RUSTON, La. - It all started with the question that every college student comes to pass at one point or another... "What's next?"

For Louisiana Tech associate head coach Christian Ostrander that question was a no-brainer; he wanted to coach the game he had come to know and love. A four-year player split between Mississippi Delta Community College and Delta State, Ostrander did not have to go far to find his first gig, accepting a graduate assistant position at his alma mater Delta State.

It was at Delta State that Ostrander would spend his first six seasons in the coaching business. Long-stints would become a trend for the up and coming pitching coach from Monroe, Louisiana.

Ostrander got his first shot at the Division I level as a pitching coach and recruiting coordinator at Arkansas State, where he would spend four seasons, before getting his first shot as a head coach at Jones County Community College. It wouldn't take long for "Coach OZ" to put the Bobcats on the map.

"I inherited a program that wasn't really in the mix," Ostrander recalled. "The year before I think they finished around 16-36. My first season we were lucky enough to turn that record around to 36-16. We really just had a lot of great things that happened. We had a lot of great players and we were able to change the culture a little bit and that took it to where it was. I had a lot of success there and it culminated last year, even though I left in December of last year, that team, which I knew was one of the most talented groups we've had there, ended up winning the national championship. I am proud of them and that place will always be special to me."

Change the culture. It's a simple sentence but a complex problem that some coaches have talent for solving and others don't. Ostrander knew the recipe for success, an invaluable tool in rebuilding a program.

"Well I think it's the same ingredients for what happened here when Greg [Goff] started 2 years ago and it culminated last year," Ostrander remarked about changing a programs culture. "You have to say `Why not us?' You have to have that mentality and that chip on your shoulder. It does matter if it is junior college, Division II or Division I. It is all about the attitude, expectations and the standards, as well as your core beliefs as a program; what you are going to do and then do it well. Great programs are going to have discipline, they are going to do things right and work hard. Sometimes the challenge is getting young men to buy into that. When they do you can have quick results and I think we've seen that here. I know in my past I've seen that first hand as well. Just believe in the system."

Louisiana Tech was not the first school to reach out to Ostrander. One of the best in business at the Junior College level, it was about selecting the right opportunity. That opportunity came in the form of a phone call from then-Louisiana Tech head coach Greg Goff.

"It was not the first time that Greg had explored the option of trying to get me to come," Ostrander said. "It was probably the third time throughout his career, where we had talked. Before, it was just not the right time, but this time I felt like the good Lord was tugging at me and saying if you want to do it, do it. I had the well wishes of my family which was very important. I would not have done it if they were not all in."

Ostrander, his wife, Amy, and two daughters, Caitlin and Allie, packed their things and moved to their new home in Ruston, where a new set of challenges awaited for the new Louisiana Tech pitching coach.

The potential has always been there for Louisiana Tech Baseball. In the heart of baseball country, the once-great Bulldogs had fallen on hard times but after one year under Goff, seemed to be turning the corner. It was a matter of taking that next leap.

Some would have called that next step a .500 season, others a conference tournament appearance, but few expected what would come next.

Entering the 2016 season, it was a different feel for Ostrander who had spent the past eight seasons as the head man in charge. As an assistant, he could focus in on his specialty, pitching.

"You are the supporting cast and I was just in charge of pitching," Ostrander said. "I love that. It is exciting to get to focus just on pitching and you get the feeling that you can do even more. In a weird way, after being a head coach for all of those years, I feel like I am a better assistant because of that experience. The way I look at it, we are all in it together. Everybody's role is important to have a successful program. You just have to work your tail off at what you are in control of and hopefully things will follow suit after that."

Things certainly followed suit. 42 wins, 10 of which came over nationally-ranked programs, and a regional finalist of the Starkville Regional. The Louisiana Tech Baseball program was on the map. It was not a surprise to anyone when the phone rang with job offers for Goff.

"Greg was a hot name, there is no doubt about it," Ostrander remembered. "He has done great things at every program he has been at. In year two we had some great success, the big wins and the regional. Last year was a very active summer for the coaching carousel. There was a lot of movement and the guys that have the hot hand are going to be the ones who get that look. It was obvious that he was going to be in the mix."

Two weeks after the final out of the 2016 season, Greg Goff was named the head coach at the University of Alabama.

Soon after, hitting coach Jake Wells committed to joining Goff at Alabama and assistant coach J.D. Hulse was back at his alma mater, Birmingham Southern as an assistant. That left Ostrander. Off on the road recruiting, an early morning phone call from Goff had Ostrander's trip cut short and back in Ruston.

"I just took everything a day at a time," Ostrander said about the days following. "Greg called me that morning and he told me to come on back and I kind of knew what was going on there. I will never forget that conversation between us. He wanted me to go with him, but he asked if I wanted this job. I told him absolutely, but I had only been here six months and I do not have Division I head coaching experience. I knew it would be a huge leap of faith if that were to happen. I feel like the administration gave me a fair shot, being one of the interviews."

As the days passed, Lane Burroughs, the head coach of Northwestern State at the time, became the front runner and ultimately the head coach at Louisiana Tech. That left Ostrander with a difficult decision to weigh. The long-time friend of Burroughs was forced to decide whether to remain in Ruston as an associate head coach or move on to Tuscaloosa to become a pitching coach for an SEC-powerhouse.

The Ostrander family had a pre-planned vacation to Gulf Shores following the season. A whirlwind of emotions surrounded the pitching coach who spent hours on the phone on a beach-front balcony overlooking the Gulf of Mexico. It was there that the decision became clear.

"This is a place that my family and I felt comfortable at," Ostrander continued. "We were only here six months, but we bought into Ruston. I had just uprooted my family, a 16-year-old girl and 13-year-old girl. It was not the right time for me. It would have been a very selfish thing for me to say, `Alright, here we go again.' I was prepared to do it if the other options were not there, but as it worked out, an option opened to stay here with a guy I think the world of. I think Coach Burroughs is a great coach and a great man. I knew I could work well with him. When it came to pass that he wanted me to stay, I felt like our administration wanted me to stay, I felt like the players wanted me stay and without saying it I think my wife and daughters wanted me to stay. I felt like this is where I wanted to be. I like being all-in to a place and being a part of something special and changing a program. The program is changing. It has not changed yet. You cannot change a program in a year, it takes time. It was a no-brainer for me at that point."

Ostrander hopped on a plane and the following day sat on the first row as Burroughs was introduced as the head coach in the team room of the Davison Athletic Complex.

The Diamond `Dogs had one of their own back for 2017 and a familiar face to turn to when they returned for fall practice.

"It was really overwhelming and emotional," Ostrander concluded. "I got an overwhelming response from our players, pretty much all of them. They were all in my corner and glad that I was staying. That was pretty special. That is what my standards are in coaching. I want to win and be successful, but I want real relationships with the players. If you establish that, you are going to get the quality results. The relationship comes before that."

With things finally settled, it was time to go back to work. Over the next six months Burroughs and Ostrander, joined by new assistants Jerry Zulli and Travis Creel, went to work looking to build on the Bulldogs success from a season ago.

The Louisiana Tech Baseball program is a work in progress. A program is not built overnight. The foundation from 2016 is there to build on and thankfully for Bulldog Baseball fans, one of the architects responsible for that foundation has stuck around to see to its completion.