Rice Hires Former Texas Coach David Pierce In Rare Midseason Move

Image credit: David Pierce (Photo by John Rivera/Icon Sportswire/Getty Images)

After making the rare to decision last week to fire former head coach and 12-year major league veteran Jose Cruz Jr. roughly a month into the season, Rice has agreed to hire former assistant David Pierce as its next skipper.

Pierce will assume the role immediately and will coach the Owls on Friday in their conference opener against Florida Atlantic.

Pierce, 62, most recently served as an assistant on Texas State’s staff, a job he took after he was fired from Texas’ head coaching position last year. He spent the 2017-2024 seasons with the Longhorns and accumulated a 297–162 overall record. Pierce was named Baseball America’s 2018 College Coach of the Year after leading the Longhorns to the College World Series.

Pierce notably spent nine seasons as an assistant at Rice under Wayne Graham before beginning his head coaching career at Sam Houston State in 2012. The Owls reached the College World Series four times, won the 2003 national title and regularly ranked among the top teams in ERA throughout Pierce’s time in their dugout.

Rice is hoping Pierce’s hiring can reinvigorate a program with rich history but few recent results to show for it. The Owls haven’t recorded a winning record since 2017 and have had four coaches, including Pierce, during that span. They are 4-16 this season.

“We are excited to bring David Pierce back to South Main as the next head coach of Rice Baseball,” Rice athletic director Tommy McClelland said in statement. “Although it is unconventional to bring a new head coach in during the season, as soon as coach Pierce and I came to an agreement that he would be our next head coach, he expressed his strong desire to start immediately. It is a testament not only to the bright future ahead for Rice Baseball but also to the potential of our current team.

Rice fired Cruz Jr. on Thursday just weeks into his fourth season.

“I did not want to wait until the end of the season because I believed that we have great potential and a lot of baseball in front of us this year,” Pierce said in the same statement. “I can’t wait to get on the field with these players and coaches and prepare for the start of conference play on Friday.”