Cal hires former Merced star Eager as pitching coach

Former Merced High star Thomas Eager will become the new pitching coach for the Cal baseball program.

Bears coach David Esquer made the announcement on Monday. Eager will replace Mike Neu, who recently was named the head coach at the University of the Pacific in Stockton.

“I’m extremely excited,” Eager said. “It’s a great opportunity for my family and myself. You want to challenge yourself and go against the best, and the Pac-12 is the best league around here.”

It was going to take a special opportunity to pull Eager, 29, away from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.

That’s where he played his college ball after graduating from Merced High in 2004 and he returned to San Luis Obispo after his minor league career ended in 2011, including the last three seasons as the Mustangs pitching coach. His wife, Jenna, graduated from Cal Poly.

“This is a huge opportunity,” Eager said. “When you get in this profession, you realize you can go anywhere at any time. Now, I’m married with a 15-month old son (Trey). When this came about, and Coach Esquer called, my wife was as excited as I was. She’s from Northern California, so this was a chance to move closer to both our families.”

Eager was a three-year varsity starter at Merced and was a sophomore on the Bears’ 2002 Sac-Joaquin Section Division I championship baseball team. He says he still finds himself repeating some of the things he heard in high school from his coaches Lou Souza and Scott Winton.

“I remember picking their brain when I was in high school,” Eager said. “I learned a lot from Coach Souza and Winton. I do find myself saying stuff like ‘Surround yourself with good people.’ That’s something our Merced coaches always told us. Coach Souza always used to say, ‘Don’t play that card.’ I always say that when someone starts complaining about something. Another one Souza used to say is, ‘Bring all your weapons to the ballpark.’ That’s another one I use.”

After high school he pitched at Cal Poly in 2006 and 2007 before being drafted in the fifth round by the St. Louis Cardinals.

After his minor league career was cut short by an arm injury, he returned to Cal Poly in 2011 and served as the director of baseball operations for two seasons before he was hired as the pitching coach by Mustangs coach Larry Lee.

Under Eager, the Cal Poly pitching staff recorded its lowest ERA (3.05) in 2014 since moving to Division I. Last year, Cal Poly’s staff posted a 3.50 ERA to help lead the Mustangs to a 47-12 record and a top seed in an NCAA regional.

“Cal Poly is always going to be special for me,” Eager said. “It’s where I played college baseball. It’s where I got the opportunity to be a coach. I owe everything to that program. I owe everything to Larry Lee. He’s been a mentor. He’s been like a second father figure. The toughest call I made was making the call to him to let him know I was taking the Cal job.”

Eager takes over a pitching staff that helped lead Cal to a 36-21 record with a team ERA of 3.03. The Bears are led by former Buhach Colony star Daulton Jefferies, who went 6-5 with a 2.92 ERA and played for the collegiate national team this summer.

“I’m really excited,” Jefferies said. “My mom was super pumped. It’s bittersweet to see Mike go, but he did what was best for him and his family. I’m glad Thomas is getting the opportunity. I didn’t know him growing up but my brother (Jake) played with him and against him. We’ve been good family friends.”

Eager is excited to work with a talented staff.

“They return all their starters,” Eager said. “They only lose their closer. You got Jefferies, who played for Team USA. A guy like that, you don’t have to do too much. I’ve had a chance to speak with him a couple times. He’s excited and I’m excited. The Saturday starter Ryan Mason is returning. It’s a heck of a team returning. It should be a fun ride. My job is to go in there and not mess anything up.”

This story was originally published July 28, 2015 at 7:55 PM with the headline "Cal hires former Merced star Eager as pitching coach."