Allen, Miller named Texas Baseball assistant coaches, Bishop retained

Sean Allen and Philip Miller join the Texas coaching staff after serving under head coach David Pierce at Tulane and Sam Houston State.

Press release via University of Texas Athletics.

AUSTIN, Texas — Sean Allen and Philip Miller, who have served as assistant coaches on David Pierce’s staffs for the last five years at both Tulane and Sam Houston State, have been named assistant coaches at Texas, Pierce announced Friday. They will begin their appointments immediately.

“I’ve had the opportunity to coach both sides of the game — pitching and hitting — so when I look at Sean and Philip, I know they fit into the philosophy that works for us,” Pierce said. “That philosophy is based on trust and loyalty, and it’s what has allowed us to remain together as a staff for as many years as we have. Both have great expertise about the game, and I have full confidence in our abilities as a group. This transition is going to help us in creating success as efficiently as possible for the program.”

Allen and Miller bring strong ties to the state of Texas from their time with Pierce at SHSU. In addition, Allen is a graduate of the University of Houston, lettering with the Cougars from 1998-2001, and served as a member of the staff there from 2002-07. For Miller, it was his second stint at Sam Houston State, after first serving as an assistant there from 2007-09.

“People have been recognizing their efforts and abilities for years, and The University of Texas baseball program will benefit by having both Sean and Philip in burnt orange,” Pierce said. “Sean will be our recruiting coordinator, and he knows the state of Texas as well as I do, which will be a great asset to the program. He’ll also serve as our hitting and infield coach, the same role he has had on my staff since 2012. Philip will instruct both the catchers and outfielders and serve as assistant hitting coach. He’s a tireless worker, and he’ll assist Sean with recruiting duties.”

Allen, 37, comes to Texas with 15 years of coaching experience at the collegiate level. Most recently, he was associate head coach under Pierce with the Green Wave. He was Pierce’s lead recruiter, playing a major part in leading Tulane to NCAA Regional appearances in both of his seasons in New Orleans.

In addition to recruiting, Allen worked primarily with hitters and infielders. Under his guidance, the Tulane offense pounded out 66 home runs to lead the American Athletic Conference and rank 13th in the nation in 2016. Tulane had three players hit double-digit home runs in a single season for the first time since 2005, while leading the AAC in slugging percentage (.423) and ranking second in runs scored (355), RBI (324) and walks (258).

Five hitters earned all-conference honors, including shortstop Stephen Alemais, who became a 2016 All-AAC First Team selection and a third-round pick (No. 105 overall) of the Pittsburgh Pirates in this year’s Major League Baseball Draft.

Prior to Tulane, Allen served as an assistant coach with Pierce at Sam Houston State for three seasons. There, he helped the Bearkats to three straight Southland Conference titles, while receiving NCAA Regional berths in each of those seasons. In 2014, the team ranked 25th in the nation and second in the conference in hits (610). It also led the conference in scoring (5.7 rpg), home runs (31) and slugging percentage (.390).

From 2008 to 2011, Allen served as an assistant coach at Florida International University, where he was recruiting coordinator and pitching coach and assisted with the infielders. Allen helped the Panthers put together a 130-103-1 record, while also earning NCAA Regional berths in 2010 and 2011, and capturing the Sun Belt Conference title in 2010.

In his first full season as pitching coach in 2009, Allen was instrumental in turning around FIU’s staff. After finishing at or near the bottom of the Sun Belt in 2008 in various categories, his tutelage turned the Panthers’ staff into one of the conference’s best. For most of 2009, FIU led the conference in ERA, while the Panthers finished with the lead in strikeouts and surrendered the fewest walks with a single-season school record low of 88.

Allen’s coaching career began as a student assistant with Houston in 2002 where he worked with the UH infield and coached first base. He spent the next five seasons as an assistant coach with the Cougars, helping guide UH to NCAA Tournament appearances in 2002, 2003 and 2006.

As Houston’s hitting and infield coach, Allen played a major role in the offensive development of Brad Lincoln, a consensus All-American who was named the National Player of the Year by four different outlets in 2006. That same season, Allen’s lineup hit 71 home runs, the fifth-highest total in UH single-season history, while batting .314 and slugging .544.

A four-year letterman with the Cougars from 1998 to 2001, Allen concluded his playing career as UH’s all-time leader with 542 assists. During that time, the Cougars competed in an NCAA Super Regional and advanced to NCAA postseason play in three consecutive seasons.

The Carlsbad, N.M., native earned his bachelor’s degree in sports administration from Houston in 2001. He is married to the former Stephanie Beyelia, a former soccer standout at UH.

Miller, 33, spent the last five seasons as an assistant coach under Pierce at Tulane and Sam Houston State.

Working primarily with catchers and outfielders, while also assisting hitters, Miller tutored Tulane catcher Jake Rogers, who was one of the best defensive catchers in college baseball during his time with the Green Wave. In his career, Rogers – the Houston Astros’ third-round selection in this year’s draft and an All-AAC First Team member – gunned down 83-of-146 (.568) potential base stealers, including 27-of-43 (.628) in 2016. Tulane’s three catchers also helped the pitching staff lead the nation with 13 shutouts.

In three seasons with Pierce at Sam Houston State – Miller’s second stint with the SHSU program – Miller was instrumental in helping the Bearkats to each of their Southland Conference titles and NCAA Regional appearances. From 2012 to 2014, those SHSU squads racked up 40, 38 and 43 wins, respectively. The 43 wins marked the second-highest total for the Bearkats since their jump to Division I in 1987. In 2012, Sam Houston State earned national rankings in each of the major collegiate baseball polls (ranking as high as No. 20) for the first time in program history.

In 2010 and 2011, Miller was an assistant coach at his alma mater, Northwestern State (La.). There, he served as infield and defensive coach, while also handling first base coaching duties. During the 2010 season, he helped a league-high seven NSU student-athletes to All-Southland Conference honors.

Miller held his first assistant coaching role at Sam Houston State from 2007 to 2009 where he was the outfield and first base coach, while assisting hitters, infielders and catchers. He coached three All-Americans and six All-Southland Conference outfielders.

Prior to his coaching career, Miller played four seasons at Northwestern State. During his freshman and senior seasons, the Demons took home the regular season Southland Conference title, earning a bid to an NCAA Regional in 2005 as an at-large selection.

The Clinton, La., native earned his bachelor’s in business administration from Northwestern State in 2005 and his master’s in education from Sam Houston State in 2010. He is married to former NSU softball standout Lyndsey (Gorski) Miller and the couple has a two-year-old daughter, Meredith Mae.

In addition to the assistant coaching hires, Pierce has retained Drew Bishop as the director of baseball operations. Bishop has held that role with the Longhorns program since 2009 after completing a four-year playing career (2005-08) at UT.