Roughly two weeks ago USC parted ways with its baseball coach, Jason Gill. He’d been at the helm of college baseball’s most storied program for three seasons, but sandwiched a pair of losing seasons around a 10-5 2020 campaign that was cut short by COVID.

In looking to fill that vacancy, USC AD Mike Bohn could swing for the fences and look for the best name he can lure to Los Angeles, much like he did with the football program, selling prestige and program advantages galore. Or he could go for a guy who spent his career swinging for the fences.

According to The Austin American-Statesman’s Kirk Bohls, Texas assistant Troy Tulowitzki is a candidate for the job. That report was confirmed by The Los Angeles Times’s Ryan Kartje, who added the former MLB slugger was on campus Tuesday for an interview.

The shortstop from Santa Clara spent 13 years in the MLB, starring for the Colorado Rockies for a decade after being selected seventh overall in the 2005 MLB Draft. The shortstop was a five-time MLB All-Star as well as a two-time Gold Glove winner and a two-time Silver Slugger recipient.

Tulowitzki just wrapped his third season as an assistant coach with the Longhorns. Following the announcement of his retirement from professional baseball, Tulowitzki joined the Longhorns staff on July 25, 2019. Tulowitzki works with the infielders and hitters. In 2021, he was named the USA Baseball Volunteer Coach of the Year after work with both the Collegiate National Team and the 13U/14U Athlete Development Program.

He’s a big name.

But USC is a big job.

The Trojans own 12 national championships and 21 College World Series appearances. No other school owns more than six national titles. From 1930 to 2006—76 long years—USC was the model of consistency; it had only three head baseball coaches during that stretch. Whoever is hired next will be the fifth since 2007.