Washington State University Baseball

Nathan Choate begins his third year as the Washington State Head Baseball Coach after being named the 18 th head baseball coach in program history June 23, 2...

Washington State Baseball named Dan Bower an assistant coach, Head Coach Nathan Choate announced July 18. Bower begins his first season in Pullman and will c...

Eric Hutting begins his third season as the Cougars Assistant Coach and second as the hitting coach while working with the catchers. Hutting was hired by Nathan Choate in June, 2023. Last season, in his first season as the hitting coach Hutting saw the Cougars improved their batting average by 20 points along with a higher scoring average and on-base percentage while the defense led the Mountain West Conference in runners caught stealing. A pair of hitters earned All-Mountain West Conference honor including second-team catcher Will Cresswell who became WSU’s first all-league catcher since 2021 and was later drafted in the 18th round by the Toronto Blue Jays, the first Cougar catcher drafted since 2015. In 2024, WSU won the Round Rock Classic title after posting wins over No. 24 Kentucky and Kansas in Texas while four players were named to the All-Tournament Team led by first baseman Joey Kramer who was named the Round Rock Classic MVP. The Cougars swept Arizona State for the second time in program history, recorded their first win at UCLA since 2014 and first win at Stanford since 2016. The Cougar defense turned the second-most double plays (50) in the Pac-12 Conference and posted a .976 fielding percentage, the third-best mark in program history. Following the season, three players earned All-Pac-12 honors. Hutting came to WSU after working the prior two seasons with Choate at Loyola Marymount as an assistant coach, working with the catchers and assisting with the LMU hitter

Hayden Driggs begins his first season as the Cougars’ Director of Player Development after joining Nathan Choate’s coaching staff in June of 2025. Driggs completed his playing career at Saint Mary’s last June, helping the Gaels to a West Coast Conference Championship and a trip the NCAA Tournament. The former catcher appeared in 68 games with 18 starts, scored 12 runs, homered twice and drove in 14 runs over his three seasons at SMC. Driggs closed his career with a home run against eight-ranked Oregon State in the 2025 NCAA Tournament. The Madera, Calif. native earned his bachelor’s and master's degrees in accounting from Saint Mary’s College in June of 2025.

Former Cougar infielder Tommy Richards begins his second season as an assistant coach after joining Nathan Choate’s coaching staff in June of 2024. Richards was promoted to the Cougars' recruiting coordinator and infield coach in June, 2025. In 2025, Richards coached the outfielders and baserunners in his first season as the Cougars’ assistant coach and helped WSU finish fourth in the Mountain West Conference in stolen bases (42) while outfielder Logan Johnstone earned All-MWC first-team honors. Richards has served as the head coach at Bushnell University (NAIA) for the past three seasons after the school started the baseball program in 2022. The Beacons increased their win total each season under Richards, capped by 29-win 2024 campaign that saw Bushnell win the Cascade Collegiate Conference Tournament Championship and earn the program’s first NAIA National Tournament appearance in school history. In 2024, Richards saw his Bushnell club post a 29-win season while three players earned All-Cascade Collegiate Conference including two who received Gold Gloves as well. Six Beacons hit over .300, three players hit double-digit home runs and as a team, Bushnell was third in the conference with a .289 team batting average and second with 57 home runs. Following the season, Richards was named the Cascade Collegiate Conference Coach of Character given to the Coach who represents the core values of the NAIA – Respect, Responsibility, Integrity, Sportsmanship and Servant Leadership. Ric