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Aloha Coach Cribby! Skipper Headed to University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo

The DubSea Fish Sticks announced that Head Coach Elliott Cribby has been named the new head baseball coach at the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo, an NCAA Division II program. Cribby will finish out the month of June with the Fish Sticks to ensure a smooth transition. Following his departure, assistant coach Marc Linn will take the reins as interim Head Coach to lead the team through the remainder of the summer season.

Coach Cribby joined the Fish Sticks ahead of the 2024 season and revolutionized the program’s culture, establishing a winning standard focused on elite player development. During his tenure, he became the winningest coach in franchise history, posting a 69–27 record across three summers.

“We couldn’t be happier for Elliott,” said Justin Moser, President and CEO of the DubSea Fish Sticks. “Our mission has always been to create an environment where coaches, players, and staff can grow and pursue bigger opportunities. Elliott’s appointment to Hawaiʻi Hilo is a testament to that mission in action.”

Before taking over the Fish Sticks, Coach Cribby built a prominent 12-season resume at the NCAA Division I level. He served as the Associate Head Coach and Recruiting Coordinator at Seattle University from 2013 to 2018, where he helped engineer the most successful five-year stretch in that program’s history. He then spent a season as the pitching coach at Purdue University before returning to his alma mater, the University of Washington, where he served as the Huskies’ pitching coach from 2019 to 2022. Cribby’s elite reputation for player development is anchored by his knack for discovering diamond-in-the-rough talent. While recruiting at a back-field youth tournament in Arizona for Seattle U, Cribby spotted an unheralded high school lefty throwing mid-80s fastballs: future Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal. Cribby handed Skubal a business card with bold red lettering, which ultimately turned into Skubal’s only Division I college offer. Reflecting on Cribby’s massive impact on his life and journey to the big leagues, Skubal later noted that while most scouts put their radar guns down and walked away, Cribby was the one coach who “just kept staring” and truly believed in his potential.