Eric Winchester joins the Simpson baseball coaching staff in 2026 as he returns to his alma mater.
Prior to returning to Simpson as a coach, Winchester spent two seasons (2025-26) as the pitching coach at Shasta College, where he mentored and oversaw the pitching program. He made an immediate impact on the Knights' pitching staff as he helped grow the program during his two-year stint. From 2025 to 2026, the Knights' pitching staff made tremendous strides as they moved up 46 spots nationally and finished the 2026 season ranked 24th in the nation in ERA. The staff improved its overall team ERA to 4.94 as it shaved off 2.47 runs from the previous year. Winchester helped mentor the 2026 Golden Valley Conference Pitcher of the Year, Lucas Day; First Team All-Conference selection, Brady Kennedy; and Second Team All-Conference selection, Bryan Houghton.
Before Winchester's success as a coach, he had a stellar playing career and became one of Simpson's finest pitchers in program history. He graduated from Diamond Bar High School and continued his collegiate career at Cerritos College for two years before transferring to Simpson. He played three years for the Red Hawks, leaving his mark in the history books by recording back-to-back seasons with 94 strikeouts to set a program single-season record, before finishing his final year with 82 strikeouts to cement a program-best 270 career strikeouts. Known as a strikeout pitcher, Winchester closed out his three years with the highest K/9 (12.07) and most wins (11), while ranking third in innings pitched (202.1) and fifth in total ERA (5.36). For his efforts, he earned two All-Conference Honorable Mention and All-Academic selections.
Winchester looks to use his experience as a former Red Hawk to develop the next generation of Simpson pitchers, emphasizing preparation, competitiveness, confidence, and continued growth both on and off the field.
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