Will Jauss was hired in July 2023 as an assistant coach with the Penn State baseball program.
In 2024, Penn State went 29-24 overall and 12-12 in Big Ten play. Penn State notched its first winning record in the regular season since 2016 (28-27) and maintained a .500 or better mark from the entire season for the first time since 2011 (32-22). The Blue and White notched its best record in Big Ten play since going 12-12 in 2016. The Nittany Lions finished with a Top-100 RPI for the first time since 2007.
Penn State reached the Big Ten Tournament Championship Game for the first time since 2000 and won three-straight games to open the Big Ten Tournament for the first time in program history.
The Nittany Lions’ tremendous Big Ten Tournament run, as the eighth seed, included wins over Illinois (8-4) and Michigan (9-5 and 7-6) before falling to No. 2 seed Nebraska, 2-1, in the championship game.
In the regular season, Penn State earned Big Ten sweeps over Maryland and Northwestern, a series win over Rutgers and victories against Michigan, Indiana, Michigan State and Minnesota. PSU was 6-2 in Big Ten series openers.
Non-conference play included series wins over Stanford, Davidson, Harvard and UMass Lowell, while also earning two wins over Army and one over Monmouth on opening weekend and a win over Georgetown. Midweek wins included Pitt and FDU.
The Penn State pitching staff featured 12 pitchers making at least 12 appearances. The group tallied 357 strikeouts with seven Nittany Lions recording 25+ strikeouts.
Travis Luensmann was named second team ABCA All-Region East Team, while Mason Horwat was on the All-Big Ten Freshman Team. Luensmann was tabbed All-Big Ten Tournament Team.
As a senior, Luensmann went 7-2 with a 4.44 ERA in 16 appearances (15 starts). In 81 innings, he recorded 74 strikeouts. He ranked fifth in the Big Ten in hits allowed per nine innings (6.67; 34th nationally) and sixth in wins (7).
Luensmann went six or more innings in six of his 15 starts and five or more innings in 12 starts. He allowed two or less earned runs in nine of his 15 starts and has six or more strikeouts in six of his starts.
In two Big Ten Tournament starts, Luensmann allowed two runs over 12 innings and struck out 13 batters.
Jaden Henline registered three wins, while recording 41 strikeouts and 15 walks in 68 innings. He sat second in the Big Ten in walks per nine innings (1.99).
In his freshman season, Horwat was 4-1 with two saves in 21 appearances.
Anthony Steele was third in the Big Ten in appearances (26) and posted a 4-1 record with one save.
Jauss served as director of pitching technology at Boston College in 2022 and 2023. At Boston College, Jauss operated, analyzed and implemented Trackman and Rapsodo data. He developed scouting reports and implemented infield and outfield shifts. During games, Jauss worked as the bullpen coach.
In 2023, BC’s pitching staff ranked 26th in the country in strikeout-to-walk ratio (2.54) and 26th in walks allowed per nine innings (3.58). Nine BC pitchers made at least 16 appearances and seven pitchers had at least 34 strikeouts. Chris Flynn earned second-team All-ACC honors.
In 2022, Boston College had three pitchers selected in the MLB Draft, including Mason Pelio (12th round, Cincinnati Reds), Joey Mancini (15th round, Houston Astros) and Max Gieg (18th round, Los Angeles Angels). Thirteen pitchers made at least 13 appearances and six pitchers struck out at least 30 batters.
Prior to Boston College, Jauss was an assistant coach at Limestone University, serving as pitching coach for two seasons. As pitching coach, he operated, analyzed and implemented Trackman and Flightscope data.
Jauss pitched four seasons at New York University, making 13 appearances as a senior and helping the Violets to a 28-12 record as a junior.
Jauss served as assistant pitching coach for the Wareham Gatemen in the Cape Cod Baseball League in 2018.
Will is the son of Dave Jauss, who has worked in professional baseball for over 35 years. Jauss is currently a senior advisor in the Washington Nationals’ player development system. He has served as bench coach for the Boston Red Sox, Los Angeles Dodgers, Baltimore Orioles, New York Mets and Pittsburgh Pirates.