2014 TEXAS TECH BASEBALL
15
to-back seasons at LCU while his top pitcher in 2012, Tyler Rogers, ranked third in the country with 122 strikeouts and his ace pitcher in 2013, Derek Loera, a 28th round draft pick, was 18th in NAIA with 10 wins and 19th in the nation with 89 strikeouts. During his two campaigns at LCU the Chaps won 79 games, had 12 All-Sooner Athletic Conference selections and six NAIA All-America selections. LCU received a national ranking during every week of the season during Gardner’s two seasons with eight rankings inside the top 10 in the nation. While at Oklahoma State, Gardner assisted then-head coach Frank Anderson with the pitching duties during the 2010-11 seasons and worked with the team’s catchers as a graduate assistant coach in 2009. Gardner’s final season at OSU in 2011, the Cowboys pitching staff recorded a 3.79 ERA – the program’s lowest team ERA in 36 years (since 1974). During his first season assisting with the pitching staff, Oklahoma State ranked fifth in the nation averaging 8.9 strikeouts per nine innings. OSU advanced to a pair of NCAA Regionals during Gardner’s time on the coaching staff with an appearance at the 2009 Clemson Regional (2-2 record) and advancing to the 2011 Nashville Regional. The Cowboys posted a 98-75 overall record from 2009-11.
MATT GARDNER
Gardner coached 21 MLB draft picks at Oklahoma State – 10 of which were pitchers while five OSU players were selected in the top-10 rounds of the MLB Draft.
Volunteer Assistant Coach • 1st Season Oklahoma State University, 2008
In addition to coaching over 20 draft picks at his alma mater, Gardner mentored 18 All-Big 12 selections, 21 Academic All-Big 12 honorees, two Big 12 Pitchers of the Week and one All-American.
Matt Gardner enters his first season as the volunteer assistant baseball coach at Texas Tech in 2014. Gardner will assist with the Red Raiders pitching staff and catchers while also working with the outfielders. Gardner was named volunteer assistant coach with the Red Raiders on Aug. 27, 2013.
Gardner’s coaching career also includes a pair of assistant coaching stints at the junior college level while coaching the fall of 2009 at Ranger College and the fall of 2010 at Midland College. A Friday-night starter at Oklahoma State for two seasons, Gardner was an AllBig 12 selection and Academic All-Big 12 award winner during his three-year career (2006-08) as a student-athlete with a 16-6 career record with a 4.89 ERA with 39 appearances, 30 starts, two complete games, 173.0 innings pitched and 108 strikeouts with 40 walks in three seasons (2006-08) as a Cowboy.
Gardner, who began his collegiate playing career for Tim Tadlock at Grayson County College in 2004-05, spent the previous two seasons as pitching coach at Lubbock Christian University (2012-13) following three seasons as a graduate assistant coach (2009) and volunteer assistant at his alma mater, Oklahoma State (2010-11). Just before arriving at Tech, Gardner was the pitching coach for the Chatham Anglers in the Cape Cod League during the summer of 2013. He helped lead the Anglers to the President’s Trophy, awarded annually to the team with the best overall record (26-17). During his summer in the Cape, Gardner coached Red Raider outfielder Brett Bell, catcher Hunter Redman and right-handed pitcher Dominic Moreno. He helped guide the Anglers to the Cape Cod League Eastern Division title while working with a pitching staff that tallied 332 strikeouts – ranking second in the league – which was anchored by the Cape Cod League’s Most Outstanding Pitcher, right-handed pitcher Lukas Schiraldi. Also on his pitching staff was right-handed pitcher Tommy Lawrence, who was awarded the league’s John Claffey Award, which is given to the top Cape Cod League Prospect from New England. Gardner’s pitching staff posted a 3.33 ERA – the Anglers’ lowest team ERA since 2010 – while eight of his pitchers posted an ERA under 2.00. Schiraldi led the league with a 1.20 ERA in seven starts going 4-1 with 37.2 innings pitched with 27 strikeouts and 10 walks allowed. Lawrence went 3-0 with a 1.60 ERA with eight appearances (5 starts) with 33.2 innings pitched, 29 strikeouts and just three walks allowed. In addition, Anglers long-time manager, John Schiffner, was awarded Cape Cod League Coach of the Year honors for just the second time during his 20-year career in the Cape. During Gardner’s final season at LCU in 2013, the Chaps finished the season 44-17 overall and received a national ranking as high as No. 4 in the country while he led a pitching staff that broke a school record with three Major League Baseball First-Year Players Draft selections. Gardner’s pitching staff ranked in the top 25 in the nation in strikeouts in back94
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