Joshua MacDonald is the pitching coach and recruiting coordinator for the University of Connecticut baseball program in Storrs, Connecticut, and entered his 15th season on Jim Penders' staff in 2026 after joining the Huskies in 2012. He has been part of one of the longest-tenured coaching staffs in Division I baseball and has overseen a sustained run of success on the mound, including seven All-Americans during his time at UConn. His pitchers earned All-America recognition in six of seven completed seasons from 2015 through 2022, with Carson Cross, Anthony Kay, John Russell, Mason Feole, P.J. Poulin, Jacob Wallace and Austin Peterson among those honorees.
MacDonald's pitching staffs have consistently produced strikeouts at a high level. UConn topped 500 strikeouts in each of 10 seasons under his direction, and the 2022 club set a program record with 642. That 2022 staff also ranked sixth nationally in ERA at 3.78 and 10th in strikeouts, while Austin Peterson and Pat Gallagher tied for the national lead with 11 wins. Peterson set the school's single-season strikeout record with 147, Ian Cooke was named a Collegiate Baseball Freshman All-American, and the Huskies placed their entire weekend rotation on the All-BIG EAST team. MacDonald was recognized nationally that year as D1Baseball.com Assistant Coach of the Year, and three UConn pitchers were selected in the MLB Draft: first-round pick Reggie Crawford, Austin Peterson and Pat Gallagher.
