Everything You Need to Know About New Houston Baseball Coach Will Davis
The Houston Cougars have found their man to lead the baseball program. After not renewing Todd Whitting's contract, Houston has now hired former Lamar head coach Will Davis to take charge.
Davis is the ninth head coach in Houston baseball history and takes over a program that needs a jumpstart to success in the Big 12. This is a big opportunity for Davis to rebuild UH baseball and has a lot more resources to work with as the skipper of the Cougars compared to at Lamar.
Davis has loads of experience at different levels across college baseball, and the soon-to-be 42-year-old will likely bring a fresh lens to a program that was in dire need of a change. Here's everything Houston fans need to know about Davis.
The Will Davis File
Habemus exercitorem!
— Houston Baseball (@UHCougarBB) May 26, 2026
Welcome Houston’s newest skipper, Will Davis.
The next chapter of Cougar Baseball is here. pic.twitter.com/4RVHjEEpvI
Davis just spent the past 10 seasons as the head coach for Lamar and turned the Cardinals program around. This season, he led Lamar to their first Southland Conference tournament championship and NCAA Regional appearance since 2010.
2026 was Davis' fifth-straight 30-win season at Lamar. He also led LU to the 2024 Southland Conference regular season title. Lamar also won 40 games for back-to-back seasons under Davis in 2024 and 2025 for the first time in program history since 2003-04 to become one of the top mid-major programs in the country.
Davis won 289 games, making him the winningest coach in Lamar baseball history, and he also named the 2024 Southland Conference Coach of the Year. Davis looks to have those key recruiting skills in the state of Texas and has coached 10 Cardinals who eventually got taken in the MLB Draft.
Davis' recruiting at Lamar stood out, as his first recruiting class was ranked at the top in the Southland and No. 73 overall according to Perfect Game. His 2018 class also led the conference and was top 100 in the country. Davis had just landed three consecutive top 15 JUCO recruiting classes in the last three years.
The key part of Davis' experience comes from his extended time at LSU, one of college baseball's powerhouses. Davis played four seasons as a letterman catcher for the Tigers and was a freshman on the 2004 College World Series team.
Davis then joined the coaching staff of LSU baseball in 2008 as a student assistant before he became an assistant coach from 2009 to 2015. The LSU alum spent eight seasons with the Tigers staff and helped lead them to a 2009 National Championship, seven SEC championships and four trips to the College World Series.
Davis also became the head recruiter for LSU in 2011, and 48 Tigers were taken in the MLB Draft during his time at LSU. That included six first-round selections. Alex Bregman and Aaron Nola were among them.
His time at LSU also included a key overlap with current Houston Athletic Director Eddie Nuñez, who served a number of high-level administrative positions in Baton Rouge, La., from 2003-2017. Almost Nuñez's entire tenure was in common with Davis, and it likely played a part in his hire as well.
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Maanav Gupta is a staff writer for Houston Cougars on SI. He graduated from the University of Houston in the summer of 2025 with his bachelor’s in journalism and a minor in Spanish. Gupta spent three years at the student newspaper, The Daily Cougar, and also covered the 2025 Final Four and National Championship as Houston beat writer for College Basketball Review. He also has his own YouTube channel, Maanav’s Sports Talk, where he has interviewed professional athletes and broadcasters like Jim Nantz, Jose Altuve, J.J. Watt, Rich Eisen, and Alperen Sengun. Gupta was also a contributor to the Houston athletic program as a student. You can find Gupta on X, Instagram and TikTok @MGSportsTalk.