Aggies Baseball Loses Pitching Coach Nate Yeskie To LSU

Texas A&M will need to find its next pitching coach following Yeskie's departure to Baton Rogue.

Jay Johnson perfected the culture of LSU baseball in Year 2 by helping the Tigers win their first national championship in over a decade. Now, he's looking to build a dynasty on the mound. 

And he's taking one of Texas A&M's own to do so. 

The Tigers are hiring Aggies pitching coach Nate Yeskie for the same position, the program announced Friday. The news was first reported by D1Baseball.com and later confirmed by AllAggies.com. 

“I would like to thank Nate Yeskie for his time and service at Texas A&M,” head coach Jim Schlossnagle said in a statement. “Texas A&M is bigger than any one person and I look forward to hiring an elite pitching coach to join our great staff in Aggieland in the very near future.”

Yeskie will replace Wes Johnson, who was named head coach at Georgia prior to the start of the College World Series last month. Johnson's expertise on the mound helped the Tigers lead the Southeastern Conference in wins (54) and strikeouts (798), while ranking second in opponent's batting average (.225) behind Tennessee (.224). 

Hired away from Arizona as part of Schlossnagle's first coach staff, Yeskie reunites with Johnson in Baton Rouge. The two worked together for three seasons at Arizona from 2019-21. Before heading to Tuscon, Yeskie spent 10 seasons coaching (2009-2019) in the Pacific Northwest as an assistant at Oregon State. 

Yeskie was influential in helping the Aggies establish culture during the 2021 season, building a rapport with pitchers such as Nathan Dettmer, Micah Dallas and Jacob Palisch. Last season, the Aggies boasted an ERA of 4.67 with 588 strikeouts and an opponents batting average of .260. 

A&M's bullpen posted an ERA of under 4.0 last season en route to a College World Series semifinal loss to Oklahoma. Nationally, the Aggies ranked 62nd in the country in ERA, trailing six teams in the SEC. 

The Aggies pitching regressed in 2023, ranking 115th in ERA (5.63) and 204th in walks allowed per win innings (5.09). That doesn't mean the potential isn't there. A&M features young arms such as lefthander Shane Sdao, lefthander Justin Lampkin and right-handed redshirt sophomore Ty Sexton, all of whom made an impact during the program's promising run the SEC Tournament. 

Yeskie is one of several departing pieces from A&M's staff. Due to eligibility, the Aggies will also lose outfielders, Jordan Thompson and Brett Minnich, along with infielder Austin Bost and others. A&M also could lose shortstop Hunter Haas, first baseman Jack Moss, third baseman Trevor Werner, and Dettmer to the MLB Draft next week. 

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