(LEBANON, Ill., July 30)—New McKendree University baseball coach Andrew Stepp has announced the addition of Austin Tribby to the Bearcats' staff. Tribby will serve as the pitching coach for McKendree in 2020.
 
Tribby comes to McKendree after spending the last two years as a graduate assistant pitching coach at the University of Missouri. As an aid to Missouri pitching coach Fred Corral, Tribby helped the Tigers tie for second among all Southeastern Conference squads in team earned-run average at 3.24 Missouri allowed an SEC-low 183 earned runs. The Tigers claimed back-to-back seasons of 34 victories with Tribby on staff.
 
"Austin brings a wealth experience from a top-level conference like the SEC both as a player and as a coach, as well as playing professional baseball," said Stepp. "I know our pitchers can reap the rewards from his development that he can bring and I'm very excited for him to be a part of our program."
 
No stranger to the Missouri baseball program, Tribby was a three-year letterman for the Tigers as a left-handed pitcher. He registered back-to-back seasons with 31 appearances out of the Missouri bullpen in 2014 and 2015, and currently ranks fifth in program history by pitching in 91 games.
 
Following his playing days at Missouri, Tribby was a 35^th round selection by the Minnesota Twins in the 2016 Major League Baseball Draft. He pitched that summer for the Elizabethton Twins of the rookie-level Appalachian League. In 16 games, Tribby posted a perfect 5-0 record with 30 strikeouts in 31 2/3 innings of work.
 
"I'm really excited for this opportunity at McKendree," said Tribby. "I look forward to working with Coach Stepp and getting our pitchers in so that we can start working together. I have a lot of passion for the game of baseball. I know the game of baseball, have been around the game, and have tried to learn everything about the game during my playing days. We want to implement some new ideas, along with some old-school techniques that I have learned from my mentors throughout the years."
 
Before arriving at Missouri, Tribby was a standout at Springfield Catholic High School in Missouri, where he was a two-way threat as a senior. Tribby went 10-0 on the mound with a 0.55 ERA and 104 strikeouts while posting a .340 batting average with four home runs and 38 RBI at the plate.
 
Tribby will be in charge of a McKendree pitching staff that shaved nearly two earned runs per game off its totals during the 2019 season. The Bearcats won 11 games overall, including eight in Great Lakes Valley Conference play.