WSU fires baseball coach Donnie Marbut

PULLMAN—Donnie Marbut’s decade as skipper of the Washington State baseball program ended on Tuesday, when athletic director Bill Moos fired him. “Though Donnie and his staff have worked hard over the past 11 years it is my feeling that a change in leadership at this time was necessary to get Cougar baseball back to a position of prominence,” Moos said in a statement. Marbut received a contract extension after the 2014 season and the Cougars finished the 2015 season, which ended on Sunday, with a 29-27 record, 11-19 against Pac-12 competition, to finish above .500 for the first time since 2010. While Marbut was initially successful after taking the reigns of the program in 2005, guiding the Cougars to postseason appearances in 2009 and 2010, the second half of his tenure at WSU was rocky. The Cougars finished just one game shy of a .500 conference record last season, but lost eight players who did not leave school early to pursue professional careers. Known as a relentless recruiter that would routinely visit high school prospects in person rather than sending assistants, Marbut also made his mark as a fundraiser while at WSU. In a Spokesman-Review story that ran on Sunday, the former WSU coach was critical of WSU’s baseball facilities and expressed frustration that more hasn’t been done to build a dedicated baseball clubhouse adjacent to Bailey-Brayton Field. Marbut ends his WSU coaching career with a 314-304 record, the first overall winning record for a Cougar baseball coach since recently departed Chuck “Bobo” Brayton, who coached from 1962-1994. “We will begin the process of naming the next head coach immediately,” said Moos. “I will not be discussing details of the hiring process and expect to name the new coach as soon as possible.”