Steven Trout sent out a group text Monday afternoon just before he walked in the Castro Reception Room of the University Events Center at 2:30 p.m.
The message was sent to each of Texas State’s baseball players, informing them he would be their new head coach.
“We actually kept it under wraps for as long as I knew,” Trout said. “They’re a special group to me and my family because they’ve done a lot for us. And so I’m excited to get to continue coaching these guys.”
When former head coach Ty Harrington stepped down last month, athletic director Larry Teis asked if he had any recommendations for a replacement. Trout was the first name that came out of Harrington’s mouth.
Trout spent the past six seasons under Harrington, including the last two as the Bobcats’ associate head coach and recruiting coordinator. He’s helped bring in names like Theodore Hoffman, Jaylen Hubbard, Jonathan Ortega and Luke Sherley and sent each of them to the pros.
Teis sought out more opinions. He kept getting the same answer.
“From day one when Ty stepped back, he said ‘You shouldn’t look any further than Steve,’” Teis said. “When we started making phone calls, especially with the coaches he’s worked with and played for, people that know him were (like), ‘I mean, I have a guy for you that you can look at, but why would you hire him over Steve?’”
Trout’s worked with a lot of coaches during his career despite being just 34 years old. He began his collegiate playing career at Texarkana College, making an NJCAA World Series appearance in 2005. He spent his final two seasons at TCU, winning the Mountain West Conference championships in 2006 and 2007 and appearing in the NCAA tournament both years.
After a short stint playing professionally, Trout joined Harrington’s staff in 2009 as a volunteer coach, helping to guide the Bobcats to a 41-17 season and making their first NCAA tournament appearance in nine years. He stayed on in 2010 as Texas State won its second consecutive Southland Conference championship, then departed for Houston, serving as a volunteer third base coach.
Trout earned his first head coaching job at his old school, Texarkana College. The Bulldogs went 34-25 in 2012. He spent the next three seasons at West Virginia as an assistant coach. The Mountaineers had the No. 1 batting average in the Big 12 in 2014 and the most home runs in 2015.
The coach returned to San Marcos in 2016 as Harrington’s hitting coach and has stayed with the Bobcats ever since. He’s had a major impact on the team’s offense. Texas State won the Sun Belt championship on May 17 after scoring 23 runs in a doubleheader against UT Arlington.
“I’ve been very fortunate in my baseball career,” Trout said. “I’ve had the opportunity to play (and coach) under some unbelievable coaches that are successful at the highest levels of college baseball today.”
The new head coach said he still wants to be active in every facet of the team. He still wants to coach third base. He still wants to be on the road, visiting recruits on their campus. And he definitely still wants to compete for titles.
“This last 2019 championship was unreal,” Trout said. “But now, that is no longer a goal for our program. The Sun Belt championship is no longer a goal, it’s an expectation. It’s what we expect when we show up to work every day and at the end of the year. It’s what we expect. This university deserves to play at the NCAA tournament year in and year out.”
Trout said he was excited about a lot of things at his introductory press conference. He was excited to begin recruiting and building his vision for the team. And with a new three-year deal, he’ll have the proper amount of time to do that. (Teis said the deal had not been finalized at the time of the press conference and therefore couldn’t give the specifics of Trout’s salary, but did say it would be “up there” with what Harrington was receiving. Harrington was paid $108,330.84 in 2017 according to OpenPayrolls.)
He was excited about the opportunity to fill in Harrington’s shoes. The former head coach stood at the back of the room during the press conference in support. Harrington said Trout is “gonna be good.”
Mostly though, Trout was excited to open his phone and see the replies from his players.
“I’m just so happy that the journey didn’t end, that I get to continue to coach those relationships that we had,” Trout said. “The remarkable season we just had in 2019 was as good as it got in my career and I’m so thankful that I get to carry on and take this program to new heights along with those guys.”
