Oklahoma State made another splash Monday, hiring Rob Walton away from Oral Roberts to serve as pitching coach under Josh Holliday.

This move represents the best of all worlds for the Cowboys, as Walton and Holliday were regarded as two of the top candidates for the head coaching job. To land both on the same coaching staff is a huge coup for OSU.

Walton has spent the last nine seasons as head coach at ORU, leading the Golden Eagles to nine straight regionals and a 365-167 record. He was named Summit League coach of the year five times, and he has served as head coach for Team USA, a sign of the great respect he has earned in coaching circles for his pitching acumen and his leadership skills. A pitcher at Oklahoma State from 1983-86, Walton couldn't resist the lure of Stillwater.

"This is a really special opportunity for me and my family," Walton said in a release. "My wife and I went to school there, and it's a chance to come back to our alma mater and help Coach Holliday get the program going in the right direction. Hopefully we can bring it back to prominence.

"I've known Josh for a long time. He has a passion for OSU baseball and so do I, and so we're going to team up and do the best job that we can do to put the program back where it needs to be."

Ryan Folmer, who has been ORU's hitting coach under Walton for the past nine seasons, would seemingly be a strong candidate to succeed Walton as Golden Eagles head coach. Other potential targets include Arkansas assistant Todd Butler and former Baylor assistant Mitch Thompson.