Strauss, who played for the Dirtbags during the team's College World Series run in 1993 and in 1994, was on Coach Dave Snow's staff from 1995 to 2000 and then again as the volunteer coach in 2006. During his time at LBSU as a coach, the Dirtbags have gone 288-198, won three Big West titles, advanced to six NCAA Regionals and finished third at the 1998 College World Series behind one of the top hitting teams in school-history. 

The Spartans were 34-26 in 2007 as the recruiting class for 2008 was rated amongst Collegiate Baseball's annual rankings. Strauss served as the the pitching and recruiting coordinator at Loyola Marymount for three seasons (2003-05) where 11 pitchers signed pro contracts. The Lions twice won the Divisional Championship (2004-05) and reached the WCC three-game Championship Series in each of those seasons.

After leaving LBSU in 2000, he was the head coach at Glendale Community College, where he went 66-25 with a pair of league titles under his belt in 2001 and 2002. He was also twice named the Western State Conference Coach of the Year.

Strauss graduated from LBSU in 1996 with a degree in psychology after spending a year in the Yankees minor league system (1994). He served as the pitching coach for Chatham in the Cape Cod League in 1997 and 1998. The 1998 team won the Cape Cod League Championship.

A Southern California native, he prepped at Glendale High School and played at the College of the Canyons prior to coming to LBSU.