Texas Tech University made the hiring of Jacob Evans official on August 4, 2023, appointing the former Oklahoma left‑hander as director of pitching development to replace Steve Merriman, who departed for Eastern Michigan.
Data‑Driven Pitching at Texas Tech
Evans, a Broken Arrow native, starred for the Oklahoma Sooners from 2013 to 2015, amassing 16 wins and 17 saves — a combination that placed him among a handful of Sooners pitchers with at least 15 career wins and saves.
After being selected by the St. Louis Cardinals in the sixth round of the 2015 MLB Draft, he spent three seasons in the Cardinals’ minor‑league system, posting a 3.50 earned‑run average and contributing 17 saves before transitioning to coaching.
From 2020 to 2022 Evans served as pitching coach at the University of Central Oklahoma, where he also worked as a consultant for PitchingWRX, a data‑focused pitching instruction company in Oklahoma City, blending biomechanical analysis with performance metrics.
Evans’ wife, Lauren, has joined the Red Raiders’ staff as well, underscoring the family’s commitment to the program. In his new role, Evans will apply advanced pitching data to refine execution and accelerate the development of Texas Tech’s pitchers.
Coach Tim Tadlock highlighted that Evans’ analytical expertise aligns with the program’s ambition to compete at the highest level, noting that the integration of sophisticated metrics will complement traditional coaching methods and help the Red Raiders remain competitive nationally.