Coach Choate Public Welcome Registration
On the heels of a standout season that landed the Loyola Marymount Lions its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2000 and first West Coast Conference Tournament victory in school history the LMU athletic department would like to welcome to the public
Nathan Choate.
Choate is the eighth man to be named head coach of LMU baseball and all are welcome to join him at the Lions Athletics Center Conference room on July 10
that 4 p.m. for an opportunity to meet coach and talk baseball.
Choate joined the Lions as assistant coach in the summer of 2018, focusing on the pitching staff and recruiting. Under his leadership, senior
Codie Paiva was named WCC Pitcher of the Year after posting an 8-5 record with a 1.91 ERA and a 90:18 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Paiva's complete-game, 11-strikeout outing in the 2019 WCC Championships helped the Lions defeat the top-seeded BYU Cougars to start their magical run resulting in a WCC Tournament title for the first time since the format changed in 2013. Paiva was drafted in the 22
nd round by the Marlins following his All-WCC First Team and ABCA/Rawlings NCAA Division I West All-Region Second Team senior campaign.
Choate's pitching staff boasted the WCC's best ERA, allowing 3.50 earned runs per game, which ranked 14
thin the nation. The Lions also finished the year as the WCC's leader and 12
thin the country in WHIP at 1.24. The 7.88 hits per nine innings also ranks at the top of the conference.
Another standout under Choate's tutelage was sophomore right-handed pitcher
Nick Frasso. Frasso, recently named to the Collegiate National Team roster by USA baseball, is the fifth Lion in program history to be associated with the team.
In 2019, Frasso appeared in 19 games, starting five while leading the team in saves with 10. He was recognized as a member of the All-WCC Second Team as well as the WCC All-Tournament Team. His 2.22 ERA placed him second on the team, while he led the Lions in opposing team batting average at .154. He was second on the team in batters struck out with 73 while leading the team in games finished at 13. The Rancho Palos Verdes, native, allowed only 30 hits in his 56.2 innings pitched on the year. In 2018 as a true freshman, he appeared in 16 games, starting eight with an ERA of 3.15 and a record of 4-4 and one save. He was an Honorable Mention All-WCC and WCC All-Freshman selection.
Under Choate in 2019, both the starting rotation and bullpen significantly improved their ERAs from the prior season. The starters lowered their ERA from 4.99 in 2018 to 3.66 in 2019, and the bullpen improved by nearly two earned runs per game from 5.25 to 3.33.
