Nathan Choate was named the 18th head baseball coach in program history this past June. Choate arrived at WSU after leading Loyola Marymount to a 2023 West Coast Conference title while guiding the Lions to new heights in his four seasons leading the program. Choate was named the 2023 WCC Coach of the Year after leading LMU to their first outright regular season title in 25 years. Choate's LMU team also claimed six WCC Pitcher of the Week honors, a WCC Player of the Week and finished the season ranked sixth nationally in walks per nine innings and 26th nationally in walk to strikeout ratio. Throughout his coaching career Choate has coached 25 players to get drafted into the MLB. 

What are your first impressions of Pullman?  

"I've really enjoyed it; my family has enjoyed it. The biggest thing is the sense of community and the pride people in Pullman and all over the Palouse have in Washington State." 

Who is the coach who has influenced the way you coach?  

"I've been really fortunate to work for and play for some legendary coaches. My high school coach Mike Curran is one of the winningest coaches Southern California coaches of all time. In junior college I played for Don Sneddon, who is a very successful junior college coach. Ritch Price, Dave Serrano, Doug Smith, Jason Gill." 

What is the biggest game you've been a part of?  

"We went to the College World Series in 2007, at the time we played the longest College World Series game in history, that was a pretty-exciting game." 

What did you take away from winning your championship run last year with Loyola Marymount University? 

"Being a part of a team, the team that comes together and is the best team wins. It's not the best players it's the best team." 

Who is the best player you've ever seen play or coach?  

"A kid I coached at UC Riverside Joe Kelly he's had a pretty good career in the big leagues, he's with the Dodgers right now. He was probably the most talented pitcher I've coached." 

{Joe Kelly was drafted in the third round of the MLB draft and has spent 12 years in the big leagues, winning two World Series.} 

What has stood out early about this Cougar Baseball team?   

"We have some older guys that have been here for a while, I think they have a sense of wanting to leave this program at a better place than how they found it. 

What is the attitude this Cougar baseball team will bring into every game day?  

"Hungry is the word that comes to mind. It's a team that is hungry for success." 

What were you looking for when assembling this coaching staff? 

"One thing we look for coaches and recruits is people that want to be at Washington State. I think that's a big deal with the transfer portal now, people coming and going, people that want to be here, because when you hit some adversity and it gets hard, they can stick it out because they want to be here."