Serrano Named WVU Pitching Coach

Head coach Randy Mazey and the West Virginia University baseball team announced the hiring of Dave Serrano as the new pitching coach.

Serrano brings experience and a history of winning to the Mountaineers, a program that has been gaining momentum in the Big 12 over the past few seasons.

“I am extremely excited that Dave is joining our coaching staff,” Mazey told media members Monday. “He is considered one of the best pitching coaches in all of college baseball, and his track record of developing pitchers at a very high level certainly proves that, having coached 19 pitchers that have pitched in the major leagues.”

Serrano, who has been the head coach at Tennessee for the past six seasons, comes to Morgantown to fill a vacancy in the WVU coaching staff left when now-former pitching coach Derek Matlock accepted a head coaching job at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley.

In his 13 years as a head coach, Serrano has collected 446 victories and has taken two different teams to the College World Series – one of just 12 coaches all-time to lead two different universities to Omaha.

“I am excited to join the West Virginia University baseball program,” Serrano said. “I would like to thank coach Mazey for the opportunity to come to WVU and join the Mountaineer family. There is a lot of momentum and excitement around this program, and I look forward to being part of it and helping to continue to build on that.”

As an assistant coach, Serrano was part of the 2004 Cal State Fullerton national title team and has made a total of seven trips to the CWS, including as a head coach at UC Irvine in 2007, and Cal State Fullerton two years later.

He has coached 183 draft picks, 11 of which were first-round selections, and 37 of his former players have reached the Major Leagues.

West Virginia is coming off one of its best seasons in program history, qualifying for the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1996, and receiving an at-large bid for the first time in 125 years of baseball at WVU.

The Mountaineers ranked fourth in the Big 12 in ERA (4.23) and opponent batting average (.245) despite losing two starting pitchers to season-ending injuries midway through the 2017 campaign. The staff included sophomore reliever Braden Zarbnisky, who received NCBWA Third Team All-American and District II Player of the Year honors, as well as junior starter BJ Myers.

Note: All quotes from WVU Communications press release on WVUsports.com.