Lamar head baseball coach Will Davis is set to become the next head coach of the Houston Cougars next season. The 41-year-old has been the head coach of the Lamar Cardinals since 2017 and has been very successful in Beaumont, Texas. He will replace the former, long-time head coach of the Cougars, Todd Whitting.
Davis and his coaching career at Lamar and LSU
Davis has won 289 total games with the Cardinals. He has led Lamar to five-straight 30+ win seasons.
Davis’ best season with the Cardinals came in 2024. Lamar finished with a 44-15 overall record and a 17-7 record in Southland Conference play. He won the 2024 Southland Conference Coach of the Year award that season. The Cardinals won the conference regular season title that season.
Davis also led Lamar to 40 total wins in 2025. That same season, the Cardinals won 20 Southland Conference games.
Before coaching at Lamar, Davis served as an assistant coach with the LSU Tigers from 2009 to 2015. He was a part of Paul Mainieri’s staff on LSU’s 2009 team that won the national championship. He handled on-field coaching duties for the Tigers as well as recruiting.
Davis also played catcher at LSU from 2004 to 2007.
Lamar’s big-time 2026 season
Davis led Lamar to the NCAA Tournament in 2026. It is the Cardinals’ first NCAA Tournament appearance in 16 years. Lamar finished the season with a 34-25 overall record and a 19-11 record in Southland play.
The Cardinals won the 2026 Southland Conference tournament title, earning them an automatic bid.
Lamar is the four-seed in the College Station regional in the 2026 NCAA Tournament. Their first game of the regional will be against the Texas A&M Aggies, who are not only the regional’s host, but also the number 12 national seed.
The game between Texas A&M and Lamar is on Friday, May 29, at Blue Bell Park. The first pitch is at 4 p.m. ET, and the game is on SEC Network.
WBN NCAA: https://worldbaseball.com/league/ncaa/
PHOTO: Lamar head coach Will Davis (44) during an NCAA baseball game against Rice on Tuesday, March 4, 2025, in Houston. Lamar won 11-7. (AP Photo/Mike Buscher)
