Chris Ermis enters his first season as the head coach for Rattler Baseball in 2022 after spending the previous 25 years on staff as an assistant or associate head coach. For the majority of his career, Ermis has been molding the pitching staff into one of the nation’s best and reaching unparalleled success.
          
In his tenure, Ermis has seen his pitching staff name nine All-American pitchers, one National Pitcher of the Year, 13 All-Region pitchers and eight Heartland Conference Pitchers of the Year. He has also coached 46 pitchers who have been named All-Conference in the Lone Star, Heartland and Heart of Texas conferences. The Rattlers won the National Championship in 2001, have made five trips to the NCAA postseason and have totaled two NCAA World Series appearances, one NAIA World Series appearance and 10 Heartland Conference titles during Ermis’ time on staff.
 
Ermis has also seen several pitchers drafted as well as produced the nation’s best team ERA in 2012 at 2.49. Ermis played professional

THE ERMIS FILE

College: St. Mary's, B.A. (1997)   Hometown: San Antonio   Experience: 26th Year (1st as head coach)

HONORS

ABCA Coaching Staff of Year  2001, 2012

YEAR-BY-YEAR REVIEW

baseball himself as he was drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays organization where he played for one year. Ermis also played for former head coach Charlie Migl for two seasons in 1989-90.

During the 2021 season, both Connor Schmidt and Zach De La Garza were honored during the season as NCAA South Central Regional Pitchers of the Week and De La Garza earned all-Lone Star Conference honors at the end of his final year.
 
In 2015, Ermis saw star pitcher Matt McClain carry on the Rattlers' tradition of pitching prowess, as McClain earned Third-Team All-America honors in addition to being named the Heartland Conference Pitcher of the Year. The staff helped carry St. Mary's to the regional championship final on the heels of winning the Heartland Conference crown. Additionally, during the 2015 season, Kris Gardner and Cody Butler, the number 2 and 3 pitchers for the rattler baseball program were both 12-3 on the season. 

In 2014, the pitching staff was riddled with success as senior ace Rene Solis remained dominant in his final season, becoming the fifth player in program history to be named an All-American twice as he was selected NCBWA All-America Honorable Mention.
 
Solis won a slew of honors including three All-Region First Team selections and his third straight All-Conference First Team selection. Solis was just as strong in the classroom, becoming the third player in the program to be named an Academic All-American. Solis finished among the nation’s leaders in victories with an 11-4 record and a team-best 2.93 ERA.
 
McClain, then a junior, also made headlines in 2014, tossing a nine-inning no-hitter against Rogers State (2/21) in the program’s first no-hitter since the 2007 season and the program’s just second no-hitter in at least 12 years. McClain struck out 12 in the no-no, earning the NCBWA National Pitcher of the Week award.
 
McClain led the Heartland Conference in Pitcher of the Week awards for the second straight season with three and also earned two NCBWA South Central Region Pitcher of the Week awards. McClain led the pitching staff with 97 strikeouts in 96 1/3 innings with a 3.64 ERA and an 8-5 record.
 
The 2013 season saw the Rattlers’ pitching staff remain one of the top in the nation as the finished No. 3 in the nation for best team ERA at 2.55. Ermis saw the continued success in senior Carl O’Neal who was named All-American twice more during the 2013 season (Daktronics First Team and NCBWA Second Team), becoming only the fourth player in the program’s history to be named All-American in multiple seasons. O’Neal was also named the Heartland Conference Pitcher of the Year and Daktronics Regional Pitcher of the Year for the second straight season. The ace tied for No. 3 in the nation for victories after going 13-2 with a team-best 1.97 ERA. O’Neal went 21-2 dating back to his sophomore season.

St. Mary’s all-time saves leader (31), senior Jonathan Perez also received All-American status, receiving NCBWA All-America Honorable Mention. Perez was No. 10 in the nation with 10 saves to go along with a 7-2 record at a 2.11 ERA.

As a team, the Rattlers’ pitching staff earned six Heartland Conference Pitcher of the Week awards, two All-Americans, four All-Conference selections and four All-Region selections.

During the 2012 season, Ermis put the Rattlers in high esteem, helping the Rattlers house the best ERA in the Heartland Conference, the South Central Region and in the nation, ending the season with a combined ERA of 2.49. The production didn't stop there, as the Rattlers produced stellar production in all regards under Ermis' watch, earning numerous national, regional and conference awards. Chief among them was the honor ace O'Neal took home in being named the Daktronics National Pitcher of the Year after going 14-0 with 101 strikeouts for the season. It marked the first time a Rattler pitcher had ever won a national award.

O'Neal also received the 2012 ABCA Regional Pitcher of the Year and the Heartland Conference Pitcher of the Year awards, as well as being named a consensus First-Team All-America selection by the ABCA, Daktronics and the NCBWA.

But it didn't stop there, as the Rattlers also earned seven Heartland Conference Pitcher of the Week awards, had four pitchers make the All-Conference First and Second Teams, two pitchers on the All-Conference Tournament Team and one pitcher make the All-Region Tournament Team.

Racking up plenty of awards of his own was sophomore Rene Solis, who broke out in his first season as a starting pitcher as the team's No. 2 hurler in 2012. He was selected to the All-Region ABCA Second Team, was named a Daktronics All-Region First Team selection, was a NCBWA All-Region Second Team selection and was All-Conference First Team selection. In addition, Solis was one of six finalists for the 2012 Tino Martinez Award, handed out annually by College Basebal Lineup to the most outstanding player in NCAA Division II college baseball. The lefty ended the season with a 1.69 ERA, 110 strikeouts and a 13-3 win-loss record.

Ermis' pitching staff went deep in 2012, as closer Perez lit up the nation as well, tying for the nation lead in saves with 18. His 18 saves now represent the single-season record for St. Mary’s. He was named a Daktronics All-Region Second Team.

Ermis has seen several drafted in the MLB Player Draft. In 2011, Greg Herbst was drafted in the 32nd round by the Philadelphia Phillies after coming to St. Mary's without any collegiate pitching experience. In 2007, Caleb Staudt was selected in the 39th round by the Washington Nationals. In the June 2004 draft, Jeff Wigdahl was picked in the 23rd round by the Houston Astros, while Carlos Guevara was a seventh-round pick by the Cincinnati Reds in 2003.

In addition to his time as coach for the Rattlers, he spent one season as the pitching coach for Trinity University in San Antonio, where in 1999 they won the SCAC Conference Championship. He also coached the San Antonio Titans under-18 select baseball team from 2001-03 and 2005. In 2003, the team was the South Central region runner-up.

Ermis pitched for St. Mary's from 1989-90, and was drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays organization, where he pitched for one season.

After retiring from professional baseball, Ermis returned to St. Mary's and received his bachelor's degree in exercise and sports science in 1997. Ermis and his wife Carmen have one daughter, Caitlyn, and twin sons, Andrew and Brandon.