What Christian Ostrander said about being named Southern Miss baseball coach and getting to Omaha
Christian Ostrander doesn't have any easy act to follow. And the new coach of Southern Miss baseball knows it.
"To be the next guy in line at USM is truly an honor that I take extremely seriously," Ostrander said. "I'll do everything in my power to advance and grow this program. I've waited a long time for this opportunity and I promise you're gonna get all you can throw me."
Southern Miss officially introduced Christian Ostrander as the program's 14th baseball coach at a press conference on Tuesday.
Ostrander, who served as the program's pitching coach for the last six seasons, was announced as the successor to Scott Berry on May 21. Berry, who had announced earlier this would be his last season, served as the head coach for 13 seasons.
Berry is the program's all-time winningest coach, ending his career with a 528-276-1 record and the only coach in program history to eclipse 500 wins. His time at Southern Miss featured five regular-season conference championships, four conference tournament titles and eight trips to the NCAA Tournament.
"One thing I know is Christian will put his own stamp on this program," athletic director Jeremy McClain said when introducing Ostrander. "The character of who we are, what this program is about, what the expectations are and the accountability level are things are not going to change. If you know Christian, his background is one that's really based in work ethic, and I know that firsthand."
"We have a relentless persistence at Southern Miss. We never give in, we never give up and we refuse to lose," said school president Joe Paul. "The key to this culture though, is the succession. Scott had the wisdom to bring in the 'Wizard of Oz' and he'll do amazing things. He's got a world of experience and is ready to assume this mantle."
Ostrander is regarded as one of the top pitching coaches in the country. Southern Miss produced five All-Americans, two Ferriss Trophy winners and a National Pitcher of the Year under Ostrander. He was named the Conference USA Assistant Coach of the Year last season for the second consecutive year, making him the only coach to win that award twice.
The native of Monroe, Louisiana, played at Delta State, where he was a teammate of McClain's. Before coaching at USM, Ostrander spent seven years as coach of Jones College, where he compiled a .701 winning percentage and won four division titles. He then made the jump to Louisiana Tech and served as a pitching coach for two years before Berry recruited him to Southern Miss.
SCOTT BERRY: 'I love each and every one of you': Southern Miss baseball coach Scott Berry celebrated
The Golden Eagles are fresh off a super regional series loss to Tennessee, halting their hopes of making it back to the College World Series for the first time 2009. However, Ostrander is insistent that Southern Miss' absence from Omaha will end sooner rather than later.
"The culture here is outstanding. If you don't have a culture, that's one of the hardest things to attain," Ostrander said. "Naturally there's an expectation to win. Not for us to just to make regionals, but to host regionals. We'll get to Omaha and one day we will win that last game of the year."
This article originally appeared on Hattiesburg American: Christian Ostander introduced as Southern Miss baseball coach
