inning as the pitching staffs navigated some early trouble. Rice baseball settled in quite nicely on the mound when interim manager Parker Bangs went to Reed Gallant who took the ball in the third inning and went to work, mowing down seven Huskies across seven innings of one-run ball.

With Gallant hurling a gem, the bats went to work. Trey Duffield’s solo home run in the fourth put Rice in front. Blaine Brown extended the lead to 3-1 with an RBI single in the fifth. Then Jacob Devenny and Max Johnson went deep in the eighth to stretch the lead to five, giving the Owls’ plenty of breathing room to help them secure the series split.

THREE FOR THE ROAD

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BREAKING: Rice Baseball to part ways with Jose Cruz Jr.

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Jose Cruz Jr. will no longer be the head coach of Rice Baseball, effective immediately. The Owls are making a leadership change within the program.

Just 16 games into the 2025 Rice Baseball season, Jose Cruz Jr. is out as its head coach, sources tell The Roost. Cruz was informed of the decision on Thursday, and the team was told shortly afterward.

Despite Cruz’s beloved status as a player and supporter of the program over the years, the results were lacking on the field, leading to this moment. The program sits at 2-14 on the season, most recently losing to Texas A&M-Corpus Christi for the second time in three years—Rice had previously been unbeaten against the Islanders, 20-0 all time.

Cruz leaves Rice with a record of 63-126 across four seasons. Holding anyone to the standard set during the legendary run of Wayne Graham, whom the Owls honored earlier this season, isn’t reasonable. However, a .333 winning percentage was far from adequate, and an active losing streak of 10 consecutive defeats made it clear to decision-makers that it was time for a reset.

A search is expected to begin soon to find Cruz’s replacement. Pitching coach Parker Bangs will take over as the Owls’ interim head coach for the remainder of the season and will lead the team effective immediately, beginning with a four-game series against Houston Christian this weekend.

Stay tuned to The Roost on Patreon for updates as well as game analysis and more as the Owls look to finish out a bumpy campaign with most of the season still ahead of them.

** Photo Credit: Maria Lysaker **
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TAMU-CC hands Rice baseball tenth straight loss

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The early season tailspin continued for Rice baseball on Monday night, falling 9-2 at home to Texas A&M Corpus Christi.

In what has become a recurring nightmare, Rice baseball stepped into the batters in the bottom of the first inning trailing. Visiting Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, which until two seasons ago was 0-20 against the Owls all time, put up a three-spot in the first frame and forced opening pitcher Blaine Brown from the ballgame.

The Islanders tacked on one more in the second, two in the third and another in the fourth to go in front 7-0. Rice would score twice in the fourth, the first on an RBI single to left from Brown and the next on a sacrifice fly from Treyton Rank. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi got both runs back in the sixth and maintained that seven-run advantage into the ninth.

Last Time Out: Rice baseball swept by Yale

Rice got two runs back in the ninth on an RBI single from Cole Green, one of several freshman having a remarkably encouraging season despite the circumstances. It would be too little, too late as Rice fell again, stretching their losing streak to 10 consecutive games.

What it means | When it rains, it pours

It’s been a perfect storm for a disastrous start for Rice baseball. A rough week against some of the nation’s best teams at the Astros Foundation College Classic marked the beginning of a stretch of nine games across 11 days.

Add in short outings from starting pitching and a bullpen leaking runs by the inning and you get the makings of a skid. Multiply that by so many games in such a short period of time and you get a 10-game losing streak and a 2-14 record.

More: First reports from Rice Football Spring Practice

Rice baseball has done plenty to shoot itself if the foot this season. Coaches and players alike have taken their fair share of the blame. But on nights like tonight, the totality of the misery is hard to overlook.

ON DECK | vs Houston Christian x4 (Fri-Sun)

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