Thursday was a busy day on the assistant coaching carousel, as East Carolina and Houston announced they had hired full-time assistants, while Nebraska hired a high-profile volunteer assistant.

The Pirates hired Dan Roszel away from College of Charleston to be their new pitching coach. Roszel, who spent the last two years as the pitching coach and recruiting coordinator at CofC, did a fine job handling a Cougars staff that ranked fourth in the SoCon in ERA despite playing in a very hitter-friendly ballpark. Roszel, a 2000 graduate of North Florida, had previous coaching stints at Florida Gulf Coast and Gardner-Webb.

"We are excited to have Dan Roszel join our coaching staff at East Carolina," ECU coach Billy Godwin said in a release. "He is well respected in baseball circles, has an outstanding reputation as a pitching coach and recruiter and will be a great asset to our program."

Houston hired Trip Couch as its recruiting coordinator. Couch served alongside new UH head coach Todd Whitting on the Houston coaching staff from 1996-2000, and he has been a scout for the Diamondbacks since 2002.

"I am very excited to welcome Trip and his family back to UH," Whitting said in a release. "He was previously very instrumental in building this program into a national power and understands the blueprint for success at the University of Houston. He is a tireless worker who has a great deal of passion and desire to re-establish this program to an elite level."

Nebraska announced another homecoming. Former Cornhusker and big leaguer Darin Erstad will join the staff as a volunteer assistant and will serve as the team's hitting coach. A two-time all-star and three-time Gold Glove winner, Erstad retired after 14 big league seasons in 2009.

"I didn't expect this opportunity to be here this soon, but when Mike (Anderson) asked me to come on board, it is a chance of a lifetime as a coach, and I didn't want to pass it up," Erstad said in a release. "Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would be part of the university in a coaching role. It is a great opportunity to help some young kids develop for the rest of their lives."