Former Mississippi State Pitcher Carlisle Koestler Joins Coaching Staff at Hinds Community College

Carlisle Koestler. who spent two years with the Diamond Dawgs, was named the newest pitching coach at Hinds Community College.

Carlisle Koestler, a former Mississippi State pitcher and national champion, will be joining Hinds Community College's baseball staff ahead of the 2023 season.

Koestler was announced as the program's new pitching coach on Thursday morning. He replaces Andrew Gunn, who will be taking on a new position within the college's athletics program. This certainly isn't the first time the righty will head to campus at Hinds -- he pitched for the Eagles in 2015 and 2016. 

Koestler started his collegiate baseball career at HCC after graduating from Warren Central High School in Vicksburg. He spent 2015 as a redshirt freshman and found success on the mound in 2016 before transitioning to Division I baseball at Southeastern Louisiana University. The 5-foot-11, 191-pound student-athlete had two incredible seasons for the Lions before suffering a season-ending injury only four starts into his third year. 

With an injury cutting his senior season very short, Koestler received interest from the Diamond Dawgs. He transferred to Mississippi State as a redshirt senior in 2020 and had five appearances for the team before the season was cut short. During that span, Koestler pitched 18.1 innings and struck out 13 while walking five and posting an earned run average of 4.42. 

The seven-year player returned as a graduate student in 2021. Koestler had 11 appearances for the Bulldogs, giving up nine runs and 20 hits and 19.2 innings pitched. He struck out 23 batters while walking just seven and finished the season with a 3-0 record. 

Koestler most recently spent one year as the Director of Baseball Operations at Samford University. This will be his first stint as a collegiate coach at any level as he aims to take his former team to new heights in the years to come.