Nebraska baseball parts ways with pitching coach Jeff Christy
Nebraska baseball announced a mutual parting of ways with pitching coach Jeff Christy on Tuesday afternoon.
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Christy, a former Husker catcher who caught a school-record 64 games during Nebraska’s 2005 College World Series run, had been with the staff since 2019. He spent the prior two seasons with Bolt at Texas A&M under then-head coach Rob Childress.
In that time, he developed three MLB Draft selections. Spencer Schwellenbach (second round, 59th overall), Cade Povich (third round, 98th overall), and Cam Wynne (20th round) were all picked in the 2021 draft. Later this summer, Emmett Olson and Jace Kaminska could become the fourth and fifth draft picks to emerge from Christy’s work.
“Jeff and I have a close relationship dating back to our College World Series run in 2005,” head coach Will Bolt said in a statement. “He played a key role for the last four seasons and helped us earn a Big Ten Championship and NCAA Regional Final appearance in 2021. I wish Jeff and his family nothing but the best moving forward.”
Christy was in the midst of his second stint coaching at Nebraska. He served as a volunteer assistant under Darrin Erstad from 2012-2015.
During his time in Lincoln, Christy’s pitching staff generally performed in the top half of the Big Ten. The Huskers’ team ERA finished top three in each of the last three seasons. Additionally, Nebraska was third or better in walks per nine innings during that stretch and has finished second or better strikeout-to-walk ratio in the last three years.
However, the Huskers struggled to develop a third weekend starter in 2023 which ultimately was a key factor that cost Nebraska a shot at a regional appearance. Midweek losses to the likes of Creighton, South Dakota State, North Dakota State and Omaha stuck out, too. The Huskers finished .500 in such games and allowed six or more runs five times.
Of Nebraska’s 14 arms who consistently threw out of the bullpen, four had more than 16 appearances. None of those four are expected back on the 2024 roster.
Childress, who currently serves as the Huskers’ director of player development, is a strong candidate to replace Christy.
The 54-year-old spent eight seasons on staff at Nebraska from 1998-2005. Husker pitchers produced four of the top five single-season strikeout totals in school history in that time, including a school-record 538 strikeouts in 2005.
