An accomplished recruiter and a National Champion as a player, Nolan Cain joins the Texas Baseball staff as Associate Head Coach after spending the last three seasons on head coach Jim Schlossnagle’s staff.
The former Texas A&M and LSU assistant, Cain also pitched at LSU and was a member of the 2009 National Championship team that defeated Texas in the College World Series finals.
Cain joined Texas A&M as an assistant coach in June of 2021 and was promoted to Associate Head Coach prior to the 2024 season. During his time with the Aggies, Cain headed up recruiting efforts for the program, along with coaching third base in-game and working with the catchers.
Texas A&M reached historic levels in 2024 with their best-ever NCAA runner-up finish and 53 total wins, which tied for the second-most in program history. The Aggies squad was built around outstanding pitching (fourth-best nationally in ERA at 3.86/nation-leading 12 shutouts/school-record 715 strikeouts), great fielding, reliable big bats (fourth-best nationally in home runs with 136) and clutch hitting. A&M also had an all-time program-best five players earn All-America honors on the year, catcher Jackson Appel; outfielders Braden Montgomery and Jace LaViolette; reliever Evan Aschenbeck and starter Ryan Prager.
Cain is recognized as one of the top recruiters in the nation and is responsible for Texas A&M’s 2022 class that included All-American outfielder Jace LaViolette and pitchers Justin Lamkin and Shane Sdao. He followed that up with a class that featured freshman All-American third baseman Gavin Grahovac and first-year starter in the outfield Caden Sorrell. His 2024 recruiting class at Texas A&M also received a top-10 ranking from Perfect Game. Under Cain's direction, the Aggies also secured the No. 1 transfer portal class in the country, per D1Baseball.com in 2023. Three of his last four recruiting classes at LSU were ranked in the national top five, including a No. 2 ranking by Baseball America for his 2020 class. His 2018 recruiting class earned the top spot from Baseball America and Collegiate Baseball. The 2017 class was ranked No. 5 by Collegiate Baseball.
In Cain’s three seasons in College Station, the Aggies’ rise to dominance was marked by winning nearly 70 percent (135-62) of their games. And the success was immediate as Texas A&M went 44-20 and advanced to the CWS in the staff’s first year in 2022. The Aggies were one of the final four teams remaining that year and won their first games in Omaha in 20 years (since 1993) that season. That was the first A&M squad to reach the final four in Omaha, and matched the total number of CWS wins in program history in just year one. Texas A&M also won the SEC Western Division title with a 19-11 mark with Jacob Palisch and Dylan Rock earning All-America recognition, and Micah Dallas, Joseph Menefee and Rock getting selected in the MLB Draft.
The Aggies followed up a 2022 run to Omaha by turning in 38 wins in 2023 and advancing to the championship game of the SEC Tournament. They were then selected as one of a record 10 SEC teams to make the NCAA Tournament, reaching the finals of the Stanford Regional.
Cain spent eight seasons on former head coach Paul Manieri's staff at LSU, including five seasons as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator. He also worked one season as the Tigers' volunteer coach and two seasons as coordinator of operations.
During that span with LSU, the Tigers earned five NCAA Tournament national seeds, two College World Series appearances, five NCAA Regional titles, two SEC championships and two SEC Tournament crowns.
Cain’s success can be seen at the next level with a list of professionals that include Major Leaguer Jake Fraley of the Seattle Mariners (a second-round draft pick), Oakland Athletics’ 2017 second-round choice Greg Deichmann, Texas Rangers' 2019 second-round pick Josh Smith, Baltimore Orioles’ 2019 third-round selection Zach Watson and Detroit Tigers’ 2020 second-round pick Daniel Cabrera. He mentored LSU catchers Saul Garza and Hunter Feduccia, both picked in the MLB Draft.
He also had a hand in recruiting and/or coaching a number of other notable draftees including 2023 first-round choices Dylan Crews and Ty Floyd, along with other top-3 round selections Cole Henry, Jaden Hill, Cade Doughty, Grant Taylor and Tre' Morgan.
Cain was a four-year letterwinner at LSU, making 73 career appearances, including 71 out of the bullpen, for the Tigers in four seasons (2006-09). He posted a 7-1 record with one save, a 4.04 ERA and 95 strikeouts in 102.4 innings.
The right-hander played a big role on LSU’s 2009 national title run, pitching in 19 games, posting a 5-0 record with a 4.01 ERA and 38 strikeouts in 33.2 innings. He pitched 3.1 scoreless innings with four strikeouts in Game 2 of the College World Series Finals against Texas.
Cain signed a free agent contract with the Detroit Tigers in June 2009 and pitched for two seasons in the organization, including four games with the Double-A Erie SeaWolves.
The Cantonment, Florida, native earned a bachelor’s degree in interdisciplinary studies from LSU in May 2009.
Cain is married to the former Kristen Hobbs, an LSU softball player from 2004-07. They have a son, Cason, and a daughter, Ryann.
