Rob Walton - Assistant Coach/Pitching - Cowboy Baseball Coaches

Rob Walton

Title:
Assistant Coach/Pitching
Email:
robert.walton@okstate.edu

The Walton File
• 1983-86: Played at Oklahoma State
• 1986-89: Played in Baltimore Orioles organization
• 1996-98: Area Supervisor for Cleveland Indians
• 1999-2003: Oral Roberts assistant coach
• 2004-12: Oral Roberts head coach
• 2013-: Oklahoma State assistant coach

• In 12 seasons as OSU's pitching coach, he has coached 41 All-Big 12 pitchers, seven All-Americans, two Big 12 Pitcher of the Year honorees and two first-round MLB Draft picks
• Under his guidance, the 2022 OSU pitching staff shattered the program record for strikeouts in a season with 679
• Named the 2016 ABCA/Baseball America Assistant Coach of the Year
• In nine seasons (2004-12) as head coach at Oral Roberts compiled a 367-167 (.687) record
• Led Golden Eagles to nine NCAA Tournament appearances
• ORU had five 40-plus win seasons and a 50-win campaign in 2004
• Coached 16 All-Americans, 14 conference players of the year and 12 conference pitchers of the year at ORU
• Five-time Summit League Coach of the Year
• Was named the 2004 ABCA Midwest Region Coach of the Year
• Served as Team USA head coach in 2008 and led club to FISU gold medal
• Was Team USA assistant coach in 2005 & 2011

    Former Oklahoma State standout Rob Walton returned to Stillwater in June 2012 to join Cowboy head coach Josh Holliday’s staff as pitching coach.

    A 2018 inductee into the Cowboy Baseball Hall of Fame, Walton’s tutelage has been a significant key to OSU’s resurgence over the last 12 seasons, with his pitching staffs a key force behind a run that includes a College World Series berth, 11 NCAA Regional appearances, three NCAA Super Regionals and four Big 12 Conference championships. In 2016, he was named the ABCA/Baseball America Assistant Coach of the Year in college baseball.

    “Pitching and defense are the keys to winning at any level,” Walton said. “We want to be able to put together a pitching staff that is in the top 10 in the country year in and year out. We have to recruit really good athletes who have an opportunity to get better and get our pitching staff among the best in the country. If we can, that will give us an opportunity to win every game that we play.”

    The Cowboys’ success under Walton includes 41 All-Big 12 pitchers, seven All-Americans, two Big 12 Pitcher of the Year honorees and 41 Major League Baseball Draft picks, including a pair of first rounders.

    Additionally, OSU’s pitching staff led the Big 12 in ERA in conference-only games in 2014 and 2015, and the ’15 group turned in the lowest ERA by a Cowboy pitching staff in over 40 years.

     OSU is coming off a 2024 season in which its pitching staff tallied 663 strikeouts, the second-highest single season toal in program history. It marked the third consecutive season the Cowboys topped 600 Ks in a season, which is the only three times in program history it has occurred. The 663 strikeouts ranked eighth nationally, and the staff was second in the NCAA with a 3.35 strikeout-to-walk ratio.

     Additionally, the Cowboys ranked in the top 10 nationally in strikeouts per nine innings and WHIP, and they led the Big 12 and ranked 11th in the nation with a 4.08 ERA.

     Under Waltons tutelage, Brian Holiday earned All-America honors in 2024, and Holiday and Sam Garcia both recorded 100 strikeouts on the season, marking only the fifth time in program history the Cowboys have had two pitchers reach the century mark in the same season.

     In 2023, OSU’s pitching staff racked up 627 strikeouts and ranked seventh nationally with 10.7 strikeouts per nine innings. That season also saw the emergence of Isaac Stebens into an All-American who led the Big 12 with a 2.24 ERA that ranked 10th nationally.

    In 2022, OSU’s pitching staff shattered the program record for strikeouts in a season with 679. Led by two-time All-American Justin Campbell, the Cowboys ranked fifth nationally in punchouts and seventh in strikeouts per nine innings at 10.7.

    The 2022 staff also had six hurlers collect All-Big 12 honors, and seven pitchers were selected in the ’22 Major League Baseball Draft.

    Walton made an immediate impact in his first season back in Stillwater. The Cowboys’ pitching staff finished with a 3.04 ERA, the lowest by an OSU staff since 1973, and ranked in the top 10 nationally in strikeout-to-walk ratio.

    Under Walton’s guidance, six Cowboys earned All-Big 12 accolades in 2013 and a pair of Cowboy hurlers finished in the top 10 in the Big 12 Conference in ERA. He also helped Jason Hursh develop into a first-round draft pick of the Atlanta Braves in the Major League Baseball Draft in June.

    In 2014, OSU finished second in the Big 12 in strikeouts and saves, and two Cowboy hurlers — Vince Wheeland and Jon Perrin — ranked in the top 10 in the league in ERA and wins. Walton also coached a trio of All-Big 12 First Team hurlers (Wheeland, Perrin and Brendan McCurry), while McCurry set OSU’s single-season and career saves records and was a consensus All-American.

     Walton’s third OSU staff also shined. The Cowboys ranked eighth in the NCAA in 2015 with a 2.84 team ERA, the lowest by an OSU group since 1973. In Big 12 Conference play, that ERA dipped to a league-best 2.50.

    The 2015 season also saw Walton pupil Michael Freeman blossom into one of college baseball’s top pitchers. The southpaw was a consensus All-American and the Big 12 Pitcher of the Year, and he ranked sixth nationally with a 1.31 ERA, the fifth lowest in a single season in OSU history.

    The 2016 season saw OSU return to the College World Series for the first time since 1999, and pitching was the biggest reason why.

    Led by All-American and Big 12 Pitcher of the Year Thomas Hatch, the Cowboys racked up 10 shutouts, 574 strikeouts and 21 saves, all of which ranked as the second-highest totals in program history.

    In the postseason, OSU’s pitching staff carried it to Omaha. The Cowboys turned in a 1.58 ERA in their nine NCAA Tournament games, the lowest of any team in the tourney, as they allowed only 14 earned runs in 80 innings and also tossed a tournament-best three shutouts.

    At the College World Series, where OSU finished third, the Cowboys opened play with consecutive 1-0 wins, marking the first time in history a team recorded back-to-back 1-0 shutouts at the CWS.

    Seven pitchers off OSU’s 2016 pitching staff were drafted by Major League Baseball, with Hatch’s third-round selection leading the way.

    In 2019, OSU’s pitching staff tossed seven shutouts, the sixth most in the NCAA that season. The total tied for the fourth highest in a single season in program history and marked only the seventh time the Cowboys have posted seven or more shutouts in a season — four of those seasons have come under Walton’s guidance.

    Walton’s tutelage resulted in Jensen Elliott leading the Big 12 with 10 wins in 2019, and he also finished his career with 22 wins, the 10th most in OSU history. Additionally, Parker Scott turned in a Big 12-best 1.11 ERA in conference games.

    Five members of the Cowboys’ pitching staff were selected in the 2019 MLB Draft, including top-10 rounders Logan Gragg and Peyton Battenfield.

    In 2021, Walton helped mold Justin Campbell into an All-American, and the Cowboys tossed seven shutouts, the 11th most in the NCAA on the season and the fourth highest total in a season in program history.

    Prior to returning to Stillwater, Walton spent the previous 14 years at Oral Roberts University in Tulsa, where he was the Golden Eagles’ head coach for nine seasons. He was a four-year letterwinner as a pitcher at OSU from 1983-86 and played on four College World Series teams for the Cowboys.

    In his nine seasons at the helm of ORU, Walton compiled a 367-167 (.687) record and was named the Summit League Coach of the Year five times. Under his direction, the Golden Eagles were an NCAA Tournament team each year and produced five seasons with 40 or more wins, including a 50-win campaign in 2004.

    In his 14 seasons in Tulsa, Walton helped ORU produce 16 All-Americans, 14 conference player or co-players of the year and 12 conference pitchers of the year. Additionally, the Golden Eagles had 45 players selected in the Major League Baseball Draft over that span.

     During Walton’s tenure, ORU continued its record streak of conference championships, which reached 15 in 2012. With Walton as head coach, the Golden Eagles made nine NCAA Regional appearances and reached a Super Regional in 2006.

    “We’re really excited to bring someone of Rob’s caliber to the program. He possesses the talents and character traits that identify our mission to develop and groom our players in an environment where teaching, discipline, passion, the ability to develop a person in all phases of their life, on the field and off, are the focus, as is the commitment to building a championship team,” Holliday said. “When this opportunity to bring Rob into our program presented itself, and after sitting and talking with him and his family and sensing the true passion for Oklahoma State, his unique and well-known talents in the game and his desire to team up and pour himself into the kids and help us become great, it was just a tremendous fit.

    “His history is of great value. He will be as good a mentor and teacher of pitching that any young athlete could hope to find. His reputation and credibility amongst the baseball community in the state of Oklahoma and across the country will enhance our recruiting efforts tremendously. He’s a winner, he’s a Cowboy, and he’s got a tremendous amount of energy to get started and be a part of what we’re doing.”

     In four seasons as a pitcher at OSU from 1983-86, Walton compiled a 20-3 record and 3.74 ERA in 54 appearances. In 204.2 career innings, he collected 147 strikeouts and tossed 10 complete games.

    As a senior, Walton led the Cowboys in wins and was 13-2 with a 3.20 ERA in 19 appearances. He also tossed nine complete games, the fourth most in a single season in OSU history.

    Following his OSU playing career, Walton was drafted by Baltimore in the 25th round of the 1986 Major League Baseball Draft and spent four seasons in the Orioles organization.

    After his stint as a player, Walton spent time as an area supervisor for the Cleveland Indians before joining the coaching ranks at Oral Roberts.

    In addition to his success at ORU, Walton served as the head coach of the 2008 USA Baseball National Team and led the club to the FISU Gold Medal. He also served as an assistant on the 2005 and 2011 USA Baseball teams.

    Walton was a three-sport star at Rutherford (N.J.) High School, earning All-State honors in baseball, basketball and soccer. He was a sixth-round draft pick of the Texas Rangers in 1982.

    Walton and his wife, Michelle, have three children — Davis, Donnie and Cassie. Donnie was an All-American shortstop for the Cowboys, starring from 2013-16, and made his Major League Baseball Debut in 2019 with Seattle.