Christian Ostrander has officially been introduced as the head coach of the Southern Miss baseball team.
Ostrander, who formerly served as the Golden Eagles’ pitching coach for six seasons, will now carry the torch passed by 14-year head coach Scott Berry.
During Tuesday’s introductory press conference, Southern Miss President Dr. Joe Paul credited former baseball coach Hill Denson for laying the foundation of success and Berry, the winningest coach in school history, for building on the program’s momentum.
Paul gave Ostrander his full support and is certain that he will elevate the Golden Eagles to the next level.
“To coach Scott Berry and his family, thank you. Coach Hill Denson, you started the fire and it’s still burning.” Paul said. “Coach Ostrander, I give you my full support I have every confidence in the world that we’ll go to even greater heights.”
Between Denson (1984-1997), Corky Palmer (1998-2009), and Berry (2010-2023), the three legendary coaches compiled an overall record of 1454-943-2 while making the Golden Eagles one of college baseball’s premier programs.
Though Ostrander is looking to continue a legacy of success built by previous head coaches, Southern Miss Athletics Director Jeremy McClain is confident that the former pitching coach will put his own stamp on the program.
“Christian will put his own stamp on this program,” McClain said. “He will run practices the way he sees fit to run them. He will recruit the way he thinks we need to recruit, but the character of who we are, what this program is about, what the expectations are, and the accountability level — those things are not going to change.”
Ostrander inherits a program that finished the 2023 season ranked No. 9 in the nation and was just one game shy of reaching the College World Series. He anticipates taking the next step and having future USM squads competing for a national championship.
“We will get to Omaha, and one day we will win that last game of the year,” Ostrander said emphatically. “You’ve got to fervently believe that. You’ve got to visualize that. You’ve got to smell it, taste it, hear it, and believe it. That’s the message we’re gonna send. It’s not gonna be easy, but it can be done.”
