Longhorns Announce Two New Members of David Pierce's Staff

When the Texas Longhorns kick off their season in the spring, they will be doing so with a plethora of new faces, hoping to return to Omaha for the 39th time in school history.

That will be easier said than done, of course. When you're the Longhorns, with the pedigree and history they have, anything short of a trip to Omaha is a bust.

Gone are the likes of phenom slugger Ivan Melendez and ace Pete Hansen. Not only will the lineup and pitching staff look drastically different in 2023, so will the Longhorns' coaching staff.

Following the loss in the College World Series, the Longhorns parted ways with pitching coach Sean Allen and saw voluntary assistant Troy Tulowitzki. They hired Woody Williams to take over as pitching coach while also bringing on former Baylor Bears' coach Steve Rodriguez to serve as the hitting coach.

On Sept. 1 it was announced that David Pierce had added two more members to his staff ahead of the 2023 season. Former Longhorns' catcher Cameron Rupp will serve as a student assistant while Chris Gordon will be the Coordinator of Hitting and Pitching Development.

During his Longhorn career from 2008-2010 Rupp appeared in 180 games, starting in 172. In 2010, Rupp was a first team All-Big 12 selection after batting .304 with 13 doubles, 10 homers and 54 RBI. He started all 63 games, including 61 starts at catcher and also received ABCA All-Region recognition.

He was a big factor in the Longhorns' 2009 College World Series appearance, named to the CWS All-Tournament Team and the NCAA Austin Regional All-Tournament Team along the way. He batted .292 with 13 doubles and led the team with 11 homers and 46 RBI, while being named Honorable Mention All-Big 12.

Following his Texas career, he was selected in the third round of the 2010 MLB Draft by the Philadelphia Phillies and played 10 seasons of professional baseball, including five seasons in Major League Baseball.

“After a great career in burnt orange and in the major leagues, we’re excited to welcome Cameron to our team as a student assistant,” Pierce said. “Our players, and especially our catchers, will really benefit from the experience he is going to bring back to the Forty Acres.”

Prior to joining Pierce's staff, Gordon served on Duke's staff from 2017-2022, and was named pitching coach in 2021. His first season as the Duke pitching coach was historic, as the Blue Devils won their first ACC Tournament Championship in program history.

Gordon's pitching staff broke the school record in strikeouts at 9.81, while ranking third in strikeouts per walk with 2.62. In 2022 they would break the strikeouts per nine innings record again, recording 10.60 strikeouts per game, good for third in the ACC and in the top 15 in the country.

As a team, Duke's pitching staff broke the school record in strikeouts per nine innings (9.81) and ranked third in strikeouts per walk (2.62). In 2022, Gordon led the pitching staff to break the program record in strikeouts per nine innings set the season before, producing 10.60 strikeouts per game to rank third in the ACC and in the top 15 nationally.

“Chris will be an asset to our team and our program,” Pierce said. “He comes to us with years of experience as a pitching coach in the ACC and his knowledge of baseball and baseball analytics is top-notch.”

The Longhorns expect a College World Series appearance every year, and Pierce's hires show his commitment to getting there. As they continue to retool following a dominant 2022 season, hires like Rupp and Gordon will go a long way in maintaining success in Austin.

You can find Connor Zimmerlee on Twitter @Connorjz98

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