ACU baseball looks to step up its game from the mound with the addition of new pitching coach Josh Scott, a former pro-baseball player and star college athlete from Downey, Calif., who brings with him a wealth of valuable coaching experience.
Scott
After the departure of Elliott Cribby, who took the pitching coach title at Seattle University this year after only one season with the Wildcats, head coach Britt Bonneau was faced with the difficult task of looking for a replacement pitching coach for the upcoming spring season. Scott became the top choice after impressing Bonneau with his past success as a player and detail-oriented, organized style as a coach.
Scott was a three-year letterman at Baylor University (1998-2000), during which time he earned Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American honors in 1998, all-regional team honors at the Waco Regional in 1999 and at the Rice Regional in 2001 and was honored on the Big XII Commissioner’s Honor Roll from 1999-2001. After ending his outstanding college career with a 17-6 record and a 4.57 ERA in 58 appearances, he spent two years in the Philadelphia Phillies minor league system. This experience largely helped shape his coaching style; he believes it also makes him more relatable to players, as he understands the struggles of long schedules and constant physical and mental preparation.
“I use a lot of what I learned with the Phillies and at Baylor University in my coaching,” Scott said. “I hope to build a culture of work ethic and attention to detail. I want my pitchers to understand what it takes to compete at the highest level against quality opponents.”
Before coming to ACU, Scott coached at several college institutions, the most recent being Appalachian State University, where he served as the catching and base-running coach. He also had brief stints assistant coaching at Long Beach State (2008-09), McLennan Community College (2007-08), New Mexico (2006-07) and Angelo State (2004-06). He helped the Angelo State pitching staff produce the lowest ERA in the Lone Star Conference in 2005 and 2006, and helped the team win the regular-season conference championship in 2006.
Scott’s coaching style emphasizes the importance of mental discipline and full control on the mound, despite distractions. He specifically looks for competitiveness when working with pitchers, someone who refuses to let himself fail or let the team down. His main goal is to not only prepare the team for the quality competition of Div. I baseball, but also to teach the players what it takes to be ready for the next level of professional baseball. He said he is optimistic about his experience helping him connect with players in a way that will make them successful.
“The most valuable thing that I have learned from my previous coaching jobs is that relationships are the most important thing. The players won’t listen to me if there is no relationship and a sense of trust,” Scott said. “I’ve also learned that no detail is too small. The little things matter and they add up to something big.”
