Realistic Candidates for HC

[StarkVegasSteve]

So we can all throw out the unrealistic hires. You've all seen them: Vitello, Tadlock, O'Sullivan, Link Jarrett, etc.

So that brings us to this: Who REALISTICALLY could we hire? BTW this is in no particular order, just who think of first

1. Chris Pollard (Duke)- His resume is good and it looks he'll win the ACC this year. He's not as high on my list as some people have him on theirs, but he could regularly get you to the Regionals and probably could have you hosting every other year. That is kind of his track record at Duke. His conference tourney record is very impressive as well.

2. Mark Wasikowski (Oregon)- Another one that people are higher on than I am. His unfamiliarity with this part of the country is probably what gives me trepidation on him. But he has built off what George Horton laid the foundation for and has been to back to back Supers.

3. Steve Sabins (West Virginia)- Probably the guy I am most interested in, not necessarily the favorite but more want to learn more about. He's 37-5 this year, which is his first season. Had a rocky start to conference play(1-3 in his first four) but is 14-0 since with 4 straight sweeps.

4. Skylar Meade (Troy)- Really has gotten things rolling at Troy and has kicked it up even another notch this year. The one drawback to him may be his connection to Lemonis as his last year at Louisville was Dan and Chris' first year there and they went to Omaha with that group. Have always heard that Dan and Co. are close with that first team.

5. Andrew Checketts (UCSB)- Had some early success at UCSB (2 regionals and a CWS in his first 5 years) and then kind of stumbled but has recovered nicely and built a really good program in Santa Barbara. My trepidations on him are the same as Wasikowski, unfamiliarity with recruiting in this part of the country.

6. Nick Mingione(Kentucky)- I don't really think anyone needs too much info on Nick. We know him pretty well. The buyout, if the amount that is rumored is correct, will probably keep us from hiring him.

7. Dan Heefner(DBU)- He's not coming unless he backs off some of the hardline religious stuff. It won't work at a public university. He can get away with it at a private Christian bible college. Also, he IS NOT a fan of alcohol and would not be a fan of it in our stadium. BUT if he backs off some of that stuff, he's the hire no questions asked. And btw, I am not talking have bible studies or praying before games.

8. Rob Vaughn (Alabama)- He would be my hire. He's recruited well and has done really well in the portal. He also fits the addage of "If you can't beat 'em, join 'em" because we've owned him since he's been at Bama. I think he'd kill it here and I think we can get him.

9. Skip Johnson (Oklahoma)- This is kind of the Selmon connection. Skip has obviously shown he can coach (CWS Runner Up 2022) but has kind of been up and down in his tenure there. I think if we pushed though, we'd get him.

10. Will Coggin(UGA HC)- I don't think Will needs an intro. Everyone knows his pros and cons at this point. He'd be higher up my list than most, but I think he knows what it takes to win here because he saw it. I would need to know what he wanted to do about the pitching though first and foremost. He has it made at UGA with Wes.

11. Josh Elander (Tennessee HC)- Josh has been with Tony every step of the way at Tennessee. So it would take a good offer to pull him from there. But he has seen how Tony has built that program from legit the ground up, and he'll have a higher starting point. The question for us is, Is it truly all Tony at Tennessee or do these assistants have that same fire and bravado as he does?

12. Erik Bakich(Clemson)- This is probably the guy I would throw the kitchen sink at. He has won everywhere and has been elite everywhere. He took Michigan to the CWS finals....MICHIGAN. In baseball.

[Cooterpoot]

The odds of pulling a proven sitting HC in a P4 is probably about 10-20%

[StarkVegasSteve]

The odds of pulling a proven sitting HC in a P4 is probably about 10-20%

You may be right. It's quite difficult to say the least, but we have done it in 2 of our last 3 HC hires. 3 of the last 4 if you want to count Polk coming from UGA.

[KOdawg1]

Ben Orloff is a name that's interesting. Young West Coast guy that's kind of in the same boat as Checketts. Currently has UC Irvine in the top 10.

Pollard is my #1. Got his master's from here, has built Duke into a consistent top 15 team, and seems to be the best all around realistic option. He loses a lot off of this years team so maybe he's ready to make the jump.

[StarkVegasSteve]

Ben Orloff is a name that's interesting. Young West Coast guy that's kind of in the same boat as Checketts. Currently has UC Irvine in the top 10.

Pollard is my #1. Got his master's from here, has built Duke into a consistent top 15 team, and seems to be the best all around realistic option. He loses a lot off of this years team so maybe he's ready to make the jump.

Orloff is definitely an interesting name. I'd have him behind Wasikowski and Checketts if I was going to go West Coast with this hire.

[shoeless joe]

don't go get a nice guy...major A-hole that knows what type of player we need and has the ability to go out and get em.

[WinningIsRelentless]

Pollard has a career 57% winning %. Lemonis is 63%. I think I?ll pass on that one.

[StarkVegasSteve]

Here is another thing to ponder, with all this legislation hanging in the balance and knowing that the former baseball coach is not the AD anymore, how much are we willing to realistically spend on baseball? In other words, what is the cap? My guess is that it's somewhere between 1 mil-1.3 mil. I mean Mizzou doesn't know where their field is and they're paying almost 700K.

[Coach34]

I'd put odds at 75% its going to be a top asst coach so that we can save money early on while all this NCAA mess is being ironed out plus the money it costs to make the change.

[Santiago]

If an assistant is hired, do we have to sit on the news until their season , if a CWS run, is over?

[Santiago]

I'd put odds at 75% its going to be a top asst coach so that we can save money early on while all this NCAA mess is being ironed out plus the money it costs to make the change.

A really good assistant, with our savings in buyout going into our baseball NIL for him, would be a big boost as well.

[Todd4State]

The odds of pulling a proven sitting HC in a P4 is probably about 10-20%

I completely disagree. If the people running the search are the ones doing the heavy lifting are the ones I heard that is.

And while baseball coaches do tend to stay there are those like Schlossnagle too.

[Todd4State]

And I will say this about Bakich- he was just recently complaining about Clemson's attendance. They draw 5K a game- about what we draw for a midweek game against Troy.

Not saying he is coming here. I'm saying there may be a crack in the door.

[wncdawg]

I do like your list, but I'm not sure any of those are truly realistic outside of the assistants. I'm not going to address the west coast guys because I know less about them. I'll say I have my doubts that any would come to State. Secondly I think it's a crap shoot with those guys coming to the SEC. I love watching the late west coast games, but those guys are dealing with very little pressure largely. They can live relatively anonymously that doesn't happen for the baseball coach in Starkville.

So we can all throw out the unrealistic hires. You've all seen them: Vitello, Tadlock, O'Sullivan, Link Jarrett, etc.

So that brings us to this: Who REALISTICALLY could we hire? BTW this is in no particular order, just who think of first

1. Chris Pollard (Duke)- His resume is good and it looks he'll win the ACC this year. He's not as high on my list as some people have him on theirs, but he could regularly get you to the Regionals and probably could have you hosting every other year. That is kind of his track record at Duke. His conference tourney record is very impressive as well. [/U]

2. Mark Wasikowski (Oregon)- Another one that people are higher on than I am. His unfamiliarity with this part of the country is probably what gives me trepidation on him. But he has built off what George Horton laid the foundation for and has been to back to back Supers.

3. Steve Sabins (West Virginia)- Probably the guy I am most interested in, not necessarily the favorite but more want to learn more about. He's 37-5 this year, which is his first season. Had a rocky start to conference play(1-3 in his first four) but is 14-0 since with 4 straight sweeps. This guy is really intriguing to me. First year as a head coach at WVU, but he's been with them in different capacities since 2016. Again you kick the tires, but he has been there a while now as an assistant and head coach.

4. Skylar Meade (Troy)- Really has gotten things rolling at Troy and has kicked it up even another notch this year. The one drawback to him may be his connection to Lemonis as his last year at Louisville was Dan and Chris' first year there and they went to Omaha with that group. Have always heard that Dan and Co. are close with that first team. This one to me comes down to any loyalty he has to Lemonis. I do think he could be successful here, but I'm not sure it's the home run hire some want. My concerns with him would be that he's some good years, but this is his fourth year at Troy and he's only made a regional once in his first three years. He's from Louisville as well as being an alum of the University. When Dan retires from U of L, would he bolt?

5. Andrew Checketts (UCSB)- Had some early success at UCSB (2 regionals and a CWS in his first 5 years) and then kind of stumbled but has recovered nicely and built a really good program in Santa Barbara. My trepidations on him are the same as Wasikowski, unfamiliarity with recruiting in this part of the country.

6. Nick Mingione(Kentucky)- I don't really think anyone needs too much info on Nick. We know him pretty well. The buyout, if the amount that is rumored is correct, will probably keep us from hiring him. Yes, he's been to Omaha as a head coach now. But, he was also a whisker of losing his job after the 2022 season. If they hadn't made the post season, my understanding from people connected to UK athletics is that he would have been let go. From the Cohen coaching tree, he's probably the guy I would want the least.

7. Dan Heefner(DBU)- He's not coming unless he backs off some of the hardline religious stuff. It won't work at a public university. He can get away with it at a private Christian bible college. Also, he IS NOT a fan of alcohol and would not be a fan of it in our stadium. BUT if he backs off some of that stuff, he's the hire no questions asked. And btw, I am not talking have bible studies or praying before games. No way he's coming here. Yes, I would be on board with bringing. Another guy that would likely win, but he's had plenty of opportunities to leave for a bigger job and he's always stayed.

8. Rob Vaughn (Alabama)- He would be my hire. He's recruited well and has done really well in the portal. He also fits the addage of "If you can't beat 'em, join 'em" because we've owned him since he's been at Bama. I think he'd kill it here and I think we can get him. I agree I think he would win and win big here, but I don't think he leaves them for State. I don't really see State pulling a sitting SEC head coach. For a couple of reasons with the changes in college sports I don't think you want to spend the money on a buy out in a non-revenue sport.

9. Skip Johnson (Oklahoma)- This is kind of the Selmon connection. Skip has obviously shown he can coach (CWS Runner Up 2022) but has kind of been up and down in his tenure there. I think if we pushed though, we'd get him. He's 58. He most likely retires from OU. Baseball coaches just move around less. I mean heck he's been coaching since 1994, and has only coached at 3 schools.

10. Will Coggin(UGA HC)- I don't think Will needs an intro. Everyone knows his pros and cons at this point. He'd be higher up my list than most, but I think he knows what it takes to win here because he saw it. I would need to know what he wanted to do about the pitching though first and foremost. He has it made at UGA with Wes. Until someone spills the beans about why so many don't want him because of his previous tenure at State, he's my top choice from current assistants. Mississippi State guy. He pretty much saved Mingione's job with his recruiting at UK, and he has helped Wes get UGA rolling. I prefer him to an Elander. Plus if why so many people don't want him is because he doesn't play politics with boosters, well that's even better. Let's get an ass hole that just wants to win. Winning cures all.

11. Josh Elander (Tennessee HC)- Josh has been with Tony every step of the way at Tennessee. So it would take a good offer to pull him from there. But he has seen how Tony has built that program from legit the ground up, and he'll have a higher starting point. The question for us is, Is it truly all Tony at Tennessee or do these assistants have that same fire and bravado as he does? Probably the hire that makes me the most nervous. But, he's been Vitello's recruiting coordinator since they got to UT. So, he has had a hand in all those great classes they've brought in. My main concern with him is UT was in a pretty low spot with their athletics when that staff got there. Their fanbase was hungry for winners and had money to spend. Is this a case of a charismatic head coach with powerful boosters? How much have the assistants impacted that program. Someone will give him a chance, but should it be a program like State?

12. Erik Bakich(Clemson)- This is probably the guy I would throw the kitchen sink at. He has won everywhere and has been elite everywhere. He took Michigan to the CWS finals....MICHIGAN. In baseball.
I skipped ahead to the last sitting head coach. I 1000% AGREE ON THIS ONE. You have to make him say no. He's got Clemson rolling again. Clemson is a very similar program to State. Decent, but not great support. Having said that the Upstate of SC is growing like crazy. Clemson as a University is growing with great leadership in place. I'd love to get him, but even if he's willing I think it would be too much money for State right now until all this mess with the NCAA is cleaned up a bit.

I would add Lane Burroughs. He played a pretty significant role in helping Cohen turn the program around. He had a hand in the recruitment of most of the players on the 2013 team. He would bring that toughness back to the program.

Will Coggin is probably my first choice at this point. But, I believe whoever the next coach is has to bring that tough, blue collar mentality back to the program to get the job done.


Yeah, first post, and it was a novel. Oh well 17 it!


-Cleaned it up for ya - Scooba

[Cooterpoot]

If I were betting, I'd put my money on a top assistant. I'd offer those HC first and maybe you get a nibble there but I think you probably aren't going to pay huge for a baseball coach right now.

[Santiago]

And I will say this about Bakich- he was just recently complaining about Clemson's attendance. They draw 5K a game- about what we draw for a midweek game against Troy.

Not saying he is coming here. I'm saying there may be a crack in the door.

If we had a winning coach, we would continue to break our own attendance records.

[KOdawg1]

Pollard has a career 57% winning %. Lemonis is 63%. I think I?ll pass on that one.

This is lacking context.

Pollard was at some lower level schools early in his career and took over a Duke program that quite literally had done nothing before he got there. His first few years were rough but then he built it up and they've made 6 regionals in 8 years. Soon to be 7 in 9.
He took them to their first regional in 55 years. He's been to 3 super regionals, something Duke had never done before him. So his overall winning %, while not completely irrelevant, is pretty meaningless when comparing him to Lemonis.

Lemonis on the other hand, is a guy who took over an Indiana team that had gone to the CWS before he got there and then proceeded to do nothing with them. He gets a little credit for not immediately crashing the car Cohen and Cann built for him. Kudos for that.

[Pancho]

Pollard has a career 57% winning %. Lemonis is 63%. I think I?ll pass on that one.

what has Lemo done since 21, % wise. that tells the tale

[StarkVegasSteve]

This is lacking context.

Pollard was at some lower level schools early in his career and took over a Duke program that quite literally had done nothing before he got there. His first few years were rough but then he built it up and they've made 6 regionals in 8 years. Soon to be 7 in 9.
He took them to their first regional in 55 years. He's been to 3 super regionals, something Duke had never done before him. So his overall winning %, while not completely irrelevant, is pretty meaningless when comparing him to Lemonis.

Lemonis on the other hand, is a guy who took over an Indiana team that had gone to the CWS before he got there and then proceeded to do nothing with them. He gets a little credit for not immediately crashing the car Cohen and Cann built for him. Kudos for that.

I've said before that I'm not as high as others on Pollard, but to try to say he and Lemonis are basically the same is asinine. Pollard walked into a team at Duke that had not made a tournament appearance since 1961. He had to build them from the absolute floor. Lemonis walked into a team that was coming off a 3rd place finish in Omaha and returned all but 1 starter in the field and all but one starter on the mound.

[Todd4State]

If I were betting, I'd put my money on a top assistant. I'd offer those HC first and maybe you get a nibble there but I think you probably aren't going to pay huge for a baseball coach right now.

Bakich makes close to the same as Lemonis. Just for a reference. And that's at a school that is comparable to a SEC program.

My point is most coaches that we have as candidates that are P4 head coaches are making less than what we are paying Lemonis now. Meaning for most of the candidates we can pay and give them a raise and significantly upgrade without paying huge for a baseball coach. At least relative to what we have been paying.