With the departure of associate head coach Mike Silva last month to become the new head coach at Nicholls, Louisiana Tech baseball coach Lane Burroughs had a key position to fill.
New assistant Cooper Fouts has a track record of recruiting quality players to less-than-stellar programs. Now he’s joining a Tech ballclub that has one of the nation’s finest home stadiums and is riding the crest of its best season this century, and then some.
The new LA Tech assistant coach will serve as the team’s recruiting coordinator and pitching/catching coordinator. Fouts has been at Purdue under two head coaches in the past three years.
Former Tech head coach Greg Goff chose to retain Fouts as an assistant when Goff was elevated to head coach at Purdue in June 2019.
Burroughs was effusive in his praise of Fouts.
“One of my most honored duties is to defend the integrity and culture of Louisiana Tech Baseball,” Burroughs said. “I’ve known Coop for over 10 years and have followed his career closely. He continually puts together phenomenal recruiting classes at places where it’s not exactly easy to recruit. He is just a recruiting machine, and I think he will be the best recruiter we’ve ever had at Louisiana Tech.
“He absolutely loves the chase, developing relationships and helping young men reach their goals on and off the field. He is extremely intelligent, very well connected in the baseball world and has a work ethic that is off the charts. Coop is a man of character and integrity. He is a wonderful husband and father and these are things that are important within our program. He is the perfect fit at the perfect time for Louisiana Tech Baseball.”
Fouts has 16 seasons of collegiate coaching experience, highlighted by five seasons over two stints at Pepperdine (2011-12, 2016-18). At Purdue, Fouts led the recruiting efforts alongside the rest of the Purdue staff. He also coached and developed Boilermaker catchers and assisted with the Purdue offense.
Before arriving at Purdue, current Pepperdine head coach Rick Hirtensteiner brought Fouts back to California in the summer of 2015. Fouts has also served as an assistant coach at Utah Valley (2013-15), College of Southern Nevada (2007-10) and Lubbock Christian University (2006). His final season at CSN featured Bryce Harper winning the Golden Spikes Award and being selected No. 1 overall in the 2010 MLB Draft. The Coyotes won 52 games and finished third at JUCO World Series that season.
Fouts helped Pepperdine win West Coast Conference titles in 2012 and 2018. He worked under current Baylor head coach Steve Rodriguez during his first term with the Waves.
In his second stint at Pepperdine, Fouts’ recruits helped the program post an 11-win improvement in 2018. The Waves won the WCC with a 17-10 record after being 8-19 the year prior. Pepperdine’s 2012 team won 36 games and was a finalist at the Palo Alto Regional.
Fouts also served as a recruiting coordinator at Utah Valley, where he helped the Wolverines win 71 games over three seasons. He played a key role in helping build a roster that went on to lead Utah Valley to 37 wins and an NCAA Regional berth in 2016 as the Western Athletic Conference Tournament champion.
In Fouts’ final season at College of Southern Nevada, nine pitchers were drafted and 14 more student-athletes were signed by NCAA Division I programs. CSN won three conference titles, two Region 18 championships and Western District tournament in 2010 during his four seasons on the coaching staff.
Fouts graduated from Las Vegas’ baseball powerhouse Bishop Gorman High School in 2001. He was selected in the 26th round of the MLB Draft by the Oakland Athletics, but he opted to enroll at the College of Southern Nevada. After one season, he made the move to the Division I level where he played in over 150 games as a three-year starting catcher for Texas Tech from 2003-05.
Fouts was part of a pair of NCAA Tournament wins as a junior at Texas Tech. He helped TT’s 2004 team win 40 games and earn the No. 2 seed at the Atlanta Regional. As the Red Raiders’ starting catcher in all four games of the regional, he helped TT defeat Mississippi State twice and earned a spot on the All-Regional Team. He was recognized as honorable mention All-Big 12 as a senior after again being among the top defensive backstops and top-throwing catchers in the league.
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