A surprising shift in Texas college baseball
Will Davis, the longtime head baseball coach at Lamar University, has accepted an offer to lead the University of Houston’s baseball program, replacing Todd Whitting, who was dismissed after 16 seasons at the school.
The new contract guarantees Davis a salary of roughly $425,000 per year for five years, a figure that reflects both his success at Lamar and the expectations placed on the Houston program as it readies for its first NCAA tournament appearance since 2010.
Lamar University is gearing up for the tournament, though it remains unclear whether Davis will stay with the Cardinals during the event, given his new responsibilities in Houston.
A familiar coaching network
Davis’s career includes a stint as an assistant at Louisiana State University from 2009 to 2015 and an early role as coach‑in‑waiting under Jim Gilligan during the latter’s final season in 2016. He now brings that experience to Houston, where two of his former staff members — pitching coach Jace Hutchins and hitting coach Scott Hatten — will follow him to the new venue.
The move underscores a broader trend of program building through experienced mentors, as Houston looks to translate its recent on‑field progress into deeper postseason runs.