Keith Zuniga, who spent the past two seasons shaping the University of Hawai‘i’s pitching staff, announced this week that he will join the University of Southern California as its new pitching coach.
A Record‑Setting Tenure
During his time in Honolulu, Zuniga’s unit posted the nation’s lowest earned run average in 2024, a feat that cemented the Rainbow Warriors’ reputation as a pitching powerhouse.
The move to USC comes after Zuniga was spotted on a recruiting trip to Japan when the Trojans extended an invitation, a timing that underscored the program’s aggressive outreach.
Family Ties and a New Horizon
Although he and his family grew to love the Hawaiian lifestyle, describing it as the ideal environment for raising children, the allure of USC’s storied baseball tradition and its expanding resources proved decisive.
The University of Hawai‘i is set to transition out of the Big West Conference and into the Mountain West, a shift that leaves both the pitching and hitting coach positions vacant.
A Seamless Succession Plan
Connor Harrison, previously the director of pitching development and a former player for the Rainbow Warriors, will step into the role of associate pitching coach, a promotion that Zuniga himself has endorsed.
Harrison, who has long expressed a desire to lead the staff’s main pitching operations, is expected to build on the foundation Zuniga leaves behind, while the program searches for a new hitting coach to complete the transition.
The developments highlight how high‑profile coaching moves can ripple across conferences, influencing recruitment, player development, and the competitive balance of college baseball.