Florida Reportedly Hiring Oregon State Pitching Coach Rich Dorman

While much of the focus on Oregon State baseball's off season has focused on who's coming and going through the transfer portal, the Beavers got news of a much bigger departure Thursday afternoon, with word coming down that pitching coach Rich Dorman was leaving Corvallis to take a job with Florida, per reporting from On3.

Dorman joined the Beavers in 2019 as one of the first hires of the Mitch Canham era. Since then Oregon State pitching has been some of the best in the nation, with its players earning a few spots on All American lists in nearly every year Dorman spent with the team.

Dorman regular coached aces for Oregon State, with the highlight coming in 2022 when he coached Cooper Hjerpe in his final year as a Beaver. Hjerpe was phenomenal that year, breaking the Oregon State record for strikeouts in a season with 161, and finishing with a 2.53 ERA, winning the National Pitcher of the Year award. In 2022's MLB Draft he was picked by the St. Louis Cardinals with the 22nd overall pick in the draft.

In 2026 Dorman put together what ended up being the country's best pitching. Oregon State pitching finished first nationally in Team ERA, with 3.22, and Team WHIP, with 1.14. Three Beavers placed in the top ten for ERA; Trey Morris second with 1.98, Dax Whitney third with 2.00 and Eric Segura eighth with 2.22. Relief Pitcher Albert Roblez also finished second in total saves, with 14.

Even after Whitney's season ended early due to an elbow injury, the Beavers' pitching didn't really drop off, with Morris able to slide in well as Oregon State's third starter and put on a great performance in the Eugene Regional. Morris just earned Freshman All American Honors, and could be Oregon State's Day 1 starter next season. If Whitney is able to get healthy in time for the 2027 MLB Draft, he could potentially become the Beavers' third first overall pick in the last decade.

Dorman is going to have his work cut out for him in Florida, as the Gators' pitching fell apart in the Gainesville Regional. In four games Florida allowed 43 runs, averaging 10.75 runs allowed per game, with the lowlight coming from a 16-11 loss to Troy. Even in their best game Florida gave up seven runs against four seed Rider, barely eking out a win in the first game of the regional.

Less than a week after Troy eliminated the Gators, Florida parted ways with pitching coach David Kopp and began their search for a replacement. It didn't take long for them to find Dorman, who will join head coach Kevin O'Sullivan's staff.

Oregon State will now have to begin their search for a replacement. The Beavers' current assistants are focused on batting and fielding, so they're going to have to look outside the program. The Beavers are also set to lose a large portion of their pitching unit to graduation, the MLB Draft and the transfer portal. There's a lot of challenges to address this off season.

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