Tim Tadlock appears to have the new pitching coach for the Texas Tech baseball team, and it’s someone with a professional pedigree.
Kendall Rogers of D1Baseball reported Friday through social media that the Red Raiders are bringing on Steve Foster to be the team’s new pitching coach. The move comes after parting ways with Matt Gardner, who served in the role for 12 seasons before Tech opted not to bring back Gardner, who has since been hired at Houston.
Foster spent seven years as pitching coach for the Colorado Rockies of the MLB, being hired before the 2015 season and stepping down after the 2021 season to serve the organization in another capacity. He also served as bullpen coach for the Miami Marlins from 2006-2009 and Kansas City Royals from 2009-2012 before being elevated to special assistant to the general manager and pitching coordinator for the Royals.
During his time with the Rockies, Foster worked with the likes of Kyle Freeland, Jon Gray, German Marquez, Tyler Anderson and Chad Bettis, the Monterey graduate and Texas Tech alum who pitched for Colorado from 2013 to 2019.
MLB teams drafted a total of 25 pitchers in Gardner’s tenure with the Red Raiders, though production and on-field success have declined in recent years.
Texas Tech was second-to-last in team ERA in the Big 12 Conference for the second year in a row in 2025, the team posting a 6.49 ERA after accumulating a 6.19 ERA in 2024. The Red Raiders have missed out on an NCAA regional each of the last two seasons.
Foster is a graduate of DeSoto and spent seven years on the professional circuit as a player, joining the MLB ranks with the Cincinnati Reds during the 1991, 1992, and 1993 seasons.
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Former Rockies pitching coach Steve Foster to join Texas Tech baseball staff | Reports
Reporting by Nathan Giese, Lubbock Avalanche-Journal / Lubbock Avalanche-Journal
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
