The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Baseball
- Title:
- Assistant Coach
Hometown: Clinton, La.
High School: University High School
Alma Mater: Northwestern State, 2005; Sam Houston State, 2010
Twitter: @UTMiller12
Philip Miller enters his 12th season serving on head coach David Pierce's staffs, and transitions back to the on-field coaching staff for the 2024 season. After serving as an assistant coach from 2012-22, Miller held the role of Special Assistant to the Head Coach for the 2023 season. With Miller on staff, the Longhorns have won 261 games and advanced to the College World Series three times.
Miller has served on staffs under Pierce at Texas (2017-23), Tulane (2015-16) and Sam Houston State (2012-14).
The 2023 team returned only two everyday starters in the lineup and just 23 home runs from the previous season and still came up just one game short of advancing to a third-straight College World Series. Despite featuring an almost entirely new lineup, the Longhorns batted .293 as a team and averaged just over seven runs per game. The outfield trio of Dylan Campbell, Eric Kennedy and Porter Brown all had exceptional seasons. Campbell was a First Team All-Big 12 selection and led the team with a .339 batting average, 19 doubles, 65 runs scored and 26 stolen bases. He also hit a career-best 13 home runs and was stellar defensively with eight outfield assists. Brown was a unanimous First Team All-Big 12 pick and batted .323 with 12 doubles, 59 RBI and 36 runs scored. Kennedy batted .306 and hit a career-high 17 homers with 47 RBI and 57 runs scored. In all, six Texas hitters landed on the All-Big 12 teams with three first team selections. Campbell and Brown were joined by catcher Garret Guillemette on the first team, while infielder Peyton Powell and Kennedy were on the second team and infielder Jared Thomas was named Honorable Mention.
In 2022, the Longhorns returned to the College World Series for the second-consecutive season and third time in the last four completed seasons with a 47-22 overall. Texas smashed the program record with 128 home runs, surpassing the 2010 squad that hit 81. The best power hitting team in program history slugged .550 to smash the previous program record of .508 set in 1974. Leading the way offensively, Ivan Melendez became the first Texas player to win the USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award and swept the national player of the year awards. Melendez hit a Longhorns record 32 home runs, surpassing Kyle Russell’s Texas record 28 homers in 2007 and Kris Bryant’s BBCOR era record of 31 homers in 2013. Melendez batted .387 and led the country with 94 RBI and an .863 slugging percentage. Along with Melendez’s great season, Murphy Stehly had a breakout year batting .367 with 19 homers and 61 RBI and was named a second team All-American. Pete Hansen led the pitching staff and landed second team All-America honors with a 3.76 ERA, an 11-3 record and 120 strikeouts in 107.2 innings pitched. Melendez, Stehly and Hansen led a total of nine players named to the All-Big 12 teams and were joined by catcher Silas Ardoin on the first team. Infielders Trey Faltine and Skyler Messinger and starting pitcher Lucas Gordon landed on the second team. Outfielder Douglas Hodo III and designated hitter Austin Todd were named Honorable Mention. The Longhorns also produced the best defensive season in program history, fielding .985 for the first time ever and finishing with a program low 37 errors.
The 2021 season saw Texas return to the College World Series and come just one game shy of the CWS Finals. Under the guidance of Miller and Troy Tulowitzki, the Longhorns offense put together its best season in at least a decade. Texas had its highest team batting average (.275) and number of home runs (68) since the 2010 season. The team’s 126 doubles were the most since 2008 and the 92 stolen bases were the most since 2005. Outfielder Mike Antico was named to the All-Big 12 second team, batting .273 and led the team with 69 runs scored and 41 stolen bases. He finished the year as the NCAA base on balls leader with 63 walks and second nationally with his 41 stolen bases. Antico belted 10 home runs to become Texas' first player with both double digit homers and 40 stolen bases in a season. Catcher Silas Ardoin, started 53 games behind the plate and had a stellar defensive season, committing no errors and throwing out 20 runners caught stealing.
Miller's outfielders led the Longhorns in hitting during the shortened 2020 season, with Austin Todd, Duke Ellis and Eric Kennedy sitting atop the stat sheet. Todd was set for an outstanding season, batting .375 with four doubles, a triple and one homer as well as 15 RBI and 14 runs scored, before the season was cut short.
Miller tutored Tulane catcher Jake Rogers, who was one of the best defensive catchers in college baseball during his time with the Green Wave. In his career, Rogers — the Houston Astros’ third-round selection in the 2016 MLB Draft and an All-AAC First Team member — gunned down 83-of-146 (.568) potential base stealers, including 27-of-43 (.628) in 2016. Tulane’s three catchers also helped the pitching staff lead the nation with 13 shutouts.
In three seasons with Pierce at Sam Houston State – Miller’s second stint with the SHSU program – Miller was instrumental in helping the Bearkats to each of their Southland Conference titles and NCAA Regional appearances. From 2012 to 2014, those SHSU squads racked up 40, 38 and 43 wins, respectively. The 43 wins marked the second-highest total for the Bearkats since their jump to Division I in 1987. In 2012, Sam Houston State earned national rankings in each of the major collegiate baseball polls (ranking as high as No. 20) for the first time in program history.
In 2010 and 2011, Miller was an assistant coach at his alma mater, Northwestern State (La.). There, he served as infield and defensive coach, while also handling first base coaching duties. During the 2010 season, he helped a league-high seven NSU student-athletes to All-Southland Conference honors.
Miller held his first assistant coaching role at Sam Houston State from 2007 to 2009 where he was the outfield and first base coach, while assisting hitters, infielders and catchers. He coached three All-Americans and six All-Southland Conference outfielders, helping guide the Bearkats to NCAA Regional appearances in each of his three seasons.
Following his playing career at Northwestern State, Miller served as a volunteer coach at his alma mater for the 2006 season. During his freshman and senior seasons, the Demons took home the regular season Southland Conference title, earning a bid to an NCAA Regional in 2005 as an at-large selection.
The Clinton, La., native earned his bachelor’s in business administration from Northwestern State in 2005 and his master’s in education from Sam Houston State in 2010. He is married to former NSU softball standout Lyndsey (Gorski) Miller and the couple has two daughters, Meredith and Morgan, and one son, Colt.
