The University of Southern Mississippi made the expected official this week as the school announced that Christian Ostrander had been promoted to the position of head baseball coach once the 2023 season ends.

Ostrander will follow Scott Berry, the winningest coach in program history. The pair have worked together for the last six years as Ostrander has been Associate Head Coach for the last two years and has been over the Southern Miss pitching staff during his entire tenure in Hattiesburg.

A native of Monroe, Ostrander came to Southern Miss after being the associate head coach and pitching coach for two years at Louisiana Tech.

Prior to his time in Ruston, Ostrander built the Jones College baseball team into a premier junior college program during his seven-year run as head coach.

Jones won four division titles in that seven-year period and his 2011 team finished as national runners-up at the NJCAA Division II World Series.

Ostrander got his collegiate start as the pitching coach, recruiting coordinator and camp coordinator at Delta State from 1999-2002. Twice during that period, the Statesmen competed in the Division II College World Series with Ostrander as a member of the staff.

“I am extremely honored and humbled for the opportunity to be the next Head Baseball coach at The University of Southern Mississippi,” said Ostrander in a release from the school announcing his hiring. “The rich tradition that had been built here over the years by Coach Taylor, Coach Denson, Coach Palmer and Coach Berry is truly incredible and admirable. It with great excitement and great privilege to lead this program moving forward.”

Southern Miss (37-16) will begin Sun Belt Conference Tournament play on Wednesday in Montgomery, Alabama.