LOS ANGELES – After leading LMU baseball to the outright West Coast Conference Championship in 2023, Washington State has hired Nathan Choate to be the next head coach of the Cougar program. 

Choate has served as head coach of the Lions since 2019, after arriving on the Bluff as pitching coach in the summer of 2018. 

"LMU has absolutely allowed me to grow as a person and coach," said Choate. "It is so much more powerful when people work together. Having people want to support your program is invaluable. LMU is filled with wonderful people."

Over his five seasons at LMU, Choate has helped develop countless MLB draft picks, All-Americans and All-Conference players in his coaching career, including an almost clean sweep of conference awards in 2023 with Defensive Player of the Year, Freshman of the Year and Pitcher of the Year, culminating in being named the 2023 WCC Coach of the Year. 

Choate, who specializes in working with pitchers, ranked ninth nationally in walks per nine innings, 26^th nationally in strikeouts per walk and 50^th nationally in fielding percentage in 2023. He teaches a philosophy of limiting free passes and relying on the defense. 

He also takes pride in what the athletes in the classroom, constantly stumping for recognition on team grades. The LMU baseball team recorded a 3.18 GPA in 2023 and put 11 athletes on the Dean's List. 

As a member of the staff in 2018, Choate helped foster the 2019 WCC Pitcher of the Year in Codie Paiva. The 2019 Lions baseball team won the WCC Tournament in Stockton, Calif. And played in the Los Angeles Regional hosted by UCLA. 

Choate will leave the Lions after accumulating a 76-93-1 record overall with a 48-33 record in WCC play. Over his career, Choate has coached 25 Major League Baseball draft picks and has had 27 former players sign professional contracts.

"I would like to thank our players, President Snyder, our entire athletic department, and specifically Craig Pintens," said Choate.

LMU appreciates all the contributions Choate has made to the athletic department and the baseball team and wishes him the best in his future endeavors. 

"We want to thank Coach Choate for his dedication and commitment to our baseball program," said Athletic Director Craig Pintens. "He did a wonderful job of building a sustainable culture that manifested itself in a WCC championship this season. We wish Coach Choate and his family all the best in Pullman."

A nationwide coaching search will begin immediately to find LMU's next head coach.

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