LITTLE ROCK – Little Rock baseball head coach
Chris Curry today announced the hiring of
R.D. Spiehs as his new assistant coach, working primarily with the Trojan pitching staff. Spiehs comes to Little Rock after spending the past seven season on staff at Northern Colorado.
"Coach Spiehs has experienced nothing but success as a coach and player on all levels," Curry said. "What he was able to do with the pitching staff at Northern Colorado was nothing short of incredible. Knowing him both as a teammate in the San Francisco Giants organization and as a colleague in the coaching profession, I have always admired his work ethic, positive attitude and passion for the game. He will do a wonderful job of developing trusting relationships with our staff and players, bringing out the best in both. We are honored to have R.D. and his wife, Jennifer, join our family at Little Rock baseball."
"I'd like to thank
Chasse Conque and
Chris Curry for this incredible opportunity," Spiehs said. "My wife and I are excited to join the Little Rock community. I'm excited to get to work and I look forward to see the next steps in the future of this program."
Spiehs joined the staff at Northern Colorado in 2011 as an assistant coach before being promoted to the Associate Head Coach in 2015. During his time in Greeley, Spiehs helped guide the Bears to the 2013 Great West Conference title before assisting in Northern Colorado's transition to the Western Athletic Conference.
Upon arriving in Greeley, Spiehs was instrumental in improving the Bears' pitching staff, lowering the team's ERA nearly two runs a game from 2011 to 2013 and improving it for five straight seasons from 2014 to 2018. This past season, his staff set a program record for strikeouts in a season with 419, registering a team ERA of 5.53, the second-lowest in the last 23 years at Northern Colorado.
Spiehs oversaw the development of a handful of Bear pitchers that received conference and national accolades, including WAC Pitcher of the Year Jensen Park in 2015, All-Conference honoree Nick Tanner in 2016 and Troy Watson, a 15th-round MLB draft pick in 2018. Northern Colorado's pitching staff consistently ranked among the top half in the WAC during Spiehs' tenure.
Prior to his time in Colorado, Spiehs served as an assistant coach at Grayson County College in Denison Texas from 2009-11, guiding four players to MLB draft selections during that span. He improved the team ERA from 7.77 in 2009 to 3.85 in 2011, helping guide the Vikings to the NJCAA World Series in 2011.
Spiehs began his coaching career at the University of Nebraska, his alma mater, in 2008 after spending seven seasons pitching professionally in the San Francisco Giants, San Diego Padres and Seattle Mariners organizations. Spiehs pitched for both the Portland Beavers and Fresno Grizzlies of the Triple A Pacific Coast League in 2005, spending time at both the Double A and Independent levels.
Spiehs was a three-year starter at Nebraska from 1999-01, compiling a 21-6 overall record with the Cornhuskers, ranking eighth all-time for career wins. He was a key member of the pitching staff that boasted the lowest ERA in the country in 2000 (3.14) and was Nebraska's starting pitcher for the program's first appearance in the College World Series in 2001.
A native of Grand Island, Nebraska, Spiehs returned to Nebraska to earn his degree in communications in 2009. He is married to the former Jennifer Benson, who was a first team All-American in soccer at Nebraska and was a member of the U.S. National Team.
What They're Saying About R.D. Spiehs
"I've had the opportunity to be around
R.D. Spiehs both as a player and a coach. He has a great feel and knowledge of the game. What a great hire for coach Curry and Little Rock baseball."
- Dave Van Horn, Head Coach, University of Arkansas-Fayetteville
"R.D. is one of the hardest working best baseball minds in our business. I had the opportunity to coach him at the University of Nebraska but the extreme honor was watching R.D. become one of the best pitching coaches in the country over the last decade. He does an amazing job of breaking the game and the swing down in a short period of time and attacking weaknesses. He also has a gifted eye when it comes to recruiting guys that blossom under his tutelage."
- Rob Childress, Head Coach, Texas A & M University
"It was exciting for all of us that care about Little Rock baseball when we heard that
R.D. Spiehs will be joining the staff. His ability to recruit and develop talent will continue to move this program forward. His pitching success at the collegiate and professional level is unique to find in the collegiate coaching ranks and that gives him additional insight in how to help student-athlete's achieve their dream of playing professional baseball. In addition to his ability to develop pitchers, he has an uncanny ability to develop their character as well. Our program just got better. "
- Derin McMains, Former Little Rock All-American and San Francisco Giants 10th round pick
#LittleRocksTeam
