Rob Childress

Rob Childress enters his third season as an assistant coach at Nebraska in 2026 after being promoted in June 2023. Childress coaches the Husker pitchers and catchers after seving as the Director of Player Development in 2022 and 2023.

A veteran of college baseball with 35 years of experience, Childress is no stranger to Lincoln, as he served as an assistant coach at Nebraska from 1998 to 2002 and as associate head coach from 2003 to 2005 prior to his return to Lincoln in 2022.

Under his tutelage, 83 pitchers have been drafted of signed as free agents during his time at Nebraska and Texas A&M. Childress’ pitching staffs have finished in the top 15 in the country in ERA eight times sinces 2000, including top three finishes on three occasions. Five of his pitching staffs have finished in the top 25 nationally in strikeouts per nine innings since 2010, including four times in the top 10.

The Husker pitching staff finished with the fifth-most strikeouts in program history, recording 489 strikeouts in 2025. Three NU pitchers moved on to the professional level after Mason McConnaughey (4th Round, Texas Rangers) and Luke Broderick (14th Round, Colorado Rockies) were selected in the MLB Draft and Drew Christo inked a free agent deal with the Atlanta Braves. A second-team All-Big Ten selection, Broderick went 4-2 with a 3.25 ERA in 27 relief outings and totaled 13 saves, which is tied for third-most in a season and sixth all-time in program history.

In 2024, the Nebraska pitching staff finished second nationally in walks allowed per nine innings (2.91), seventh in strikeout to walk ratio (2.98), ninth in WHIP (1.28) and 26th in ERA (4.60). Brett Sears led the NU pitching staff as a unanimous second-team All-American and an Academic All-American while being selected by the Atlanta Braves in the seventh round of the 2024 MLB Draft. Sears was the Big Ten’s Pitcher of the Year and a semifinalist for the Dick Howser Trophy and National Pitcher of the Year after going 9-1 with a 2.16 ERA and 101 strikeouts in 104 innings.
 
Texas A&M Head Coach
Prior to his return to Lincoln, Childress spent 16 seasons as the head coach at Texas A&M. He led the Aggies to the NCAA Tournament a school-record 13 consecutive times (2007-19), including six regional titles and a pair of trips to the College World Series in 2011 and 2017. Childress, who posted a 622-336-3 record with the Aggies, won two regular-season conference titles and four conference tournament championships during his stint at Texas A&M.

In his final season with the Aggies in 2021, Texas A&M went 29-27 overall and snapped a streak of 13 consecutive NCAA Regional appearances.

In 2019, Texas A&M posted a 39-23-1 record and reached their 13th straight NCAA Regional appearance. The A&M pitching staff set a school record with 673 punchouts. They led the NCAA in strikeout-to-walk ratio (3.33), ranking second in strikeouts per nine innings (10.9), third in ERA (3.21) and eighth in WHIP (1.21).

The 2018 Aggies posted a 40-22 mark and reached their 12th consecutive NCAA Regional - the fourth-longest active streak in the nation.

Texas A&M made a College World Series appearance in 2017, finishing with a 41-23 mark. The pitching staff ranked in the top 25 nationally in ERA (20th - 3.48) and WHIP (23rd - 1.26).

In 2016, the Aggies earned their first-ever SEC Tournament crown with a 12-5 win over No. 1 Florida in the championship game. A&M captured their eighth NCAA Regional trophy and finished the season with a 49-16 overall record.

The 2015 Aggies started the season with an SEC-record 24-game win streak en route to a 50-14 campaign, the highest victory tally for the Aggies since 1999. A&M finished third in the SEC and won their seventh NCAA Regional title, finishing one run shy of a CWS berth.

In 2014, Childress guided the Aggies through their second season in the SEC, securing a spot in the SEC Tournament for the second consecutive year and earning a bid to the school-record eighth consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance.

In Texas A&M’s first run through the SEC in 2013, Childress led A&M to the final six of the SEC Tournament and a seventh straight NCAA Tournament appearance.

During the 2012 campaign, Childress guided the Aggies to a sixth consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament, as A&M hosted an NCAA Regional in College Station for the second straight season.

In 2011, Childress captured co-Big 12 Coach of the Year honors as he led the Aggies to another milestone campaign, guiding the A&M to the College World Series. The trip to Omaha was the fifth in program history, while the Aggies also claimed the 23rd conference championship in program history as it brought home both the Big 12 regular season and tournament titles.

The Aggies once again ascended to the top of the Big 12, as they claimed another conference crown when A&M won the league’s postseason tournament in 2010. Along the way, the pitching staff ranked as one of the country’s best, finishing atop the Big 12 and second nationally in strikeouts per nine innings (9.3). The Aggies’ 612 strikeouts set a school record, topping the previous year’s total of 568.

In 2009, Childress guided the Aggies to 37 wins and another trip to the postseason. The pitching staff set a then-school record with 568 strikeouts, leading the Big 12 and finishing seventh nationally with an average of 9.5 per nine innings.

Named the Big 12’s Coach of the Year in 2008, Childress guided the Aggies to 46 wins, their first regular-season championship in nine years and the first back-to-back NCAA regional championships in school history. Along the way, Texas A&M set a new school and Big 12 record by winning 16 straight conference games.

After just one season at the helm, Childress orchestrated the biggest turnaround in Division I in 2007. The Aggies went 48-19 with a 23-win improvement, along with claiming the NCAA College Station Regional championship, a berth in the Super Regionals and the school’s first Big 12 title since 1999.

USA Baseball Collegiate National Team
In 2014, Childress served as the pitching coach for the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team. The team went 18-7 during their stint, posting a 1.58 ERA and a .170 opponent batting average. The squad won four of five in a series against Chinese Taipei and then went on to claim the title at Honkbal-Haarlem Baseball Week in the Netherlands.

Nebraska
During his eight seasons on staff in his first stint at Nebraska, the Huskers produced five of the top six single-season strikeout totals in school history, including a school-record 538 strikeouts in 2005, while issuing fewer than three walks pers game in his final five seasons in Lincoln. The Huskers went to the NCAA Tournament six times in a seven-year span, including three CWS appearances. The Big Red won three regular-season Big 12 titles (2001, 2003 and 2005) and four Big 12 Tournaments (1999, 2000, 2001 and 2005).

Northwestern State
In his final season with the Demons in 1997, Childress’ staff had a 4.20 ERA and held opponents to a .268 batting average. He coached former major leaguer Brian Anderson, who became the first Demon baseball player to reach the MLB since 1954. In 1996, the Northwestern State staff owned a 4.66 ERA and held opponents to a .259 hitting clip at the plate.

Texarkana College
Childress served as an assistant coach at Texarkana College for two seasons, where the Bulldogs went 93-22 and won the league title in 1991. Following the two seasons as an assisant at Texarkana, Childress was an assistant coach at his alma mater at Northwood University. In 1994, he returned to Texarkana as the head coach and finished with a 43-10 record in his only season.

Playing Career
Played four seasons at Northwood University, where he was twice named an all-conference pitcher. Northwood won two NAIA conference championships during his career and was runner-up at the regional tournament once. Childress was elected the school’s Academic Athlete of the Year as a sophomore and senior.

Personal
Childress graduated with a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Northwood in 1990 and earned a master’s degree of science from East Texas State (now TAMU-Commerce) in 1994. He and his wife Amanda have a daughter, Hannah, and a son, Maxwell.