PERFECT GAME'S COLLEGE BASEBALL COACHING CAROUSEL 2011 |
Akron |
Out: Pat Bangston
In : Rick Rembielak
Buzz : The Zips were one of the worst teams in the Mid-American Conference last season and cut ties with coach Pat Bangston. They proved they were serious about winning by hiring MAC coaching veteran Rick Rembielak. Rembielak spent last season as the volunteer assistant at Georgia Tech. Previously he was the head coach at Wake Forest and before that, the head man at Kent State. Interestingly, Rembielak still has the all-time winningest record in any sport at Kent State. |
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Alabama State |
Out: Larry Watkins
In : Mervyl Melendez
Buzz : Long-time head coach Larry Watkins stepped down after the 2011 season and was moved to an administrative position within the athletic department. The Hornets made a tremendous splash hire with the addition of Mervyl Melendez, who developed Bethune-Cookman into the premier historically black college baseball program. Melendez made 11 NCAA Regional appearances with the Wildcats. |
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Bethune-Cookman |
Out: Mervyl Melendez
In : Jason Beverlin
Buzz : In one of the more surprising stories of the college baseball season, long-time BCC head coach Mervyl Melendez resigned his post with the Wildcats to take on a new challenge at Alabama State in the SWAC. Melendez spent 19 seasons with the Wildcats and turned the program into a dominant HBCU power. The Wildcats replaced Meledenz with Jason Beverlin, who previously served as the pitching coach at Tennessee the past two seasons. Before his stint with the Vols, Beverlin spent time as an assistant at Georgia Southern. |
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Cal State Fullerton |
Out: Dave Serrano
In : Rick Vanderhook
Buzz : There are a few coaches in college baseball that exude Cal State Fullerton baseball. Vanderhook is one of those guys. After spending the past couple of seasons as an assistant at UCLA, Vanderhook is the newest head coach of the Titans. Before his stint with the Bruins, he served as an assistant for the Titans from 1998-2007. Vanderhook takes over for departed head coach Dave Serrano, who now is the head coach at Tennessee. |
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Florida A&M |
Out: Brett Richardson
In : TBA
Buzz : Richardson served as the head coach for the Rattlers last season after coach Robert Lucas parted ways with the university. FAMU hasn’t announced whether Richardson will continue to lead the program or if it will hire a new coach. Therefore, it’s safe to put this in the vacant department. FAMU went 17-40 overall in 2011. |
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Fordham |
Out: Nick Restaino
In: Kevin Leighton
Buzz : Nick Restaino spent seven seasons as the head coach of the Rams, but left at the end of the 2011 season to pursue other opportunities in another industry. The Rams, as a result, plucked coach Kevin Leighton away from Manhattan in what is an excellent hire. Leighton spent the last six seasons with the Jaspers, where he guided the program to a pair of NCAA postseason appearances, including a Regional final in 2006. |
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Hartford |
Out: Jeff Calcaterra
In : Justin Blood
Buzz : After the Hawks cut ties with former coach Jeff Calcaterra, they made a strong statement when they plucked Blood away from Connecticut. Blood spent the last six years as assistant coach and recruiting coordinator for the Huskies. He’s a rising coach and helped lead the Huskies to an NCAA Super Regional this season. The Hawks really couldn’t have made a more impressive hire. |
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Manhattan |
Out: Kevin Leighton
Candidates: Jim Duffy
Buzz : The Jaspers were left in a pickle this summer when coach Kevin Leighton departed the program for Fordham. The Jaspers, though, made a solid hire when they announced the addition of new head coach Jim Duffy. Duffy spent the last seven seasons as an assistant coach at Seton Hall. Just last season, Duffy helped the Pirates reach the NCAA tournament, where they were competitive at the College Station Regional.
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Maryland-Baltimore County |
Out: John Jancuska
In : Bob Mumma
Buzz : It’s not often that coaches spend a lot of years at the same program, but Jancuska certainly did that. He spent the last 34 seasons with the Retrievers, but decided to hand the program over to someone else after the 2011 season. The Retrievers replaced Jancuska with Bob Mumma, who served as an assistant coach for UMBC for 15 seasons. |
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Nebraska |
Out: Mike Anderson
In : Darin Erstad
Buzz : After experiencing another tough campaign, the Huskers parted ways with head coach Mike Anderson. Anderson spent the last nine seasons as the Huskers’ head coach, where he compiled an overall record of 337-196-2. He also guided NU to a College World Series appearance in 2005. Interestingly, the Huskers hired former big leaguer Darin Erstad, who will be making his head-coaching debut in his first season with the Huskers. |
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New York Tech |
Out: Butch Caulfield
In: : TBA
Buzz : In one of the more interesting stories leading up to the start of the 2012 campaign, Butch Caulfield resigned before even beginning his first season with the Bears. Caulfield replaced long-time head coach Bob Hirschfield, who spent 30 seasons with the program. It’ll be interesting to see who the Bears hire or promote with the season nearing. |
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North Carolina A&T |
Out: Keith Shumate
Candidates : Joel Sanchez
Buzz : It was somewhat surprising when Shumate decided to step down as head coach of the Aggies. He spent the last 15 seasons with the program and led them to the MEAC tournament title game four of the last six seasons. The Aggies have hired Sanchez, who spent last season as an assistant at Daytona State College. Before that, he spent eight seasons as an assistant at Bethune-Cookman. |
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North Carolina Central |
Out: Henry White
In : Jim Koerner
Buzz : After spending 34 seasons as a college baseball coach, Henry White has handed the torch of the Eagles over to Jim Koerner. Koerner spent the last six seasons as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator for Buffalo. Additionally, he has a total of 10 years of college coaching experience. |
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Old Dominion |
Out: Nate Goulet
In: : Chris Finwood
Buzz : The Lions gave Nate Goulet an opportunity to lead the program as interim coach for a season, but decided to go a different direction at the conclusion of the campaign. ODU made a slam-dunk hire with the addition of Western Kentucky head coach Chris Finwood. Finwood spent the last six seasons with the Hilltoppers and compiled a 190-154 overall record. |
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SAM HOUSTON STATE
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Out: Mark Johnson
In: : David Pierce
Buzz : It was a sad day when head coach Mark Johnson decided to retire. He spent the last four seasons with the Bearkats and several seasons at Texas A&M. Overall, he spent 41 seasons as a college coach. The Bearkats replaced Johnson with Rice assistant David Pierce, who spent the last nine years as a premier assistant for the Owls. |
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Santa Clara |
Out: Mark O’Brien
In: : Dan O’Brien
Buzz : In not exactly a surprising move, the Broncos cut ties with former coach Mark O’Brien. The Broncos considered some solid candidates, but settled on a solid one in UC San Diego coach Dan O’Brien. O’Brien spent the last 14 seasons with the Tritons and earned Division II National Coach of the Year honors on two occasions. |
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South Alabama |
Out: Steve Kittrell
In: : Mark Calvi
Buzz : After long-time coach Steve Kittrell announced his retirement, the Jaguars hired Mark Calvi away from South Carolina. Calvi spent the 2011 season as coach-in-waiting, but now takes over. Calvi, before his time with the Jaguars, spent six seasons with the Gamecocks, where he helped guide the program to their first national title in 2010. |
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South Dakota State |
Out: Ritchie Price
In: : Dave Schrage
Buzz : Price was the youngest head coach in Division I Baseball as the head man for the Jackrabbits. He experienced a wealth of success in three seasons with the program. He led the program to the conference tournament each season and compiled a league record of 56-27 in three seasons. Overall, he finished his tenure at SDSU with a 102-71 overall record. The Jackrabbits made a solid hire when they added Dave Schrage. Schrage previously spent four seasons at Notre Dame after spending four seasons at Evansville. He's four wins shy of reaching the 600-victory milestone.
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Temple |
Out: Rob Valli
Candidates: : Ryan Wheeler
Buzz : The Owls have a new head coach to hire after Valli resigned his post with the program. Valli spent the last six years with the Owls and compiled just 112 wins in the process. With Valli's departures, the Owls have turned the program over to Ryan Wheeler, who has 15 years of Division I coaching experience, and has spent the last five years as an assistant at Richmond. He previously had served as an assistant at Pennsylvania and William & Mary. |
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Tennessee |
Out: Todd Raleigh
In: : Dave Serrano
Buzz : In no surprise, the Volunteers parted ways with head coach Todd Raleigh. Raleigh spent the last four seasons with the Vols, but was unable to get much going. Raleigh compiled an overall record of 108-113 with the program. The Vols hired coach Dave Serrano away from Cal State Fullerton. Serrano spent the last four seasons with the Titans, where he guided the program to one College World Series appearance. |
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UC Davis |
Out: Rex Peters
In: : Matt Vaughn
Buzz : In a bit of a surprise, coach Rex Peters decided to leave his post with the Aggies to become the new top assistant at UCLA for coach John Savage. As a result, the Aggies were forced to hire a new coach. They didn’t have to look far as they promoted associate head coach Matt Vaughn to head coach. Vaughn has spent more than 20 seasons with the program. |
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UC Santa Barbara |
Out: Bob Brontsema
In: : Andrew Checketts
Buzz : The Gauchos moved former coach Bob Brontsema to an administrative position and hired Andrew Checketts away from Oregon. Checketts spent the last three seasons with the Ducks, where he helped that program get back on its feet. Additionally, Checketts previously spent time and had success at UC Riverside. Checketts, who is the ninth coach in UCSB history, is expected to experience success. |
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Wagner |
Out: Joe Litterio
In: : TBA
Buzz : Wagner head coach Joe Litterio couldn’t turn down an opportunity to be an assistant at his alma mater, Rutgers. Litterio joins Fred Hill’s staff at RU after compiling a 240-372 record in 12 seasons with the Seahawks. Expect the Seahawks to promote from within for at least the ’12 campaign. |
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Western Kentucky |
Out: Chris Finwood
In: : Matt Myers
Buzz : The Hilltoppers definitely were disappointed when Finwood, who guided the program to an NCAA Regional title game in 2009, left the program for Old Dominion. However, the program won’t suffer any instability. The Hilltoppers hired former assistant Matt Myers, who served four years as an assistant for Finwood. Overall, he has 18 years of coaching experience. |
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