MINNEAPOLIS – Head coach John Anderson will keep it within the Gopher Baseball family as Minnesota announces the promotion of volunteer pitching coach Ty McDevitt to fill the vacant assistant coaching position left by the retired Rob Fornasiere. McDevitt’s elevation comes after two seasons as a volunteer coach where he returned to his alma mater after a four-year pitching career for the Gophers.
“The retirement of Rob Fornasiere, whose outstanding work for the past 33 years significantly contributed to the many successes of the program on and off the field, leaves a void that will be challenging to overcome. With that being said, I am grateful and excited that Ty McDevitt, an alumni of our program, has agreed to join our coaching staff as the pitching coach and begin this important process of re-centering our coaching staff for the future,” said Anderson. “Over the last seven years, I have been able to observe the outstanding work of Ty as a student- athlete and volunteer coach, and the results have been impressive.”
In two seasons under McDevitt’s tutelage, Minnesota’s pitching staff has posted a combined 3.68 ERA and 1.26 WHIP while striking out 7.36 batters per nine innings and limiting walks, just 3.45 per nine. The Gophers improved in nearly every major statistical category year-over-year from McDevitt’s first year in 2017 to 2018, with more victories, shutouts, and strikeouts and fewer walks, hits, and earned runs allowed than the previous season. Minnesota is 80-36 over the past two seasons.
“Ty possesses a very high baseball IQ as it relates to developing a pitching staff that can compete at a consistent, optimal level,” added Anderson. “He has also displayed the characteristics of integrity, loyalty, and passion along with a hardworking commitment to the daily process of coaching and mentoring our student-athletes as we prepare them for the next 50 years of their lives. Ty will also make a strong impact in our recruiting efforts. In the past two seasons, he has built trusted and respected relationships with the players and that will be impactful, as we identify and recruit future student-athletes to the Golden Gopher Baseball Family.”
While claiming the 2018 Big Ten Regular Season and Tournament Titles and earning the program’s first bid to the Super Regional round, the Maroon & Gold ranked 10th in the nation and second in the Big Ten with a 3.23 ERA this season and eighth in the country but first in the Big Ten with 1.21 base runners allowed per inning.
Last season, McDevitt also helped hone the skills of All-American rookie starting pitcher Patrick Fredrickson, who was also named the conference’s Pitcher and Freshman of the Year, and All-American first-year relief pitcher Max Meyer as well as 2018 MLB Draft picks Jackson Rose, selected in the 35th round by the Miami Marlins, and Reggie Meyer, selected in the 38th round by the Texas Rangers.
“I’m thankful to Coach Anderson for entrusting me in this role, and I am excited help build upon the rich tradition of Gopher Baseball,” said McDevitt. “After playing in the program and serving in the Volunteer Pitching Coach role the previous two years, it is obvious that the University of Minnesota and the Golden Gopher Baseball program is an ideal fit. Now, it’s time to get to work.”
McDevitt originally took the reins of the Gophers staff from long-time pitching coach Todd Oakes in 2017. In that time, the team has seen a pair of relievers each achieve a program record with 16 saves in a season in Brian Glowicki in 2017 and Max Meyer in 2018. The team has also produced three All-Big Ten First Team pitchers in Fredrickson, Meyer, and Lucas Gilbreath, and two All-Big Ten Second Team pitchers in Glowicki and Reggie Meyer. McDevitt also had a hand in the careers of 2017 MLB Draft selections of Gilbreath, taken in the seventh round by the Colorado Rockies, and Glowicki, a 10th-round pick of the Chicago Cubs. At the time, Gilbreath’s selection was the highest draft position for a Gophers player since 2013.
