Sean Snedeker was named the Lamar University baseball pitching coach in September 2017. A coaching veteran with 30 years experience as a pitching coach which includes 17 years at the collegiate level – and the previous six with the Cardinals – Snedeker has also spent 13 seasons in the professional ranks. During his time at the collegiate level, Snedeker has produced 38 MLB draft picks, five All-Americans, four conference pitchers of the year and 26 all-conference selections.
Snedeker came to Beaumont from Tulsa, Okla., where he served as the pitching coach at Oral Roberts for six seasons. Prior to that he served in a similar role at Duke University. His coaching stops at the professional level include 12 in the Chicago White Sox organization and one within the Los Angeles Dodgers system.
In six seasons with the Cardinals, Snedeker has worked wonders with Big Red’s pitchers. He has produced pitching staffs that have led the league in ERA each of the past three seasons (Southland – 2021 and 2023, WAC – 2022). Even more impressive is Snedeker’s 2023 staff finished sixth nationally in ERA (3.96). He has now led pitching staffs into the top 10 nationally at all three collegiate stops.
In addition to the numbers his pitchers have recorded, Snedeker has had four Cardinals either drafted or sign free agent contracts during his short time in Beaumont. Tanner Driskill was a ninth-round selection by the Washington Nationals in 2018 MLB Draft, while Jason Blanchard went to the San Diego Padres in the ninth round of the 2019 draft. A third Cardinal - Austin Faith - was signed by the New York Mets as an undrafted free agent in 2020. Following the 2022 season, Jack Dallas signed a free agent contract with the Philadelphia Phillies organization and received an organizational promotion in June 2023.
Snedeker also produced two all-conference pitchers this past season in Brooks Caple and Hunter Hesseltine. Both players in their first year with the program, Caple was a perfect 5-0 on the season with a 3.19 ERA (1.13 WHIP) and 50 strikeouts in, while Hesseltine battled his way out of bullpen into starting role where he went 4-2 with a 3.98 ERA and 46 strikeouts.
Big Red’s success on the mound was a key factor in LU posting five wins over power five schools in 2023. By season’s end, the Cardinals had notched wins over No. 5 Texas A&M, Kansas State, TCU, Baylor and Houston.
One of Snedeker’s most transformative jobs came in his development of Ryan Erickson. The high school shortstop transitioned to a backup outfielder role in Jim Gilligan’s final season and made the jump to bullpen pitcher in Will Davis’ first season but struggled in the role with an ERA of over 30. With Snedeker in 2018 Erickson made a huge jump; the Golden Triangle native recorded one of the best ERAs in the SLC and a team-leading 60 strikeouts. The righty had an incredible April - putting up a 0.90 ERA through 20 innings with 28 strikeouts to just 10 hits and four walks. He posted a .143 opposing batting average, two saves, and a win that month. Erickson was second among all pitchers in the NCAA in leadoff out percentage - getting an out 86.84 percent of the time. He was named to the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Stopper of the Year watchlist, just one of 75 pitchers nationwide and one of just four from the SLC honored with the distinction.
In 2021, Snedeker helped the Cardinals reach the conference tournament. His pitching staff finished the year with a league-best 3.83 ERA, which ranked 26th nationally. A highlight in 2021 was how the Cardinals opened the season. Big Red began the 2021 campaign by posting four shutouts in the first nine games.
The pitching staff’s production continued to improve despite attrition which forced LU to replace both their Friday and Saturday starter. All Snedeker did was fill the void with a Friday starter – Braxton Douthit – who went on to post a 6-2 record with a 3.65 ERA in 81.1 innings pitched with 76 strikeouts to just 20 walks. The Cardinals’ Saturday starter – Adam Wheaton – went on to post a league-best 10-2 (.833) record with a 2.66 ERA, a 1.23 WHIP with 69 strikeouts in 91.1 innings. Wheaton led the Western Athletic Conference in wins, ERA and innings pitched and tied for third in the league in pick offs on his way to second-team all-conference honors. That duo combined to lead the Cards to an 18-4 record on Friday and Saturday in 2022.
Snedeker’s success extends beyond the starting staff. Snedeker helped turn Dallas into a record-setting reliever who would go on to set LU careers records for saves and appearances, as well as the top-two single-season saves records in program history. As a senior, Dallas posted a 4-1 record with a 1.94 ERA (1.20 WHIP), tied for the league lead with 14 saves, while recording 55 strikeouts (to just 14 walks) in 41.2 innings pitched. Dallas closed out his collegiate career by earning first-team All-WAC recognition.
Including Dallas, the Cardinals currently have six pitchers in professional baseball, a list which includes. Blanchard (San Diego Padres), Dallas (Philadelphia Phillies), Faith (New York Mets), Quinn Waterhouse (Ogden Raptors), Trevin Michael (Detroit Tigers) and Marcus Olivarez (Kansas City Royals).
Before coming to Lamar, Snedeker was the architect of one of the nation's top pitching staffs during his five seasons at Oral Roberts. The Golden Eagles finished the 2017 season ranked sixth in nation with a 3.06 earned run average. ORU's staff surrendered fewer than nine hits per nine innings during his final season with the team while ranking among the nation's top 10 in shutouts (eight).
Snedeker's staff helped lead the Golden Eagles to a 43-win season and a trip to the NCAA Championships. ORU won the Summit League with a near perfect 25-4 (.862) record. The Golden Eagles won the regular-season title by 6.5 games.
During his time with the Golden Eagles, Snedeker helped ORU lay the foundation for one of the strongest runs in Summit League history. ORU won three consecutive league titles and made three NCAA Championship appearance during his time on staff. The Golden Eagles recorded a 122-53 (.697) record during their title run, including a 72-17 (.809) mark in conference games.
The Golden Eagles advanced to the 2016 NCAA Regional Championships behind a pitching staff that led the Summit League with a 3.91 ERA and nearly eight strikeouts per contest. That season, Snedeker produced a closer – Brady Womacks – who set the ORU single-season record for saves (14), while Bryce Howe led the league with 84 strikeouts and Nick Wood led the Summit in ERA. The 2016 season ended with four ORU pitchers named to the All-Summit League squad.
During his time with the Golden Eagles, Snedeker coached 16 players on to professional careers, including 2013 Texas Rangers first-round selection Alex “ChiChi” Gonzalez and 2014 Toronto Blue Jays 10th-round selection, Jordan Romano. Both players have spent time in Major League Baseball with Romano currently with the Blue Jays. He also produced 14 players who earned postseason recognition while on staff with ORU, including 2017 Summit League Pitcher of the Year Miguel Ausua.
Before his time at ORU, Snedeker spent six years as the pitching coach at Duke leading the Blue Devils' staff that finished eighth nationally in ERA (2008). With the Blue Devils, his staff improved in strikeouts each year. During the 2012 season, Duke ranked ninth nationally averaging 8.0 strikeouts per nine innings. A standout member of that 2012 pitching staff was Marcus Stroman, who would go on to be the 22nd overall draft pick by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 2012 MLB Draft. Stroman was an MLB All-Star while with Toronto, spent three years with the New York Mets before signing a $71 million dollar contract with the Chicago Cubs. Another interesting fact is that Snedeker also coached hip hop and rap artist Mike Stud while with the Blue Devils.
Prior to his time at Duke, Snedeker spent 13 season in professional baseball. In the pro ranks, Snedeker coached more than 50 current or former major league pitchers, including MLB All-Star Adam Wainwright (Arizona Fall League) and 2012 All-Star and National League Cy Young runner-up Gio Gonzalez.
A standout at Texas A&M from 1987 - 1988, Snedeker had a 17-4 overall record in his collegiate playing career. In 1988, Snedeker posted a 9-2 record and a 3.50 ERA while striking out 87 batters and walking 41, earning the C.E. “Pat” Olsen Outstanding Pitcher Award.
Snedeker was selected in the 30th round of the 1988 MLB Amateur Draft, reaching Double-A level before leaving to join the coaching ranks. Professionally, he compiled a 34-21 record with a career 3.24 ERA. His career highlight came while pitching for Class A Vero Beach, when he tossed a perfect game on August 28, 1991, against the Port St. Lucie Mets. He also played with MLB Hall of Famers Mike Piazza and Pedro Martinez while playing for the San Antonio Missions.
Snedeker graduated from Texas A&M earning a Bachelor of Science degree in kinesiology in 1990 and added a Master of Science degree in kinesiology in 2000. He and his wife, Mary Jane, have two children, a daughter, Sydney, and a son, Sy. Sy played and graduated from Princeton in 2021 and spent the 2022 season as a grad transfer at Grand Canyon University.
