Dustin Glant, who served as the associate head coach and pitching coach for Indiana baseball since 2022, has accepted a coaching position with the Washington Nationals in Major League Baseball, according to an Indiana Athletics release.
The move — confirmed by Indiana head coach Jeff Mercer — marks a rare coaching jump from college to professional baseball. Tony Vitello, former University of Tennessee baseball coach, was the first college baseball coach to make the transition from college to the MLB as a manager with no prior experience in his move to the San Francisco Giants on Oct. 22, 2025.
Glant was named the pitching coach for the Hoosiers ahead of their 2022 season. In his first season, Indiana set a single-year program record with 600 strikeouts. Under his regime, Indiana recorded the three highest single-season strikeout marks in program history.
Throughout Glant’s tenure in Bloomington, Indiana turned nine players into MLB Draft picks. These players include former reliever Ryan Kraft and left-handed pitcher Ty Bothwell. Kraft finished top five in game appearances in program history while under Glant’s coaching.
Mercer and the rest of his staff have already begun looking for a new pitching coach moving forward, according to the release.
Indiana will begin its 2026 season in February. The Hoosiers’ schedule is marked with trips to Oregon and Nebraska along with games against regional rivals including Illinois and Iowa.
The Hoosiers will also play in the Live Like Lou Jacksonville Baseball Classic against the University of Notre Dame, Louisiana State University and the University of Central Florida.
