Nearly two decades after helping power Rice University’s baseball team through one of the most successful stretches in program history, Danny Lehmann returned to South Main feeling less like an honored guest and more like a family member coming home.
“It’s just an honor to be back,” Lehmann said. “It’s so much fun to come back and see how everything’s changed, how it’s grown, to be a small part of it.”
Lehmann, now the Los Angeles Dodgers’ bench coach and a three-time World Series champion on their staff, was recognized Jan. 30 as the featured guest at the 2026 Rice Baseball First Pitch Dinner, which raises funds to support the Owls’ program. The evening included a cocktail hour, silent auction and preview of the upcoming season from head coach David Pierce, an assistant coach at Rice during Lehmann’s career as an Owl.
A standout catcher from 2005-07, Lehmann handled Pierce’s pitching staff during back-to-back College World Series runs in 2006 and 2007. He earned all-tournament honors in both the Conference USA and NCAA Regional tournaments in 2007 before being selected by the Minnesota Twins in the eighth round of the MLB draft.
Looking back, Lehmann said the bond between teammates stands out most from his time at Rice.
“We had a lot of camaraderie,” he said. “We had a lot of guys from around the Houston area that had played together for a long time. I think that translated over to the field in college. When you combine those two — closeness and talent — you get some success.”
That formula helped define what many consider a golden era of Rice baseball.
“Now, almost 20 years out, you look back and be like, man, those are three really good seasons and three really successful seasons,” Lehmann said. “To be able to be a small part of that … it’s really cool.”
After his playing career, Lehmann’s path to the major leagues came through the same Rice connections that shaped his college years. Following stints in the Twins organization and independent ball, he joined the Dodgers in 2015 as an advance video scout.
“Baseball is a small world, and so I got an opportunity with the Dodgers through a connection at Rice that Coach Pierce hooked me up with,” he said. “It was too good of a role in the major leagues right off of playing to pass up.”
Lehmann steadily climbed the coaching ranks, from game planning and communications to special assistant before serving on the staff for multiple World Series titles. Promoted to bench coach in 2023, Lehmann now works alongside manager Dave Roberts in the Dodgers’ dugout.
Through it all, he credits Pierce’s mentorship as a guiding force.
“I love Coach Pierce. He was great to me. I learned a lot from him,” Lehmann said. “He was just kind of like a mentor to me. He just let me grow alongside him.
“He’s experienced, and he’s also open to continuing to grow and understanding where the game is now, understanding that you have to evolve and continue to push the players as well as yourself to grow.”
Back on campus and surrounded by former teammates, coaches and supporters, Lehmann reflected on what Rice still means to him.
“I have so much respect for everybody in that room,” he said. “They accepted me as I was as a freshman here, and I don’t think that’s changed. That’s what’s really special about this program — the foundation of it and the support will always be there. It’s really special to be part of this family.”
The Owls are preparing to open the 2026 season with a three-game series against Northwestern Feb. 13-15 at Reckling Park. Season tickets are currently on sale here.