Jon Strauss completed his seventh season at Baylor in 2022 as the pitching coach for the Bears. Strauss brought more than 20 years of collegiate coaching experience to Waco after spending six seasons alongside Steve Rodriguez at Pepperdine as the team's pitching coach and recruiting coordinator.
After battling a season full of injuries, the Bears finished the 2022 campaign with a combined 5.84 ERA as a pitching staff. Strauss guided senior LHP Tyler Thomas to a 4-4 year in which he posted a career-best 2.45 ERA with 51 strikeouts to just nine walks. He garnered All-Big 12 Honorable Mention recognition in addition to being named the Most Outstanding Player of the 2022 Shriners Children's College Classic. BU pitchers struck out at least 10 batters in 14 of its 54 contests and totaled 373 punchouts over 469.2 innings pitched.
In 2021, Strauss’ staff was second in the Big 12 with a 3.96 ERA, while also coming in at No. 2 in the conference in walks allowed, helping the Bears to a 31-20 record. Strauss coached Luke Boyd who earned NCBWA All-America honors in the closer role after sporting a 1.27 ERA in 24 appearances, while compiling eight saves and allowing just 11 walks to 43 strikeouts. He also assisted with the development of Tyler Thomas who had a breakout season with a 2.49 ERA and 5-2 record in 11 starts. The starting rotation totaled a combined 3.27 ERA between Thomas, Blake Helton and Hayden Kettler.
Strauss' pitching staff helped the Bears to a 10-6 record in the COVID-19 shortened 2020 season, including a sweep of SEC teams at the Shriner's Hospitals for College Classic in Houston. He developed closer Luke Boyd, who tied for the nation's lead with six saves, as he boasted a 0.82 ERA in 11.0 innings pitched, striking out 16 to just one walk. Reliever Logan Freeman also thrived under his tutelage, finishing the shortened season with a 0.00 ERA over 9.1 innings of work, striking out 18 and earning one save.
In 2019 Strauss developed pitcher Kyle Hill into one of the premiere closers in the nation, as he was named a first team All-American by multiple outlets. Hill, became the first Bear to be named a finalist for the NCBWA Stopper of the Year Award and was named to the All-Midwest Region first team after not allowing a run (0.00 ERA) in 23 appearances, 29.1 innings of work on the season, finishing with a 6-0 record and seven saves. The 32-game, 29.1 innings scoreless streak is the longest in program history for one season and overall, he boasts a 32.2 scoreless inning streak over 24 games dating back to the 2018 season Hill’s 0.00 ERA led the Big 12 and his six wins on the year were the most by a reliever nationally that did not have at least one start on the year.
Overall, five pitchers under the direction of Strauss earned All-Big 12 honors and three were drafted in Cody Bradford (6
thround, 175
thoverall), Kyle Hill (10
thround, 306th overall) and Luke Boyd (38
thround, 1141
stoverall).
During 2018, Strauss earned recognition as one of the top assistants in college baseball by D1 Baseball as his pitching staff had the lowest ERA in the Big 12 Conference and he coached pitcher Cody Bradford to Big 12 Pitcher of the Year honors, the first in program history.
During 2017, his second season with BU, Strauss tutored junior closer Troy Montemayor to an All-American selection -- the program's first since 2012. He also quickly developed JUCO transfer starter Montana Parsons into Big 12 Co-Newcomer of the Year and saw him get drafted in the 24th round by Miami. Both players were key in helping the Bears make their first NCAA Regional (Houston) appearance since 2012.
In his first season with the Bears in 2016, Strauss mentored 2016 MLB 19th round pick and second-team All-Big 12 choice LHP Daniel Castano, All-Big 12 honorable mention RHP Drew Tolson and first-team All-Big 12 honoree RHP Troy Montemayor. Additionally, Montemayor's phenomenal breakout season under Strauss earned him a 2016 ABCA first-team All-Region nod as he converted 14 of 15 save chances with a 0.78 ERA and 22 strikeouts in 23 innings.
During his time with the Waves, the Southern California native helped Rodriguez win two West Coast Conference regular season titles, two WCC Tournament titles, make three NCAA Regional and one Super Regional appearances. He helped develop All-American and 2014 WCC Pitcher of the Year Aaron Brown along with 15 All-WCC pitchers, four WCC All-Freshman Team pitchers and had 12 pitchers taken in the MLB Draft. From 2010-15 Pepperdine pitchers compiled a 3.78 ERA and 1.39 WHIP with 34 complete games, 24 shutouts, 71 saves, 3,002 hits allowed, 1,264 walks and 2,194 strikeouts in 342 games and 3,053.1 innings.
Prior to his time at Pepperdine, Strauss had three separate stays with Long Beach State as an assistant coach (1995-2000, 2006, 2008-09). At LBSU, he helped the program win three Big West championships, appear in six Regionals and finish third at the 1998 College World Series. In 2008, five of his pitchers were taken in the first five rounds of the MLB Draft, including Big West Pitcher of the Year Andrew Liebel. Overall, 65 players signed pro contracts while Strauss was at Long Beach State.
Among his other coaching stops, Strauss spent the 2007 season as an assistant coach at San Jose State, serving as pitching coach, third base coach and recruiting coordinator. From 2003-05 he was the pitching coach and recruiting coordinator for Loyola Marymount, where he had 11 pitchers sign pro deals and won two West Coast Conference Divisional Championship titles. From 2001-02 he was head coach at Glendale Community College, compiling a 66-25 record as he guided GCC to league titles each year and was twice named Western State Conference Coach of the Year.
As a player, Strauss spent two seasons at College of the Canyons before being a catcher at Long Beach State for College World Series runs in 1993 and 1994. He spent a year in the New York Yankees' minor league system before graduating from LBSU in 1996 with a Bachelor of Arts in psychology. He and his wife Nikki have two sons, Casey and Braden, and a yellow lab named Cutter.