Ty McDevitt - Baseball Coach - University of Minnesota Athletics

Photo by: Brad Rempel

Ty McDevitt

Title:
Head Coach

The McDevitt File

PERSONAL INFORMATION
Hometown: Apple Valley, Minn.
High School: Eastview
College: University of Minnesota, B.A. in Sociology

PLAYING CAREER
University of Minnesota, Pitcher, 2012-16

COACHING DUTIES
Head Coach

COACHING CAREER
University of Minnesota
Head Coach, 2024 - present
Pitching Coach, 2019 - 2024
Volunteer Assistant, 2017 - 2018

Ty McDevitt was named the head baseball coach at the University of Minnesota on May 22, 2024.

McDevitt, 31, is Minnesota's 16th head coach in program history (the Gophers had two coaches in both the 1910 and 1922 seasons), but is only the program's fourth head coach since 1948. Dick Siebert led the Gophers from 1948-78 and was then followed by George Thomas who was at the helm from 1979-81. McDevitt follows John Anderson, who coached Minnesota for 43 seasons from 1982-2024 and amassed 1,390 wins.

Throughout his first season at the helm of Gopher Baseball, McDevitt tallied a 24-28 overall record (10-20 Big Ten) and finished 16th in the final Big Ten Conference standings. He picked up his first win in the Gophers' season opener against the University of Houston, collecting a 14-3 victory on the road against the Cougars.

McDevitt wrapped up his eighth season on the University of Minnesota coaching staff and sixth full season as the Gophers' pitching coach in 2024. McDevitt previously served as a volunteer assistant for the Gophers from 2017 to 2018. The Gophers pitching staff had a resurgent 2024 season under his tutelage, ranking first in the Big Ten in fewest earned runs and home runs allowed, third in ERA, K/H per nine innings and hits allowed and fourth in strikeouts.

He joined the Gopher baseball coaching staff after playing five seasons in the program as one of the staple pieces of the Minnesota bullpen. During his time as a player (2012-16), McDevitt made 45 appearances for the Golden Gophers, including five starts. He posted a 9-4 career record and had an era under 4.00 in three of his seasons. During his senior year in 2016, McDevitt earned a 3.77 ERA with a 4-1 record, totaling 23 strikeouts in 28.2 innings pitched out of the bullpen. Minnesota went on to win the 2016 Big Ten Championship, the program’s first league title since 2010. The team also went on to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in six seasons.

In his eight seasons on the staff, he has morphed Minnesota into a national contender. Under his watch, the Gophers have had two All-Americans, a Big Ten Pitcher of the Year, the Big Ten Freshman of the Year, four First Team All-Big Ten selections, two Second Team All-Big Ten nods, an All-Big Ten Third Team honoree and two Big Ten All-Freshman Team members. Nine times Minnesota hurlers pitchers have been named Big Ten Pitcher of the Week under McDevitt.

Since the 2017 season, 11 different Minnesota pitchers have been selected in the MLB Draft, including seven in the top-10 rounds. The Gophers have had pitchers drafted in all seven of McDevitt’s seasons at the ‘U’, and that streak is expected to continue in the 2024 draft.

Under McDevitt's tutelage from 2018-20, pitcher Max Meyer evolved from a 34th round draft pick out of Woodbury High School in 2017 to the No. 3 overall pick in the 2020 MLB draft. McDevitt helped Meyer find success as a reliever in his freshman season, where he posted a 2.06 ERA and tied the program record of 16 saves en route to an All-America campaign.

Thanks to McDevitt, Meyer successfully transitioned to the starting rotation in 2019, a move that significantly enhanced his draft stock and featured 76.2 innings of 2.11 ERA work. For his junior encore, Meyer went 3-1 as the ace of the staff with a team-low 1.95 ERA and 46 strikeouts, which tied for fifth in the entire NCAA.

Also under McDevitt’s tutelage, Minnesota’s 2024 starting pitcher Connor Wietgrefe was named First Team All-Big Ten, the first Gopher to earn that honor since 2019 and first pitcher since 2018. The southpaw had a 8-4 record in 13 starts. His eight wins were tied for first and his 2.77 ERA ranked second among Big Ten pitchers.

McDevitt aided the Gophers to the 2018 Big Ten Regular Season and Tournament Championships, as well as its first ever Super Regional. From 2017-19, the Maroon and Gold posted a 3.84 ERA and a 1.32 WHIP while striking out an astounding 1,396 hitters in just three seasons. In 2017 and 2018, the Golden Gopher pitching staff saw vast improvements in nearly every statistical category under his watch, while ranking among the elite in the nation in ERA, strikeouts, WHIP and K per/9.

In six seasons, Minnesota pitchers averaged 9.0 K/9. Aside from the 2023 season which McDevitt missed due to a battle with Lyme disease, the Gophers have increased their strikeouts every year since 2021. In 2017, the pitching staff registered a 7.2 K/9, a number that improved to 7.5 K/9 in 2018. During the 2019 season, the Gophers pitched to a 9.6 K/9, a mark that again increased to 11.7 K/9 in the abbreviated 2020 season.

2019 marked a historic season for McDevitt's arms, who boasted a Top 10 National ranking in both ERA (3.18) and WHIP (1.21). The Gopher pitching staff also set an all-time program record in 2019 with 536 strikeouts. In addition, McDevitt’s staff led the Big Ten (Conference Games) in ERA (2.64), OBA (.217), Wins (18), least amount of runs and hits allowed while finishing among the top five in all games in ERA (3.20), OPA (.232) and strikeouts (445).

Three of McDevitt’s pitchers in Max Meyer, Pat Fredrickson and Reggie Meyer garnered All-Big Ten honors with Max Meyer and Pat Fredrickson receiving unanimous All-American honors from D1Baseball.com, Collegiate Baseball Newspaper, Baseball America, ABCA/Rawlings, PerfectGame and NCBWA. Fredrickson also became the first pitcher in program history to be crowned the Big Ten Freshman and Big Ten Pitcher of the Year in the same season.

A proponent of a strong backend bullpen, McDevitt has nearly rewritten the pitching records at Minnesota in just two years. In back-to-back seasons both Brian Glowicki and Max Meyer have been named NCBWA Stopper of the Year Award nominees as both have broken the Minnesota single season saves record (16). Additionally, Brett Schulze, a starter in 2016 as a true freshman, blossomed under McDevitt in a middle relief role as sophomore posting the fifth most wins of all-time (nine) and the most for a relief pitcher in the history of Gopher Baseball.

Known for his ability to develop high school arms into MLB Draft prospects, McDevitt has overseen the development of numerous pitchers in the last eight seasons. Notables include Max Meyer (Miami Marlins), Brett Schulze (Philadelphia Phillies), Jake Stevenson (Cincinnati Reds), Nick Lackney (Philadelphia Phillies), Reggie Meyer (Texas Rangers), Jackson Rose (Miami Marlins), Tyler Hanson (Colorado Rockies), Brian Glowicki (Chicago Cubs), Lucas Gilbreath (Colorado Rockies), Dalton Sawyer (Oakland Athletics), J.P. Massey (Pittsburgh Pirates), Aidan Maldonado (Milwaukee Brewers) and George Klassen (Philadelphia Phillies). With the exception of Max Meyer and Gilbreath, none of the aforementioned players had previously been drafted before arriving at Minnesota.

Nationally respected for his forward thinking, McDevitt combines his knowledge of exercise science with an education in the social sciences to develop healthy and competitive pitching staffs known for their GRIT and toughness. A frequent speaker at SportsCon Analytics Conference and other pitching and coaching conferences throughout the state of Minnesota, McDevitt is a proponent of analytical and video technology that has translated into increased velocity among countless Gopher hurlers, a decrease in injuries and a heightened reliance on spin metrics.

Prior to joining the Gopher Baseball staff, McDevitt founded and instructed at The Cages and NorthStar Baseball Club. During his time at the Burnsville, Minn., facility, McDevitt graduated numerous arms to Division I baseball and most notably, Sam Carlson, a second round pick by the Seattle Mariners.

The native of Apple Valley, Minnesota, earned a degree in Sociology from the University of Minnesota while also pursuing a master’s degree in Sport and Exercise Science. McDevitt and his wife, Claire, welcomed their daughter, Mila, to the world in August 2021 and son Max in August 2024.