In a Twitter post from Kendall Rogers of d1baseball.com on Thursday, it was reported former Central Florida and Wright State pitching coach Justin Parker will be joining new IU Coach Jeff Mercer in Bloomington.
Parker will take over as IU’s assistant coach and pitching coach, the role previously filled by Kyle Bunn, who joined Middle Tennessee State's coaching staff earlier this week.
During Parker's time in Orlando, the Central Florida pitching staff was among the best in the nation. In 2017, the group posted an ERA of 3.00, the fifth-best mark in the nation, while a pair of pitchers collected 10 wins each, which was tied for 13th-most in the country.
Last season, the Golden Knights had another good season on the mound. They recorded an ERA of 3.32 as a team and struck out 556 batters in 509 innings. They also limited opponents to a batting average of .216 on the season.
In each of the last four seasons, dating back to Parker's time at Wright State, his pitching staff has recorded a sub-4.00 ERA.
Parker has also sent seven pitchers to join the professional ranks in his time as a coach.
Like Mercer, Parker is an Indiana native who played and then coached at Wright State.
The pitching coach is from Fort Wayne, Indiana.
Auston Matricardi
