On Monday, Lamar qualified for the NCAA Baseball Championship, as they will compete in the College Station Regional alongside Texas A&M, Texas State and Southern California beginning on Friday. On Tuesday, it was announced that the Houston Cougars will hire Lamar head coach Will Davis at the conclusion of the Cardinals’ postseason run.
“I am thrilled and honored to be the head baseball coach at the University of Houston,” Davis said in a statement on UH’s website. “I have spent my whole coaching career at both LSU and Lamar competing against them and have seen firsthand what a special place this is. In my time in college baseball they have come so close to making it to Omaha on several occasions and I am excited to take on the challenge of getting the program over that hump.”
Davis has coached the Cardinals since 2016 and remade the program into one of the best in the Southland Conference. Lamar struggled initially during his first five seasons as coach, but since 2022, the Cardinals have averaged over 37 wins per season. The Cardinals will make their 14th appearance in the NCAA Regionals, their first since 2010.
The Cougars’ hire brings a championship pedigree, as Davis served as an assistant coach on an LSU team that won the College World Series in 2009. As a player, Davis helped the Tigers to the 2004 College World Series as a freshman.
“From the moment in the recruiting process that I met Will, we hit it off instantly as I thought we saw the game the same way,” former Houston Astros star Alex Bregman said in a statement to UH. “When I got to school he became someone I could lean on that was willing to work as hard as I did. He was willing to do anything to help me get better and I am not surprised at all that he had that level of success at Lamar. This is a great hire by Houston and I can’t wait to see what he does at that program!”
Nuñez elected not to renew longtime UH coach Todd Whitting’s contract on May 17, as the Cougars have not reached the NCAA Tournament since 2018 and failed to qualify for the Big 12 Tournament in 2026. Per Baseball America, the Cougars are expected to increase resources to their baseball program under Davis’ tenure.