INTRO #34 • ASSOCIATE HEAD COACH
ALAN DUNN
Alan Dunn, who was named the 2015 National Pitching Coach of the Year by Collegiate Baseball newspaper, is in his sixth season as LSU’s pitching coach. He was promoted to associate head coach in January 2017. During Dunn’s five-season LSU tenure (2012-16), the Tigers have earned five NCAA Tournament National Seeds, two College World Series appearances, four NCAA Regional titles, two SEC championships, three SEC Western Division titles and two SEC Tournament crowns. Dunn has coached four Major League Baseball pitchers at LSU, including starting pitchers Kevin Gausman of the Baltimore Orioles and Aaron Nola of the Philadelphia Phillies, both of whom were first-round draft choices. Two other Dunn products at LSU – Nick Rumbelow and Nick Goody – have pitched for the New York Yankees. Dunn has produced a total of 14 LSU pitchers that were selected in the Major League Baseball draft, including seven in the first 10 rounds. Dunn was the minor league pitching coordinator for the Baltimore Orioles when he was hired in June 2011 as the pitching coach for the LSU program. He has 22 years of experience as a pitching coach on the professional level, and he has coached more than 25 pitchers that have advanced to Major League Baseball. Dunn directed a Fighting Tiger staff in 2015 that helped lead the team to the SEC championship and a berth in the College World Series. The staff, which was No. 2 in the SEC in
Alan and Jay Dunn (above); children Bailey and Davis (below)
ERA (2.98) and in opponent batting average (.230), was led by
2015 National Pitching Coach of the Year
Alan Dunn (center) was the recipient of the 2015 National Pitching Coach of the Year Award. He was joined at the presentation by LSU coach Paul Mainieri (right) and John Pinkman (left) of Collegiate Baseball magazine.
right-hander Alex Lange, the National Freshman Pitcher of the Year and the SEC Freshman of the Year. Lange, a first-team allAmerican, was 12-0 with a 1.97 ERA and 131 strikeouts in 114 innings. In 2014, Dunn directed an LSU staff that led the nation with a school-record 17 shutouts. LSU was No. 1 in the SEC in fewest runs allowed (180), No. 1 in WHIP (1.09), No. 2 in ERA (2.60) and No. 3 in hits allowed per nine innings (6.99). The Tigers ranked fifth in the nation in hits allowed per nine innings and sixth in WHIP. Dunn supervised the development of LSU first-team allAmerican Aaron Nola, who was named 2014 National Pitcher of the Year by the College Baseball Foundation, and he was voted SEC Pitcher of the Year for the second straight season. Dunn in 2013 directed an LSU pitching staff that posted a 2.40 ERA, which ranked second in the SEC and No. 3 in the nation. The Tigers were also No. 2 in the league in opponent batting average (.218) and No. 3 in the conference in strikeouts (506). Four members of the 2013 LSU staff were selected in the first 14 rounds of the MLB Draft, including second-rounder Ryan Eades by the Minnesota Twins. In 2012, Dunn coached LSU first-team all-American and current Major Leaguer Kevin Gausman, who led the SEC in wins (12) and strikeouts (135). As a staff, the Tigers were No. 1 in the league in strikeouts with 573. Prior to arriving at LSU, Dunn spent three full seasons and the end of 2007 as Baltimore’s major league bullpen coach before becoming the Orioles’ minor league pitching coordinator prior to the 2011 season. Dunn was in his 15th season in the Chicago Cubs organization and his first as minor league pitching coordinator when he was hired in August 2007 by Orioles manager Dave Trembley. Dunn served as pitching coach at every level from Class A to AAA in his 15 years with the Cubs. Dunn joined the Cubs in 1992 as a scout before becoming the pitching coach in 1993 for the team’s Class A affiliate in Geneva N.Y. He then moved on to other Class A clubs at Peoria, Ill. (1994), Rockford, Ill. (1995-96) and Daytona, Fla. (1997). Dunn served as pitching coach for the AA West Tennessee Diamond Jaxx from 1998 through 2005, where his pitching staffs finished first or second in the Southern League in ERA three times. He was the pitching coach at AAA Iowa in 2006 before becoming the Cubs’ minor league pitching coordinator in 2007. Dunn pitched professionally for two years in the Detroit Tigers farm system. He was the Tigers’ fourth-round selection (95th player overall) in the 1983 MLB Draft out of the University of Alabama, where he played for the Crimson Tide’s ’83 College World Series runners-up team.
He worked as an assistant coach at Vanderbilt in 1991 and 1992 prior to beginning his coaching career at the pro level. Dunn earned a bachelor’s of science degree in physical education from UAB in 1991. He and his wife, Jay, have two children – a son, Davis, and a daughter, Bailey.
The Dunn File
Year at LSU: Sixth Birthdate: November 19, 1961 Hometown: Gadsden, Ala. Wife: Jay Children: Davis, Bailey Alma Mater: UAB, 1991
Playing Career
1981-83 Alabama 1983-84 Detroit Tigers and New York Mets affiliates
Coaching Experience 2012- 2011 2007-2010 2007 2006 1998-2005 1997 1995-96 1994 1993 1991-92
LSU (pitching coach; associate head coach, 2017) Baltimore Orioles Minor League Pitching Coordinator Baltimore Orioles Bullpen Coach Chicago Cubs Minor League Pitching Coordinator Pitching Coach, Iowa Cubs, Pacific Coast League, AAA (Cubs) Pitching Coach, West Tennessee Diamond Jaxx, Southern League, AA (Cubs) Pitching Coach, Daytona Cubs, Florida State League, A (Cubs) Pitching Coach, Rockford Cubbies, Midwest League, A (Cubs) Pitching Coach, Peoria Chiefs, Midwest League, A (Cubs) Pitching Coach, Geneva Cubs, New York-Penn League, A (Cubs) Assistant Coach, Vanderbilt
2017 BASEBALL OFFICIAL YEARBOOK
89