PULLMAN, Wash. — Thursday marked the beginning of a new era for Washington State baseball.
Nathan Choate was introduced as the new baseball head coach at WSU. He comes to Pullman after spending the last four seasons at Loyola Marymount.
Choate emphasized one key idea in his introductory press conference.
"This is your team, right? What I would like, it's going to take some time, I want it to be our team. And it's going to take me earning their respect, earning the community's respect, I've been to enough of these, where people stand up here and they promise all the things in the world. Actions speak louder than words," Choate said.
"And it's true. This is the communities, it's the university's program. It's the current players, the alumni that played for different coaches over the years, they all need to feel like they're a part of it. I happen to just be the leader right now and the gatekeeper. And that's not lost on me. But it is everybody's program," said Choate.
He believes their program can win.
"I asked Laurie (Choate's wife), I said, 'Hey, what do you think about moving to Pullman, Washington?' And she goes, this was her question. 'Can you win there?' I said, 'Yeah, you can win there," said Choate on the process of deciding to take over at WSU.
For Choate, the new baseball facilities were a selling point, but just an added bonus to help build a winning team.
"I think if you get the right people in the building, you can win anywhere. And with the resources here, it can help you get the right people in the building," said Choate.
He has a sincere belief that he can turn things around at a program that hasn't made the postseason since 2010.
"I don't really focus on the things that haven't happened or how long it's been. I really just want to get the right people in the building and play good baseball. And I think if you do that, keep your head down, your mouth shut and just work and then the play will take care of itself," said Choate.
When it was time to finish the press conference by leading the crowd into the Washington State fight song, Choate practiced what he preached. He invited the players in attendance at the press conference to help lead beside him.
"It's not my program, it's our program. So, you four dudes are gonna come up here and we're going to do this together," he said to those in attendance.
Choate takes over for the Cougs after earning the 2023 West Coast Conference Coach of the Year Award after leading his Loyola Marymount Lions to their first outright WCC title in the last 25 years.
Now, he's hoping to end a postseason draught in Pullman.
DOWNLOAD THE KREM SMARTPHONE APP
DOWNLOAD FOR IPHONE HERE | DOWNLOAD FOR ANDROID HERE
HOW TO ADD THE KREM+ APP TO YOUR STREAMING DEVICE
ROKU: Add the channel from the ROKU store or by searching for KREM in the Channel Store.
Fire TV: Search for "KREM" to find the free app to add to your account. Another option for Fire TV is to have the app delivered directly to your Fire TV through Amazon.
To report a typo or grammatical error, please email webspokane@krem.com.