HUNTSVILLE – Sam Houston head baseball coach Jay Sirianni has announced the hiring of David Wood as an assistant coach for the upcoming 2026 season.
"We are excited to add David Wood to our program as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator," Bearkat head coach Jay Sirianni said. "David has had success at every level of college baseball as both a player and coach. He is a tireless worker and relentless competitor who will help our student-athletes achieve their goals. David will make an immediate impact on the recruiting trail for us with his 15 years of recruiting experience in the state of Texas."
Wood will take over as the Bearkats' recruiting coordinator and comes to Sam Houston after most recently spending the 2025 season as the head coach at Odessa College. In his lone season as the Wranglers' head man he led OC to a 49-17 overall record.
That record included a 30-6 mark in the WJCAC, leading Odessa College to its first WJCAC title since 2017.
"My family and I are extremely excited to join such a great school and storied program," Wood said. "It will truly be an honor to work alongside Coach Sirianni and the rest of the staff. They have done some great things here and I am looking forward to helping them build on that success. We are very grateful for this opportunity and are ready to make a run at some Conference USA titles."
Prior to his year in Odessa, Wood spent the 2024 season as the interim head coach at San Jacinto College where he guided the Ravens to a 40-21 record.
His stint at San Jac came after serving as the head coach at University of St. Thomas in Houston, leading the Celts to their first SCAC Baseball Tournament Appearance in 2022. In 2023, the Celts had their best record in school history at 20-18. Wood's teams consistently finished with a team GPA higher than 3.0 each semester.
From 2011-2021, Wood served as the recruiting coordinator at St. Edward's University in Austin, where he led the Hilltoppers' pitching staff and worked with offense. Under Wood's guidance, the pitching staff produced four of the five lowest team ERAs in school history, including a record-breaking 2.57 team ERA in 2014. The Hilltoppers also ranked as high as sixth in the nation in Division II and won seven straight NCAA regionals and one NCAA Division II World Series appearance.
His time in coaching came after spending time in the pro ranks. In 2007, Wood played for the Royals in the Arizona League, where he won player of the year. During the 2008 season, he spent time with the Burlington Royals and the Wilmington Blue Rocks in North Carolina and Delaware, respectively. In his final season, he spent the entire year with the Burlington Bees in Class A, leading the team to the Midwest League Championship Series.
A native of Long Island, N.Y., Wood began his college career at Stony Brook where he was named to the freshman All-America East team. After transferring to Temple College, he was named to the second team all-region as both a pitcher and first baseman before moving on to Texas State for his final two seasons at the collegiate level. He was a second team all-conference selection on the 2007 Southland Conference regular season Champs. That season he set Texas State's single-season hits record with 97, a mark which still stands.
Wood holds a bachelor's degree in applied arts and sciences with a coaching emphasis from Texas State University. He and his wife, Randi, have three children, Reid, Lukas, and Wrenley.
