Nebraska's athletic department announced on Monday afternoon that head baseball coach Darin Erstad would be stepping down after eight seasons with the team.

Just one day ago, the 2019 baseball season came to an end in Oklahoma City following a 16-1 loss to UConn in NCAA regional play.

“I have made the extremely difficult decision to step away from coaching,” Erstad said in a press release. “I love this team. I love our staff and I love Nebraska. The bottom line is I do not want to miss seeing our kids grow up. I want to thank our administration and academic staff for all of their support over the last eight years. GBR forever.”

In an appearance on the Husker Sports Nightly radio show, NU athletic director Bill Moos said that the decision came entirely from Erstad and that it was something the former Husker standout has been thinking about for a while.

"This is something that I think he's been contemplating for some time," Moos said. "It really centers around nothing else other than I think he wants to spend more time with his family. He's coached at the highest level in college athletics in one of the toughest conferences and he's been a success."

Moos also said that he didn't like seeing the head coach step down but recognized the decision to spend more time with his family.

"I hate to see Darin leave," he said. "I certainly understand the personal piece of it. I've been very, very public about how I feel about him and the job he's done for us. He should hold his head up high."

After an up-and-down start to the year, the Huskers found their form over the final stretch of the regular season by winning two key series over Arizona State and Michigan at Haymarket Park. While a few tough breaks in postseason play ended that run over the weekend, Moos credited Erstad and his team for turning things around.

"He pulled out of a slump," Moos said. "We won four of the last six games in the two series against Arizona State and Michigan and played for the conference tournament championship; that took some real doing. I still think this was a successful season and I think he probably did too and wanted to leave on a good note."

Erstad, who also played both football and baseball at Nebraska, was announced as the head coach of Nebraska in June of 2011, finishing with an overall record of 267-193-1. While at Nebraska, Erstad would win Big Ten Coach of the Year on his teams' way to capturing the Big Ten regular-season title in 2017. The Erstad-led Huskers would reach the Big Ten tournament championship games in 2013, 2014, and 2019 and would also qualify for the NCAA tournament in four of his eight seasons at Nebraska.

While the news of Erstad's departure is still fresh in the minds of everyone associated with Nebraska baseball, Moos said the athletic department was already working on finding a replacement. In the meantime, multiple reports have said Ted Silva will serve as the Huskers' interim head coach.

Moos stated they would start looking at candidates who already had head coaching experience and was confident they could attract the right people to the job given the resources at Nebraska.

"All the areas that are important in regards to performance, and I'm talking nutrition and our strength program, our academic unit, it's all top-notch," Moos said. "This will be very attractive to a lot of people and, I believe wholeheartedly, to some coaches who have been very successful at this level.

"I've said this all along, the University of Nebraska has a lot to offer and this is a destination. You don't come here to go get another job, you come here because this is the better job. We have everything in place, I think, to be extremely successful in baseball."

The Huskers will be returning a number of key contributors next season, so the new head coach will inherit a roster with some quality talent. Aaron Palensky, who led Nebraska in average, runs, hits, home runs, and slugging percentage will return, as will catcher Gunner Hellstrom and Big Ten all-tournament team selection Spencer Schwellenbach.

On the mound, the Huskers will see saves leader Colby Gomes make a return as well as key relievers Robbie Palkert and Shay Schanaman and starting pitcher Kyle Perry. All three pitchers made an impact for the Huskers, especially late in the year, and will be the faces of the pitching staff moving forward.