Head Coach Christian Ostrander

In two seasons at the helm of guiding the Southern Miss baseball program, Christian Ostrander has done more than any previous Golden Eagle head coach has been able to accomplish over that short amount of time.

Ostrander, widely regarded as one of the nation’s top pitching coaches in the country, became the 14th head baseball coach at Southern Miss when he was elevated to the Golden Eagles’ top spot. Ostrander became only the fifth coach to lead the program since 1959, following Pete Taylor (1959-83), Hill Denson (1984-1997), Corky Palmer (1998-2009) and Scott Berry (2010-2023).

In two seasons, Ostrander has garnered more wins than any of his predecessors over that time – 90 – and has led the program to two NCAA Regional finals.

During the 2025 campaign, Ostrander guided the Golden Eagle baseball program to a 47-16 record, tying the second-most victories at the school for a season. The team went on a school-best winning streak that lasted 18 games, helping them earn their fourth hosting berth of an NCAA Regional in its history. In the process, the Golden Eagles kept their string of consecutive 30-plus win (23) and 40-plus win seasons (9) alive – both of which are the longest in Division I baseball. They also tied their longest consecutive streak of NCAA Tournament appearances at nine, while making their 21st overall appearance.

Southern Miss finished second during the Sun Belt regular season with a 24-6 record, while reaching the league’s tournament championship game for the third-straight season. The Golden Eagles fell to Coastal Carolina in the final 7-5. In addition, he mentored the school’s fifth Ferriss Trophy winner, JB Middleton, which also marked the fourth pitcher to win the award from the school.

Middleton, who also earned first team All-America honors, led seven Golden Eagles to make All-Sun Belt honors as he earned a first team nod along with the league’s Player of the Year Nick Monistere, Carson Paetow, who also earned the league’s Tony Robichaux Leadership Award, and Colby Allen, with Matthew Russo, Ozzie Pratt and Jake Cook collecting second-team honors.

In his first year at the helm, he led the team to a 43-20 record, finishing second in the Sun Belt Conference regular season standings while capturing the league’s tournament title. The program won 14 of 15 games heading into the NCAA Tournament. Behind the second longest hitting streak in school history of 36 games, Slade Wilks earned All-America third-team honors by two different organizations, while also adding a first-team Academic All-America nod.

The Golden Eagles had five players named all-conference including Wilks and pitcher Billy Oldham, collecting first-team honors. Pitcher Niko Mazza, shortstop Ozzie Pratt and outfielder Dalton McIntyre all collected second team honors.

Before taking the top job, Ostrander served as the associate head coach for the previous two seasons and had been with the program for six years overall overseeing the pitching staff for the Golden Eagles.

During his time as an assistant, Ostrander helped lead the Golden Eagles to five NCAA regional berths, mentoring one National Pitcher of the Year, two Dick Howser and Golden Spikes national semifinalists, two Ferriss Trophy winners for top player in the state of Mississippi, five different All-Americans, one Freshman All-American and four conference Pitchers of the Year in Nick Sandlin (2018), Walker Powell (2021) and Tanner Hall (2022, 2023), who did it twice. For the third time in its CUSA history, the program enjoyed three first-team pitchers picked in 2022.

In 2022, Ostrander was also named the CUSA Assistant Coach of the Year for the second consecutive season, helping him become the only coach to win that award twice in its history.

Despite losing 12 pitchers off the previous year’s roster, Ostrander helped assemble another outstanding staff in 2023 that helped the Golden Eagles win 46 games. Led by Hall, who posted a 12-4 record, Southern Miss led the Sun Belt in earned run average (4.51), opposing batting average (.240), innings pitched (580 1/3), strikeouts (654) and wins (46). They also were second in saves (19).

In 2022, Ostrander also earned CUSA Assistant Coach of the Year honors for the second consecutive season as the Golden Eagles finished with a school record 746 strikeouts, besting the previous top total by 163. The Golden Eagles also ranked No. 2 nationally in strikeout-to-walk ratio (4.12), WHIP (1.16), strikeouts per nine innings (11.3) and ERA (3.29), No 3 in walks per nine innings (2.73), No. 4 in shutouts (8) and No. in hits allowed by nine innings (7.73).

The year, which had the Golden Eagles reach the NCAA Super Regionals, saw the program register its first season since 1993 with two pitchers reaching 100 strikeouts during the year.

The success of 2022 came on the heels of being ranked No. 1 nationally in strikeout-to-walk ratio (4.06), No. 2 in walks per 9 innings (2.24), No. 3 in shutouts (8), No. 6 in WHIP (1.17) and 20th in earned run average (3.74). His top two starting pitchers, Hunter Stanley and Walker Powell, each merited All-American accolades in 2021.

The Golden Eagles led the league in ERA, opposing batting average (.236) and batters struck out (560). They also finished second in the conference by allowing just 138 walks, which was the fewest given up by the squad since allowing 137 in 1982.

Under his tutelage, the Golden Eagles posted their second no-hitter in the last three seasons in 2021 when Powell blanked Middle Tennessee on May 8, and the team’s strikeout total last spring (560) was the second most in school history.

Despite the shortened season in 2020, the Golden Eagle pitching staff performed well as Ostrander blended some veteran leadership pitching along with a bunch of newcomers. The results encompassed a 12-4 record by the squad that saw the pitching staff post 172 strikeouts with only 46 walks in 140 1/3 innings. That year also saw Ostrander’s group enjoy some accolades as reliever Stanley earned third-team All-America honors from Collegiate Baseball, while the publication also tabbed Ben Ethridge a Freshman All-America selection.

In his second year with the program in 2019, Ostrander oversaw a pitching squad that posted the school’s fourth-straight 40-win season. Entering the year, he had to retool a pitching staff that suffered the loss of the previous year’s Perfect Game National Pitcher of the Year, Nick Sandlin.

Still, he mentored Powell into becoming a first-team All-Conference USA selection, who also earned three CUSA weekly awards during the year as well as a spot on the league’s all-tournament team. Redshirt freshman Gabe Shepard also garnered a spot on the CUSA all-tournament team by throwing seven innings in the school’s first no-hitter since 2004. Shepard, along with two Golden Eagles, blanked Rice 6-0 to help the Golden Eagles advance to the championship game for the fourth consecutive year. The pitching staff threw seven shutouts during the year and enjoyed 479 strikeouts from the staff against just 207 walks during the campaign.

In his first year with the program, Ostrander overcame losing four starting pitchers from the previous season and made great strides with the Golden Eagle pitching staff.

One of the biggest moves in his first season in 2018, was switching Sandlin, a relief pitcher up until that point, into a starter and he oversaw his progress to being the CUSA Pitcher of the Year, the 2018 Ferriss Trophy winner and a second-round draft pick to Cleveland.

Ostrander’s success cannot solely be tied to Sandlin’s success. In addition, Southern Miss posted a 3.70 earned run average which was the lowest team ERA in three seasons while putting together eight shutouts and limiting opponents to just 152 walks. The walks surrendered were the fewest since allowing just 137 in 1982. The program finished in the Top 10 nationally in three different categories: second in strikeout-to-walk ratio (3.40), third in shutouts and fourth in walks allowed per nine innings (2.49). In addition, the staff enjoyed 27 quality starts.

Ostrander came to Southern Miss after spending the two seasons at Louisiana Team as their associate head coach and pitching coach. During those two years, the Bulldogs posted a 78-40 record and went to an NCAA Tournament. Serving as the pitching coach for Louisiana Tech, Ostrander’s pitching staff shattered the record books leading the Bulldogs to 42 wins his initial season - the most for any LA Tech team since 1988. Under the guidance of Ostrander, four Bulldog pitchers (Adam Atkins, Braden Bristo, Phillip Diehl and Nate Harris) were selected in the last two Major League Baseball First-Year Player Drafts.

In 2016, LA Tech’s pitching staff recorded a school-record 496 strikeouts, besting the previous school-record of 452 which was set twice. Of the 42 Bulldog wins, which ranked first in CUSA, 10 wins were over top 25 schools, and 11 wins were over top 50 RPI schools.

Prior to LA Tech, Ostrander spent seven years as the head coach at Jones County Junior College in Ellisville. In addition to his head coaching duties at JCJC, Ostrander oversaw the pitching staff.

Ostrander led the Bobcats to two MACJC state championships in 2011 and 2014 and helped guide Jones County to four division titles in seven years. He also led JCJC to two 40-win seasons and set the school record for wins in a season on four separate occasions. In seven seasons at Jones County, Ostrander compiled a 255-109 overall record with the Bobcats, good for a .701 winning percentage.

In 2015, Ostrander and the Bobcats put together a successful season with Jones County posting 30 wins with an appearance in the MACJC State Playoffs for the seventh consecutive season.

In 2014, JCJC enjoyed enormous success with a 46-11 record and a No. 6 ranking in the final NJCAA Division II poll. The 46 wins by the Bobcats matched the single season record for victories in a season. The Bobcats were ranked No. 1 in the nation for most of the season and captured the 2014 state title at the end of the campaign. That season, JCJC led MACJC and Region 23 and were ranked seventh in the nation with a 2.92 team ERA.

Ostrander led the team to a second-place finish in the NJCAA Division II World Series in 2011. The 2011 Bobcats posted a 46-17 record, won the MACJC state championship and its first ever Region 23 title.

In his first season at JCJC, Ostrander led the Bobcats to a 36-16 overall record, a third-place finish in the MACJC South Division and a berth in the MACJC State Tournament. It marked the first time the Bobcats advanced to postseason play since winning a state title in 2002.

A year later, Ostrander led the Bobcats to their first-ever MACJC South Division regular season title, a 38-12 record and the host role in the MACJC State Tournament. Prior to his stint at Jones County, Ostrander previously served as recruiting coordinator and pitching coach at Arkansas State from 2002-06 and led Gulfport High School to the Class 5A playoffs in two seasons as the head coach for the Admirals.

Ostrander also served the pitching coach, recruiting coordinator and camp coordinator at Delta State from 1999-2002. DSU posted a 189-43 record during his four seasons, winning the Gulf South Conference West Division championship all four years and the South Regional championship in 2001 and 2002. In his final two seasons at Delta State, the Statesmen competed in the Division II College World Series in both 2001 and 2002.

He earned a bachelor’s degree in education from Delta State in 1996 and his master’s of education in administration from DSU in 1998. Ostrander has been a member of the American Baseball Coaches Association since 1998.

In the fall of 2019, Ostrander earned induction into the Jones College Hall of Fame.

Ostrander is a native of Monroe, La. He and his wife, Amy, have two daughters, Caitlin and Allie.