Former Indiana assistant Dustin Glant becomes the second college assistant to join the Washington Nationals' coaching staff within the last week.
With the MLB winter meetings set to kick off this week, Washington Nationals president of baseball operations Paul Toboni and manager Blake Butera have added another to the coaching staff ahead of the 2026 season.
Indiana University announced that Dustin Glant, who served as the Hoosiers’ associate head coach and pitching coach since 2022, has accepted a position with the Nationals. Glant becomes the latest assistant from the college ranks to join the Nationals after news broke last week that former Charlotte assistant Phillip Cebuhar was headed to Washington as the new hitting coordinator.
"Coach Glant has accepted a coaching position with the Washington Nationals," Indiana head coach Jeff Mercer announced on Sunday afternoon. "There are few coaches who've gone directly from college to Major League Baseball. It's an incredible accomplishment and we're proud and excited for him and his family. I want to thank him for his hard work, investment and friendship during his time in Bloomington. We wish him the very best!"
Glant led Indiana to become one of the top strikeout programs in the country after recording three of the highest single-season strikeout marks in program history, doing so in three consecutive years beginning in 2022, while the Hoosiers’ 600 punchouts during the 2022 season marks a program record.
Glant also produced nine MLB pitcher, including Milwaukee Brewers relief pitcher Craig Yoho and Athletics pitcher Jack Perkins. Under Glant’s coaching, former Indiana pitcher Ryan Kraft also finished top-five in program history in appearances.
The coaching staff under Butera continues to take shape with news last week that former Yankees and Mets assistant Grayson Crawford joins the organization as the new director pitching, along with Corey Ray replacing Gerrardo Parra as the new first base coach and in addition to Cebuhar's arrival. Grant Anders also joins as the new development coach and Desmond McGowan stepping in as the director of amateur acquisitions. Toboni also previously said that former World Series champion and pitching strategist Sean Doolittle will remain with the organization and is retained on Butera’s staff in 2026.
“We're really excited about that,” Toboni, who was hired in October, said. “I really liked getting to know him over the course of the past month, or however long it’s been. I think the world of him. Coincidentally, he's got a great relationship with the pitching coach that we hired -- they’re very tight. It ended up just being a really good relationship from the get-go.”
Meanwhile, all eyes will turn to the makeup of the 2026 roster this week after dealing left handed pitcher Jose Ferrar for a pair of prospects, including catcher Harry Ford. While Washington graded favorably in the trade review, it could be the first of many after left handed pitcher MacKenzie Gore has also been at the center of trade speculation over the last week with ESPN's Buster Olney reporting the growing belief among front offices is the reliever will be traded in the days ahead.