The interim tag will no longer precede Trent Pratt’s name when it comes to references to the leadership of the BYU baseball program.
Pratt, who took over for Mike Littlewood midseason when the 10-year skipper abruptly resigned, is officially BYU’s head baseball coach, athletic director Tom Holmoe announced Wednesday.
The Cougars went 16-9 after Pratt took over on April 11, and he guided them to the West Coast Conference tournament, where they lost a first-round game to Loyola Marymount. BYU was 17-12 when Littlewood resigned, citing “personal reasons.”
“I feel really excited and blessed for this opportunity. I’m grateful to Tom Holmoe, President (Kevin) Worthen and BYU for their trust in me. I’m ready to get to work, and I’m looking forward to big things ahead for BYU baseball.” — new BYU baseball coach Trent Pratt
Neither Littlewood nor BYU have spoken publicly regarding the reasons for the abrupt change.
Wednesday, Holmoe said in a school news release that Pratt earned the promotion with his work in late April and May.
“Trent has done an excellent job leading our baseball team through his assignment as interim coach,” Holmoe said. “He quickly earned the respect and trust of our team and is the right choice to guide BYU Cougar baseball into the future, which shortly will include our entry into the Big 12.”
Pratt came to BYU with Littlewood from Dixie State University, now known as Utah Tech, and has been on the staff the past 10 seasons. He was associate head coach the past four seasons, and has been the BYU hitting coach and worked with catchers as well.
The former catcher was also in charge of scheduling.
“I feel really excited and blessed for this opportunity,” Pratt said in the school news release. “I’m grateful to Tom Holmoe, president (Kevin) Worthen and BYU for their trust in me. I’m ready to get to work, and I’m looking forward to big things ahead for BYU baseball.”
The Cougars won nine of their final 10 regular-season games, and 11 players received postseason honors from the WCC.
With Pratt helping Littlewood, a former BYU player, BYU won WCC regular-season titles in 2016, 2017 and 2019. BYU advanced to the NCAA Tournament in 2017 for the first time since 2002.
Pratt grew up in Tooele and played for Tooele High for four years. He was a member of the 1997 USA Baseball Junior National Team. In 1998 he was the USA Today Utah Baseball Player of the Year.
He played two years at Arizona State and two years at Auburn, and was an All-SEC catcher for the Tigers in 2002. He played four seasons of professional baseball in the minor leagues after being picked in the 12th round of the MLB draft by the Philadelphia Phillies.
Pratt and his wife, Darice, have six children: Morgan, Marly, Brooks, Tess, Blake and Tug.
