Wichita State pitching coach resigns six weeks before start of 2019 season
With a little more than six weeks from the start of the 2019 season, the Wichita State baseball team is on the search for a new pitching coach.
Mike Steele, who handled the Wichita State pitchers for the last two seasons, has resigned from his coaching position, WSU head coach Todd Butler announced on Thursday.
The future for Steele, 39, was not immediately known, but he could be headed back to professional baseball, where he has seven years of experience as a minor-league instructor and scout in the Pittsburgh Pirates’ organization. He also spent the two years prior to WSU as the pitching coach for Long Beach State.
The Shockers open their 2019 season at the Angels College Classic in Arizona from Feb. 15-17.
“We are extremely appreciative to coach Mike Steele and his tremendous contributions to Shocker baseball,” Butler said in a press release. “We wish Mike nothing but the best in all of his future endeavors. We will begin a search for the next Shocker pitching coach immediately.”
Steele had made progress with the Shockers’ pitching staff, lowering the team ERA from 5.97 the year before he took over to 3.91 this past season. He coached five pitchers who were drafted in the 2018 MLB Draft, including Codi Heuer and Chandler Sanburn, who were both taken in the first 10 rounds.
Butler will be in search of the third pitching coach in his six-year tenure. Steele had replaced long-time pitching coach Brent Kemnitz, who retired after 38 seasons following the 2016 season.
This story was originally published January 3, 2019 at 11:41 AM.
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