What we know about Texas baseball's David Pierce's suspension and what it means for UT
The Texas baseball season hasn't quite gone as planned.
While the Longhorns (25-17, 11-7) are tied for second in the Big 12, the process of getting there has been chaotic. There have been moments, like the 21-11 win over Kansas State and a series win over Texas Tech. There have also been some ugly losses to Texas State and UTRGV due to a lack of stable pitching options.
More:No David Pierce, but Texas baseball crushes UT-Arlington anyway, 11-0
Head coach David Pierce led the Longhorns to the College World Series last year and has been squeezing as much out of the 2023-24 roster as he can. In Texas' 2-1 win over TCU on Sunday, Pierce's temper boiled over leading to an extended argument with an umpire after he was ejected. He was suspended on Monday for Tuesday night's game at UFCU Disch-Falk Field against UT-Arlington and Friday's Big 12 series opener at Oklahoma for his excessive bickering.
Here's what we know about Pierce and his replacement, UT assistant coach Steve Rodriguez.
What does David Pierce's suspension mean for Texas?
Pierce has had a successful coaching career and has led Texas to multiple CWS appearances during the eight years he's been on campus. Overall, he's 270-144 at Texas and has a 467-253 record throughout his entire time as a coach.
This is not the first time he's been ejected from a game. Last year, Pierce got ejected from a game vs. Kansas State after arguing about an action clock violation. However, he wasn't handed a suspension on that occasion.
This time, his argument was about whether or not a batted ball from Max Belyeu hit UT baserunner Peyton Powell. It wasn't initially called on the field, but after TCU coach Kirk Saarloos objected, the umpires gathered and ruled Powell out. Pierce objected because the call wasn't made in the moment and the play was not reviewed.
Pierce took on pitching coach duties this year, and has been known to be very hands-on with the arms in his bullpen. Former Duke pitching coach Duke Gordon is on Texas' support staff as the program's coordinator of hitting and pitching development.
Steve Rodriguez coaching history
Rodriguez is in his second year at Texas, but previously coached at Baylor from 2016-2022. Before that he managed the team at Pepperdine and has a 598-436 overall record as a head coach. He's made the NCAA regionals 10 times between the schools and made the super regionals once.
Rodriguez played in the MLB briefly for the Red Sox and the Tigers in 1995.
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: What we know about Texas baseball coach David Pierce's suspension
