FROM CBD NEWS SOURCE
Houston – University of Houston head baseball coach Todd Whitting announced the hiring of Ryan Shotzberger as assistant coach on Thursday.
“I am really excited to have Ryan at the University of Houston,” Whitting said. “He and I spent a lot of time together at TCU on teams that had a great deal of success. He was a big part of the success that we had in Fort Worth that culminated with our trip to the College World Series.”
“For me there is a comfort level with Ryan because we have worked together before and he knows my system inside and out. To me, this was a slam dunk hire for us, and the program really got better the day we hired Ryan Shotzberger.”
Shotzberger will serve as the Cougar Baseball Camp director as well as assist with the hitters and base runners. He will also serve as the third-base coach.
“I am excited to join the staff at Houston,” Shotzberger said. “I have worked with Coach Whitting before and I know how his system works. Jack (Cressend) and Trip (Couch) also have a great energy and I am excited to be a part of that group.”
Shotzberger comes to Houston after spending five years on staff at TCU. While with the Horned Frogs, he coached the catchers, threw batting practice, manned the bullpen during games and filled in as the first base coach.
“Ryan has been in Division I baseball for about seven years so he has a lot of experience and has coached at a very high level,” Whitting said. “He will bring an attitude and expectation level to our program that our players are accustomed to but we are still trying to get to. He is going to help, along with the rest of our staff, in bridging the gap for us to compete at the highest level.”
During his time at TCU, Shotzberger tutored three all-conference catchers in Andrew Walker, Josh Elander and Bryan Holaday, the 2010 Johnny Bench Award recipient. He was also a part of four straight 40-win seasons, seven conference championships, four NCAA Regionals, two NCAA Super Regionals and one College World Series.
Prior to joining the staff at TCU, he spent the 2006 season on the staff of the Duke Blue Devils. While in Durham, Shotzberger was responsible for coaching the infielders, hitters, base runner and catchers. He also coached third base and threw batting practice on game days.
Shotzberger has also worked summer camps around the country, including camps at Tulane, Auburn, Florida State, North Carolina, UNLV, TCU and Duke.
Shotzberger attended McDaniel College where he played shortstop. He earned First-Team All-Centennial Conference honors in 2003 and 2004 as well as being named the team MVP. He ranks second in career doubles (23) and career triples (10) and third in home runs (13). He holds the school record for runs scored in a season with 41 and has the seventh highest career batting average at .380.
