Having coached at Rice in 1991 and then in the high school ranks, Pierce rejoined the collegiate coaching ranks at his alma mater, the University of Houston. As the Cougars hitting coach, he helped the team to two postseason tournaments. In 2002 – his second year as an assistant coach – Pierce helped UH reach a Super Regional. His hitters finished with almost 700 hits and a.310 team batting average, good for 5th in Cougar history.
Rice University
Pierce joined the Rice staff as a hitting coach in 2003 and was part of the school's first national championship. After the departure of Zane Curry, Pierce became the team's pitching coach and oversaw one of the most consistent pitching staffs in the nation. From 2007 to 2010, his pitchers ranked in the top 20 nationally in ERA each year. In 2007, the Owls were fourth in the country with a 3.04 ERA. His pitching staff ranked in the top 30 in staff ERA for five years as pitching coach for the Owls.
Pierce was hired as Sam Houston's head coach in 2011 following former coaching legend Mark Johnson's retirement. In his first season as head coach, Pierce coached the Bearkats to their first outright conference title since 1989. In the 40-win season, the team won 13 straight games and was nationally ranked in each of the major national polls at one point in the season. In conference play, the Bearkats won a Southland record 24 games. His team earned an at-large bid to the Houston Regional, where it matched the program's best regional finish in history, defeating No. 1 seed Rice and reaching the final against Arkansas. That season, Pierce was named Southland ConferenceCoach of the Year and AMCA Regional Coach of the Year. In his time at Sam Houston State, Pierce's teams won the Southland Conference regular season and appeared in the NCAA Tournament every season.
Tulane
On June 8, 2014, Tulane University announced it had hired Pierce as its 23rd head baseball coach, following long-time coach Rick Jones' retirement due to health concerns. In his first year at Tulane, David Pierce brought the Green Wave back to postseason play for the first time since 2008. In 2016, he improved on that and brought Tulane its first conference championship since 2005.
