Former Texas Longhorns Baseball Coach Lands New Job

Former Texas Longhorns baseball head coach David Pierce is back at the helm for a different program.

Zach Dimmitt | Mar 17, 2025

Texas Longhorns head baseball coach David Pierce takes the field at third base during the game against Indiana at UFCU Disch-Falk Field on Sunday Feb. 26, 2023 in Austin / Aaron E. Martinez/American-Statesman / USA TODAY NETWORK

AUSTIN -- Former Texas Longhorns baseball head coach David Pierce is back at the helm in the Division I level.

Per reports Monday from Kendall Rogers of D1Baseball, the Rice Owls are hiring Pierce to be the program's next head coach. Pierce was fired by Texas last offseason and was replaced by Jim Schlossnagle before taking an assistant job with the Texas State Bobcats.

"BREAKING: Rice is hiring former long-time Rice assistant and Texas head coach David Pierce as its new head coach, sources tell D1Baseball," Rogers tweeted. "Pierce most recently spent eight seasons at Texas, where he guided the Longhorns to three College World Series appearances."

Texas Longhorns Head Coach David Pierce walks back to the dugout in the sixth inning of the Texas Longhorns' game against the TCU Horned Frogs at UFCU Disch-Falk Field, Friday, April 19, 2024. / Sara Diggins/American-Statesman / USA TODAY NETWORK

Pierce won't have to wait long to take over the reins. According to Rogers, Pierce will coach his first game Friday against Florida Atlantic.

"The catch with new Rice skipper David Pierce? He will coach his first game in a Rice uniform on Friday night in Boca Raton against Florida Atlantic," Rogers tweeted.

Pierce, a Houston native, was an assistant coach at Rice in 1991 before returning in 2003. He left the Owls in 2011 to take the head coaching job at Sam Houston. He eventually took over at Texas in 2017, a role he held for eight seasons. Pierce posted a 297–162 record with the Longhorns.

During the 2021 season, Texas made it to the College World Series semifinals but lost to eventual national champion Mississippi State in heartbreaking fashion. That team featured stars like pitchers Ty Madden and Tristen Stevens, infielders Trey Faltine and Ivan Melendez, catcher Silas Ardoin and more.

So far in 2025, it appears the Longhorns made the right decision to move on from Pierce. Headed into Tuesday's game against the UTSA Roadrunners, Texas is 17-1 and on a 17-game winning streak after the season-opening loss to Louisville. The Longhorns secured a road sweep over Mississippi State with a 4-1 win in Starkville on Sunday.

"Today was just a total grind of pitching, defense and timely hits," Schlossnagle said Sunday, per the team website. "I'm just really proud of all of our guys. … It was just a total team effort, which it has to be to pull off something like this. It's very unusual [to sweep] on the road in the SEC."