Grand Canyon baseball hires Steve Bieser as next coach

PHOENIX – After parting ways with its coach in late March, Grand Canyon University was faced with one of the most consequential hiring cycles in the baseball program’s history. 

Armed with the resources and facilities to compete with the nation’s top schools, GCU had to hire someone not only to stabilize things, but to maximize the potential of a program that the school believes is one of college baseball’s sleeping giants. 

With university special advisor Jerry Colangelo in attendance, GCU introduced Steve Bieser as the Lopes’ new coach at a news conference on Thursday. The former Suns and Diamondbacks owner expressed full support for the hire to GCU vice president of athletics Jamie Boggs and GCU president Brian Mueller. 

“Jamie and Brian could not have done better in finding a person with your qualities and your experience,” Colangelo said, speaking directly to Bieser. “The man that you are and the goals that you have, it can’t be any better for the university.” 

Boggs believes Bieser is the right fit to lead GCU into the program’s next era. 

“The numbers don’t lie, Steve Bieser wins everywhere,” Boggs said. “He’s established himself as one of the premier coaches for player development. He’s a former major leaguer and he knows what it takes to get to the highest level.”

Bieser arrives in Phoenix after a brief but successful stint at Jacksonville State. The Gamecocks captured 48 wins and a berth in the NCAA tournament this past season, including a 15-4, eight-inning victory over top-five ranked Auburn.

“He wanted a place where he could win a College World Series and where he could be bold in his faith,” Boggs said. “And he found it at GCU.”  

Before Jacksonville State, Bieser spent seven seasons in Columbia as the coach at Missouri, and four at Southeast Missouri State. 

“I knew right away when I walked out from my meeting that this is the place I needed to be,” Bieser said. “We have excellent facilities, we have a passionate fanbase, we have a commitment from the leadership, we are a growing national brand without a doubt.” 

Bieser’s tenure in Columbia yielded mixed results. The Tigers record fell below .500 just once under Bieser, but they fell short of appearing in the NCAA tournament in each of his seven seasons. Bieser believes his experience in the SEC will serve him well in his new position. 

“At Missouri there were a lot of challenges,” Bieser said. “I may have gotten a little bit away from my plan and just tried to be a little bit different than who I am. You can never be different from who you are. I embraced it and I love the challenge and it’s really that never-give-up attitude and making sure you’re always fighting to continue to do your best.” 

Bieser will be tasked with restoring confidence and consistency to a program that has been to the NCAA tournament three times since COVID-19 under two different coaches. However, the Lopes finished this past season 31-27, failing to earn a regional appearance. They dismissed coach Gregg Wallis in March. 

“We want to make sure that every program in the West knows there’s not a better facility,” Bieser said. “There’s not a better place to get developed and that’s what we’re out to do, we want to build those motivations.” 

GCU was a particularly attractive option to Bieser, who wanted a place to coach and further his faith. 

“I have a real desire to coach players in a faith-led environment,” Bieser said. “I understand that this opportunity is bigger than baseball and I don’t take that lightly.” 

Bieser credited his success at Jacksonville State to the culture he built in a short period of time, a process he’ll attempt to replicate in the desert. 

“How you retain players is you make sure they understand they have the best coaches in the country,” Bieser said. “Coaches that are completely committed to them and to developing them. When they feel that day in and day out they don’t want to go anywhere else.” 

Expectations will be high for Bieser’s early tenure. Mueller even believes GCU could be in national title contention in as little as three seasons.

“I told my wife ‘We’re going to be 75 years old in three years and so we’re going to make a big trip,’” Mueller said. “‘We’re going to Omaha in three years.’ 

“I’m now convinced we have a great chance to do that.” 

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