New Southern Miss baseball coach will focus on high school talent over transfer portal

Christian Ostrander’s formal introduction as the newest head coach of the Southern Miss baseball program was a family affair.

Filling the front row was Ostrander’s family watching on as he shook hands with athletic director Jeremy McClain Tuesday during the official passing-of-the-torch.

Also along the row was a rare sight in college athletics: two former leaders of the Southern Miss baseball program. Retiring coach Scott Berry and the namesake of the field at Pete Taylor Park, Hill Denson, watched on. The two represent 996 wins at USM and preached the same relationship-centered approach Ostrander championed from the podium.

That approach begins with recruiting and Ostrander made it clear the program will continue to buck the latest trend rolling across the landscape.

“Our model is going to be just like it has been, we’re going to recruit high school,” Ostrander said Tuesday. “I believe in getting young talent and developing them, letting them grow. We’re obviously going to bring in junior college talent when we need it for specific things.”

The new coach said the Golden Eages will be player in the college transfer portal, “but this program is not going to built on that.”

“It’s not sustainable, in my opinion,” he told the crowd at a press conference introducing him to the athletic community.

“I think it’s about developing and investing in good, young talent and teaching them,” he said. “That’s how you get consistency. That’s how you have the ability to have sustained success.”

Ostrander’s comments come a day after LSU won the College World Series bouyed by imports in Paul Skenes and Tommy White. Their opponent was a Florida team that swiped USM flamethrower Hurston Waldrep last summer.

The model doesn’t stray from Berry’s recruiting plan. Southern Miss has relied on Mississippi high school prospects for years, occasionally dipping into the junior college ranks and the portal for quick patches.

The most recent Golden Eagles squad featured a junior college transfer in Matt Etzel to replace Gabe Montenegro in center field and D-III transfer Billy Oldham to help alleviate the losses the pitching staff took in the summer following last season.

But it was the emergence of true freshman Nick Monistere and the relief work of second-year freshman Kros Sivley that helped elevate USM down the stretch of this year, lending credit to the ground-first approach to development.

Ostrander had an increased role in building the incoming recruiting class, which features a trio of Coast standouts. Mr. Baseball TJ Dunsford from East Central, Pass Christian’s Peyton Lacy and Ocean Springs’ McCarty English will be joining the program in the fall.

Familiar Southern Miss coaching staff

Ostrander also took the time to introduce his staff, which is dotted with names USM fans will recognize.

Travis Creel will be retained as the team’s hitting coach. Ben Brewer, Keller Bradford and Todd Makovicka will also be retained.

New to Ostrander’s staff are two names that are not new to USM. Five-year starter, captain and fan-favorite Danny Lynch will begin his coaching career under Ostrander’s command.

“Making the transition from one of the best players I’ve enjoyed coaching and being around and the affection you brought in practice and games, I can’t wait to watch you do that as a coach,” Ostrander said to Lynch.

Also returning to Hattiesburg is Ladd Rhodes, who worked as a volunteer assistant for the program in 2020.

Rounding out Ostrander’s staff is Carly Mauldin as the newest director of baseball operations. Mauldin is a former Mississippi State soccer standout and has worked on the soccer staff’s at USM and Mississippi Gulf Coast C.C.

The ship Ostrander and Co. are taking over has won at least 40 games in seven straight full seasons and have reached the NCAA’s postseason in each of those years, including hosting a Super Regional the last two seasons.

“There’s a lot of people that get up here to the podium accepting the job and they’re like, ‘we’re going to win, we’re going to do this,’” Ostrander said. “We do that here. We know how to do it. It’s been shown, there’s a path. I don’t say that arrogantly or lightly, but it’s there in place. The next step for me is continuing that.”