Dave Therneau began his collegiate coaching career as the pitching coach for the Eagles in 2007.
In three seasons with the Eagles, Therneau has coached five All-Americans and eight All-Conference pitchers. Jordan Roberts, Justin Zinkovich and Austin Quinn earned first team All-America honors in 2008, 2009 and 2010 respectively, while Aaron Varnum, who set a new program record for saves (12), was a second team selection in 2008. In 2010, Phil Reamy also earned second team honors after a stellar junior campaign. Under Therneau's guidance, the Eagles posted the nation's best ERA in 2010 (2.64), third best opponent batting average (.241) and tied for first in total batters struck out (480).
Therneau's career as a coach began in 2004 when he served as a player-coach with the Independent San Angelo Colts. He then served as a two-year head coach in the Strike Zone Upper Deck Collegiate League before joining the Embry-Riddle staff in 2007. Therneau also coached in the Texas Collegiate League during the summer of 2009, when he helped the East Texas Pump Jacks to a second place finish in the league.
In addition to building an impressive reputation as a pitching coach, Therneau also made a name for himself as a pitcher and was poised to move up to the majors until he was derailed by an arm injury. He was drafted three times and finally signed with the Cincinnati Reds in 1998 after being drafted in the ninth round.
One of the fastest moving pitchers within the Reds organization in 1999, Therneau went from Class-A to AAA in a matter of months, moving from the Pioneer League (rookie level) in Billings, Mont., to the AAA Indianapolis Indians. In 1999, he was the first pitcher in all of professional baseball to reach eight wins and helped the Class-A Rockford Reds to the first-half division title.
Therneau's 12-3 record with the Reds resulted in his promotion to the Double-A Chattanooga Lookouts where a 2-0 record with a 2.75 ERA in three starts earned him yet another promotion to the Triple-A Indianapolis Indians. He finished the season with a 14-5 record, just one level away from the majors.
In 2000, Tommy John surgery brought Therneau's career to an abrupt halt. Although he was able to compete after extensive rehab, his playing career ended in 2004 after he led the Schaumberg Flyers to the Northern League playoffs in 2003 and the New Jersey Jackals to a Northeast League title.
Before being drafted, Therneau was an NAIA World Series All-Tournament selection after leading Bellevue (Neb.) to a third place finish in the 1998 campaign. While at Bellevue, he was an honorable mention All-American and was a named to both the All-Conference and All-Region teams as a first team selection.
Therneau transferred to Bellevue from Texas Tech where he went undefeated as part of a rotation that led the Red Raiders to a Big 12 championship. Prior to Texas Tech, Therneau was drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers in the 28th round, but opted instead to attend Navarro Junior College in Corsicana, Texas. At NJC, he led his team to two consecutive conference championships and was an All-Conference selection in 1995 and 1996.
In the summer of 1997, Therneau played in the Jayhawk Summer League, where he led the league in wins, ERA and strikeouts. He also led his team to a second place finish at the NBC World Series, and capped his season by being named a first team NBC All-American and All-Tournament selection.
Therneau also played with the USA Juniors squad that traveled to Japan to take on the Japanese national team in 1996.
A native of Denton, Texas, Therneau played on Denton High School's baseball team, and was a first-team All-State member in 1994.
Therneau earned his bachelor's degree in Communication from Bellevue in 2000. Along with his baseball coaching duties, he serves as Embry-Riddle's Athletic Academic Services Coordinator.
