When the news broke that Augie Garrido and Texas parted ways, the aftershocks could be felt throughout the college baseball landscape, and those around the sport immediately noticed. And then they thought: Who is next at Texas?

That question resonated especially loudly in Texas, and even among former players that were smack-dab in the middle of arguably college baseball’s best, most heated rivalry at the time – Rice versus Texas.

Being on the Rice side of the equation didn’t stop former Rice catcher Adam Zornes from pondering about the vacancy in Austin before very quickly coming to one conclusion: His former assistant coach David Pierce was the best guy for the job.

“When I heard coach Garrido was stepping down or resigning or however you want to phrase that, I immediately thought of coach Pierce,” said Zornes.

Zornes, who redshirted at Rice in 2005 and then was a contributor the next three years for Rice teams that reached Omaha, actually knows Texas assistant Sean Allen too. Out of high school, the St. Thomas (Houston) standout originally committed to Allen and Houston before deciding to open up his recruitment and sign with Pierce, his recruiter at Rice, and the Owls.

Zornes grew up taking hitting lessons from Pierce, and there was a connection there that drew Zornes to Rice, and allowed him to eventually become a seventh-round draft pick after the 2008 season.

“Best decision I ever made,” responded Zornes about changing his commitment to Pierce and Rice. “He was my hitting coach essentially in high school just from lessons. He already kind of knew my swing. Had a very good relationship. I got to know him high school, and was actually taking hitting lessons from him at that time. About the time I was making the jump be recruited by D1 schools, coach Pierce started calling, coming to see games, I already knew him, I had built up some trust, comfort that.”

What stood out immediately to the Houston native and former Rice catcher about the new Texas head coach was his passion for not just baseball, but for is players as well.

“He’s a great guy. I think what the fans are going to see is that he’s passionate about the game of baseball, but he’s passionate about his players. He’s not just concerned about winning games. He’s concerned about building strong men and developing them into being successful whether that’s pro baseball or a professional in business. I got to see him at Tyler Duffey’s (former Rice pitcher who now pitches for the Twins) wedding. Tons of Rice players there I think he enjoyed seeing us all and seeing that we turned out successful in so many areas. I think it’s a huge, huge win for Texas. I think he’s the right fit, right guy.”

Although he ended up being a good college player that was fortunate enough to be drafted in the seventh round by the Padres, Zornes recalls that he wasn’t one of the big-name prospects all the top programs wanted. And that Pierce took a chance on him, and projected what he could be in time.

“He probably took a leap of faith on me in a sense because I wasn’t really considered by Texas and A&M, Stanford, LSU and all the top programs at the time. But he saw something in me,” Zornes stated. “I redshirted my first year, and it was the right decision at the time and I was able to have a great career, was able to be drafted in the seventh round by the Padres.”

Taking the kind of prospect like Zornes was and elevating him in college to become a top Major League Baseball pick is the kind of recruiting and developing the former Rice catcher believes Pierce will do at Texas. After all, he saw it up close at Rice, and was himself a product of it.

“That’s kind of the huge piece is finding the right guys that might not be taken away in the draft, but at the same time really project at the college level. I think that’s what Pierce did at Rice, and I know he’ll do that at Texas.”

After being around Pierce for years, both on and off the field, Zornes believes he’s a coach players will get along with as long as they hold up their end of the bargain.

“I’d describe him as a players’ coach. I think he’s cool, calm and collected but he has a good sense of humor,” stated Zornes. “He’s business most of the time, but he cut up and joke around when the time presents himself. As long as you’re taking care of our business, he’s going to have your back, he’s going to go to bat for you. From that standpoint, I think he’s in the corner of the player.”

If Zornes had a rough night at the plate, Pierce, even though he transitioned to pitching coach at Rice during that time, would be the one to talk to him about his swing and take a look at some things on film.

“Whenever I’d have a tough game, I’d chit-chat with him, look at film and watch some things,” said Zornes.

The average college baseball fan might not realize just how involved and how important assistant coaches are. For most programs, especially during the 2003-2011 era when Pierce was an assistant coach at Rice, the assistant coaches do all of the recruiting (back then, only two coaches could be on the road recruiting at once), and pretty much all of the scouting; they’re the engine that makes the car go, and they’re the ones putting the gas into it too.

“My first year was 2005. They won the title in 2003, from basically ‘05 to the rest of coach Pierce’s tenure there… we had a pretty good run at Rice. Went to Omaha three years in a row, and that’s in large part to Pierce and (assistant coach Mike) Taylor. They were our recruiting department. They have a great network and connections and are able to relate to families. That’s a tough thing to do. Obviously, there was the windfall of coming off a title, but to go into people’s homes and to get them to trust you in the short amount of time and you’re going to help them and do what they’ll tell you, that’s tough. I think that’s a big reason why he’s had a lot of success. He’s extremely well respected in the game of baseball. He’s had high school experience, collegiate experience, a little exposure to the pro game and he has huge ties to Texas.”

When it came to the scouting, film breakdowns, and more, Pierce and Taylor prepared the Owls for success.

“That’s kind of the thing our program operated. Coach Pierce and coach Taylor did all the film breakdown. We’d have a full two, three-page scouting report for how to pitch each guy, and we’d have the upcoming pitchers broke down for the meeting. Pretty in-depth stuff. They were always at the field if it was a tournament and they could go see other team’s hitters, they were watching them. He definitely has an eye, watches a lot of film, puts together scouting reports in detail. That’s a big difference from high school to college. Assistant coaches are sharing information constantly… you can look at stats, but you can’t see the intangibles and how people are pitched.”

That deep, vast network in Texas and the experience at multiple levels is something that Zornes believes separates Pierce from some of the other candidates Texas was linked to or considered.

“I think that’s probably his advantage compared to the Savages, O’Sullivans, and O’Connors. I think it’s going to go a long way. Texas has no business not winning the big 12 and consistently being in Omaha, or at minimum being in a regional every year. I think he left Rice at the right time knowing he needed head coach experience,” Pierce’s former player stated. “He elevated Sam Houston State, brought Tulane back to relevance. The ultimate goal is Omaha, and he has a lot of experience doing that and being there.”

That is the ultimate goal, and one Texas fans are going to expect Pierce to reach. Under Pierce and company at Rice, Zornes was able to experience that three times in a row. He’s expecting success at Texas for his former coach, and believes the investment he makes in his players and his ability to develop will show.

“I think the bottom line is coach Pierce is a guy that’s going to invest in his players, and he’s concerned with their well-being; he’s going to develop a high school player into a good player and a good person,” he said.