New Coaching Prospects

[Comebakatz3]

Okay... we kind of have one discussion on this... now it is time to seriously talk about it. Who do you guys want? Sell your pick.

I personally think we should throw a ton of money at:

1. Roger Williams (Louisville pitching coach)
2. Travis Jewett (Vanderbilt recruiting coordinator and hitting coach)
3. Scott Brown (Vanderbilt pitching coach)

There are plenty of others that peak my interest, but I really like these guys.

 

[AgesBlue]

I will go along CBC, the obvious caniditate is probably the Wright state coach Greg Lovelady, the latest name to come up is Greg Goff, the La. Tech coach, who apparently was once at UK as an assistant.
I too like Scott Brown the Vandy pitching coach, and have heard a lot of good things about the UofL pitching coach. That would be an interesting hire, considering the in state rivalry.

 

[Black Diamond Cat]

I would imagine Mitch will go for a coach with previous HC experience. Although, there are some excellent assistants ready to lead a program.
You both have named some excellent prospects for the UK job, I imagine Mitch is busy on the phone getting info on possible candidates !

 

[sluggercatfan]

I would imagine Mitch will go for a coach with previous HC experience. Although, there are some excellent assistants ready to lead a program.
You both have named some excellent prospects for the UK job, I imagine Mitch is busy on the phone getting info on possible candidates !

Still very interested in the guy at Ala St...

 

[Big_Blue_1018]

Not to get off topic here, but did Mizzou fire Tim Jameson?

 

[Comebakatz3]

I think that Lovelady may be headed somewhere bigger than us but that's hard to say.

 

[Black Diamond Cat]

I think that Lovelady may be headed somewhere bigger than us but that's hard to say.

Why do you say that ? Is some other school on his trail ???

 

[Comebakatz3]

Why do you say that ? Is some other school on his trail ???

I just say that because he has done pretty well lately. So, I think he's set himself up for a big raise. That could be us, but we also have to compete with Texas and Alabama.

 

[Black Diamond Cat]

I just say that because he has done pretty well lately. So, I think he's set himself up for a big raise. That could be us, but we also have to compete with Texas and Alabama.

Alabama maybe, but I look for Texas to go after a Big Time coach, I even heard Kendall Rogers speculate that Kevin O'Sullivan of Florida may be the guy !

 

[Comebakatz3]

Alabama maybe, but I look for Texas to go after a Big Time coach, I even heard Kendall Rogers speculate that Kevin O'Sullivan of Florida may be the guy !

Yea, I think that Texas is going to shoot for the moon, but that doesn't mean that they will get it. They had all the money in the world to get a football coach and they got Strong. Not exactly a home run hire there. So, we will have to see what they do with it. We know Texas has to do something to get back on top because there are a metric ton of Texas schools playing good to great baseball right now.

 

[sluggercatfan]

I just say that because he has done pretty well lately. So, I think he's set himself up for a big raise. That could be us, but we also have to compete with Texas and Alabama.

Cb3...wonder how much interest, if any, Ala will will have in the ALA ST coach or would they stoop that low?

 

[Black Diamond Cat]

^^^ They may give him a look, but I think they will want a little higher profile coach. They might go after Southern Miss coach Todd Berry, or the Tulane coach.

 

[Comebakatz3]

There are a whole lot of good coaching prospects out there. It is really hard to decide, or even narrow it down. I suppose first you might want to determine what kind of head coach you're looking for. Are you looking for a guy who is offensive minded or defensive minded? My thoughts, are that in this league you need to have outstanding pitching. So, I tend to be more of a guy who wants to pick someone with a resume for great pitchers.

I next have to wonder just what kind of experience I want out of a coach. Should it be a former head coach or a guy who is an assistant. That is a hard one. Part of mean leans towards assistant at this point because I know I can get someone like the three I listed above, that have been coaching at some big time baseball programs and have experienced the hardships of coaching in a situation like UK is in. The Louisville assistant, for instance, will likely be pretty well prepared to recruit to Kentucky since he's been recruiting the state for a while already.

If I am looking for head coaches it gets a bit harder, because I think there is a happy medium zone of success. By this I mean that many times a coach will be at a school for 6+ years before they have any success. That could be because they needed time to build, or because they got an assistant that really boosted them. Hard to say. One example of this is Missouri State. Their head coach has been there 33 years and in that time he's made the NCAA tournament 8 times. However, what is amazing is that in those 33 years he's made a CWS appearance, and last year lost a super regional to Arky. He has very consistent success, but just can't seem to make the tournament more consistently. Then, you have the guys who get to a school and they immediately blow up, but they've been there for only 2-3 years so it is really hard to tell if they just caught lightning in a bottle or if they can sustain success.

I think at this point I would prefer a pretty proven assistant. IMO Henderson was not really a proven assistant. He had one good stretch with Florida, but I don't think he did that great at Oregon State and didn't do that great at UK before being named head coach. However, both the Vanderbilt pitching coach (and hitting coach for that matter) have shown great ability to coach up players in the hardest league and the Louisville pitching coach has consistently had top 5 bullpens in the entire county, even in the ACC. Those, to me, are top proven assistants that I'd be willing to give a shot.


One thing I like to do is go through the RPI list and find small schools that you wouldn't really expect to find there. Then I check out their coaches. A good one that is probably not quite ready for SEC coaching is Jeremy Talbott at Louisiana Lafayette. He doesn't fit my pitching coach, but check out his bio: http://www.ragincajuns.com/coaches.aspx?rc=725&path=baseball

 

[lookinfor8]

Okay... we kind of have one discussion on this... now it is time to seriously talk about it. Who do you guys want? Sell your pick.

I personally think we should throw a ton of money at:

1. Roger Williams (Louisville pitching coach)
2. Travis Jewett (Vanderbilt recruiting coordinator and hitting coach)
3. Scott Brown (Vanderbilt pitching coach)

There are plenty of others that peak my interest, but I really like these guys.

Really not all that tuned in on baseball but have watched the Cats several times & watched
the SEC playoffs & will see some of the CWS so my comments are not that of a devout
baseball fan.
I think you may be spot on about your 3 picks above. one thing is for sure, they come from
very good programs that have sustained themselves & thats what we need.
Some will react very badly to the UL coach but if he can get the job done who cares where
he came from.

 

[BluegrassBlake]

I would also like to see Travis Jewett considered. Currently hitting coach/recruiting coordinator at Vandy and also had the same title at Arizona St. before going to Vandy.

 

[Comebakatz3]

Really not all that tuned in on baseball but have watched the Cats several times & watched
the SEC playoffs & will see some of the CWS so my comments are not that of a devout
baseball fan.
I think you may be spot on about your 3 picks above. one thing is for sure, they come from
very good programs that have sustained themselves & thats what we need.
Some will react very badly to the UL coach but if he can get the job done who cares where
he came from.

I don't like Louisville, hate them just as much as the next guy, but I don't see any way someone could be upset with Roger Williams coming on board considering that he's had some of the best pitching staffs in the entire country since he's been at Louisville. I mean, last year his pitching staff ranked in the top 15 in 5 different categories. UK, as far as I know, has never been close to being in the top 15 in the country in any category in pitching, at least not as a team. In his first season with Louisville they made their first ever trip to Omaha. He also coached pitchers at Georgia at one point so he knows the SEC at least a bit.

The guy has been putting out really damn good pitching staffs for years. I don't know if most of Louisville's success is the result of Williams or McDonnell, but I would be more than happy to give Williams a shot at being a head coach to find out if he is a big part of the reason for Louisville's success. The guy recruits for them, and his pitchers have been remarkable. He, I think, is my home run hire.

 

[CatsFanGG24]

^ I've repeated this numerous times on here, but I was told Williams was the man at UL...he was the key to success...Williams would have everyone up and going, McDonnell would show up late (idk why - recruiting/meetings w/higher ups/who knows), and Williams would get the show rolling.

Was told this by a UL pitcher...so he could just be completely biased bc it was his position coach, but Williams has shown he has a formula when it comes to recruiting pitchers, its proven and completely successful.

 

[Comebakatz3]

^ I've repeated this numerous times on here, but I was told Williams was the man at UL...he was the key to success...Williams would have everyone up and going, McDonnell would show up late (idk why - recruiting/meetings w/higher ups/who knows), and Williams would get the show rolling.

Was told this by a UL pitcher...so he could just be completely biased bc it was his position coach, but Williams has shown he has a formula when it comes to recruiting pitchers, its proven and completely successful.

Reading his bio it seems pretty clear to me. The guy had success at East Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia, and the first year he came to Louisville he took them to their first CWS, and their pitching just continues to get better. He's put 9 pitchers into the first two rounds of the MLB draft, and these guys aren't guys that are getting drafted off of potential, they are drafted because of their success in college. He left North Carolina in 2005 to go to Georgia, but in 2006, the pitchers he left there helped to take them to their first CWS in 17 years. In his only year at Georgia, do you know what he did? He helped take them to the College World Series... anyone notice a trend here?

I don't know how he will do at UK, but it seems to me that he's really got one hell of a resume and it is a bit of mystery to me why he has yet to get a chance as a head coach.

 

[lookinfor8]

I would say put up enough cash so it would be to good to turn down.

 

[BigBoyBlueMMA]

I am going with
Brad Bohannon 1st - been here for over a decade - so he is a keeper type of guy
Matt Bragga - Been a UK man and has head coaching experience - and likely to end his career here

 

[GrandePdre]

^ I've repeated this numerous times on here, but I was told Williams was the man at UL...he was the key to success...Williams would have everyone up and going, McDonnell would show up late (idk why - recruiting/meetings w/higher ups/who knows), and Williams would get the show rolling.

Was told this by a UL pitcher...so he could just be completely biased bc it was his position coach, but Williams has shown he has a formula when it comes to recruiting pitchers, its proven and completely successful.

This is the clear choice, IMO.

 

[Comebakatz3]

I am going with
Brad Bohannon 1st - been here for over a decade - so he is a keeper type of guy
Matt Bragga - Been a UK man and has head coaching experience - and likely to end his career here

Interesting choices.

I was higher on Bragga in 2014, but now I am concerned by the fact that he's only been to the NCAA tournament once in 11 years at Tech. I went to Tech when Bragga was hired, and I understand his limitations, but I would just like to see him owning the OVC a bit more before I give him the nod.

Bohannon... ehh... I personally want to move on from what we've had. I think Bohannon did a great job recruiting here, but I think there are likely better choices. If he does a pretty solid job as the head assistant at Auburn, and whoever we pick struggles, then I would definitely start moving him up the list though.

 

[Black Diamond Cat]

Reading his bio it seems pretty clear to me. The guy had success at East Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia, and the first year he came to Louisville he took them to their first CWS, and their pitching just continues to get better. He's put 9 pitchers into the first two rounds of the MLB draft, and these guys aren't guys that are getting drafted off of potential, they are drafted because of their success in college. He left North Carolina in 2005 to go to Georgia, but in 2006, the pitchers he left there helped to take them to their first CWS in 17 years. In his only year at Georgia, do you know what he did? He helped take them to the College World Series... anyone notice a trend here?

I don't know how he will do at UK, but it seems to me that he's really got one hell of a resume and it is a bit of mystery to me why he has yet to get a chance as a head coach.

Agree he has very impressive resume' and yet as you point out, it is very strange he isn't already a HC somewhere by now ! Maybe he is comfortable being the # 2 guy.

 

[jayhovah]

This is the clear choice, IMO.

Plus there is the added benefit of striking a blow to a rival - they aren't in our conference but we will always play 2x a year and certainly fight recruiting battles with them.

 

[Comebakatz3]

Agree he has very impressive resume' and yet as you point out, it is very strange he isn't already a HC somewhere by now ! Maybe he is comfortable being the # 2 guy.

Well, there are some really strange things about him if you really think about it. First, off he is a UNC grad and he spent quite a while at UNC. Why did he leave? Was he forced out or did he leave because he wanted something different? He then went to Georgia, but that was only for one year. When there he helped them to go to the CWS, so he was obviously a hot commodity. Why did he leave an SEC school for one that was, at the time, in the Big East? I don't know how McDonnell and Williams would have crossed paths because the two of them were never coaching together to my knowledge. So, I don't know that they had some deep friendship that would lure Williams to Louisville after just one year at Georgia. Then, the ultimate question is why hasn't he ever been a head coach somewhere? A lot of questions that I might hash out in an interview, but we may never know the answers.

 

[Hayes4prez]

Sounds like Roger Williams is the logical choice... anyone know if he's someone Mitch Barnhart would entertain? He doesnt have any baggage (like most Louisville coaches lol)?

 

[AgesBlue]

Here are my thoughts on the vacant Head Baseball Coach at the U of K, the 4 horsemen of the Catalypse !
1 Greg Lovelady Wright State...On fire at the moment, taken the Raider program to another level.
2 Greg Goff La. Tech... also enfuego, has the Techsters in the NCAA tourney in only his 2nd year, and 1st appearance since 1987. Former UK ast. coach.
3 Roger Williams UofL.. Assoc. Coach/Pitching guru. Has turned in a masterful performance in his 10 years in Louisville. Never been a HC, but should certainly be ready.
Chris Burke ESPN/SEC network analyst... I know some will pooh pooh this candidate, but he was a great player, and is extremely knowledgeble of the game. If hired his 1st call would certainly be to his former coach at Tennessee, Rod Delmonico, a true mentor and great hitting coach, get a competent pitching coach and off you go.
There are certainly other fine candidates out there, and a sleeper may end up with the job, but that's my story and I'm stickin to it !!

 

[Comebakatz3]

Sounds like Roger Williams is the logical choice... anyone know if he's someone Mitch Barnhart would entertain? He doesnt have any baggage (like most Louisville coaches lol)?

I think that it hinges upon what Barnhart is looking for. I don't know if he is looking for an up and comer head coach or if he prefers the assistant coach type route. Henderson was an assistant with a decent resume (some say great), but he didn't work out. So, do you take that route? Serrano (Tenn) and Stricklin (UGA) both had pretty good resumes at coaches at what you would consider smaller schools, but both have flopped so far at their respective schools.

Still, I think he has to at least entertain the notion given the success of Louisville and the proximity of Rogers to us.

 

[Comebakatz3]

Here are my thoughts on the vacant Head Baseball Coach at the U of K, the 4 horsemen of the Catalypse !
1 Greg Lovelady Wright State...On fire at the moment, taken the Raider program to another level.
2 Greg Goff La. Tech... also enfuego, has the Techsters in the NCAA tourney in only his 2nd year, and 1st appearance since 1987. Former UK ast. coach.
3 Roger Williams UofL.. Assoc. Coach/Pitching guru. Has turned in a masterful performance in his 10 years in Louisville. Never been a HC, but should certainly be ready.
Chris Burke ESPN/SEC network analyst... I know some will pooh pooh this candidate, but he was a great player, and is extremely knowledgeble of the game. If hired his 1st call would certainly be to his former coach at Tennessee, Rod Delmonico, a true mentor and great hitting coach, get a competent pitching coach and off you go.
There are certainly other fine candidates out there, and a sleeper may end up with the job, but that's my story and I'm stickin to it !!

Good choices.

I don't poo poo on Burke... I just don't really understand why he is so high on a lot of lists, not only from fans our school but at UT as well. I guess as I good example I will use Kyle Peterson... Peterson is a Stanford grad that was drafted 13th overall in 1997. He has a ton of knowledge about that game and has met coaches from all over the country since he joined ESPN in 2002 and would likely be able to convince many of them to join his staff at a place like Kentucky. So, why is it that Burke is mentioned so often and yet Peterson isn't? I understand that Burke went to UT and is from Kentucky, but what really makes him more qualified than Peterson? I appreciate your explanation of what you think he brings to the table, and I don't disagree. I think he'd be one of those guys that would be a good fall back hire, but I just don't know that I could put him as my number 1 pick like a lot of people (especially UT fans) are doing.

 

[AgesBlue]

Good choices.

I don't poo poo on Burke... I just don't really understand why he is so high on a lot of lists, not only from fans our school but at UT as well. I guess as I good example I will use Kyle Peterson... Peterson is a Stanford grad that was drafted 13th overall in 1997. He has a ton of knowledge about that game and has met coaches from all over the country since he joined ESPN in 2002 and would likely be able to convince many of them to join his staff at a place like Kentucky. So, why is it that Burke is mentioned so often and yet Peterson isn't? I understand that Burke went to UT and is from Kentucky, but what really makes him more qualified than Peterson? I appreciate your explanation of what you think he brings to the table, and I don't disagree. I think he'd be one of those guys that would be a good fall back hire, but I just don't know that I could put him as my number 1 pick like a lot of people (especially UT fans) are doing.

Not aiming at you specifically, several have questioned Burk's qualifications. He is actually the 4th on my list. As far as Kyle Peterson, I am sure he has probably had some schools inquire as to his interest, but he seems to me to be much like John Gruden in football, perfectly content to be a TV color man and studio analyst!
I still think Lovelady is the clubhouse favorite at this time, a hire won't be made until after the NCAA tournament or at least until after the regional or Super Regional round IMO !

 

[Comebakatz3]

^^ What do you mean by clubhouse favorite?

Lovelady makes me a tad nervous because he's only really been a head coach for 2 years. The past two years he's done a very very solid job, but he's only had the two years under his belt. He has done well as an assistant, but I would feel a bit more comfortable with him if he were having the same success in years 4-5 rather than just 1-2. Don't get me wrong, would be real happy with the hire, but I suppose I would have a bit of pause about it. Still, the success of Wright State may be entirely his doing considering he was an assistant while they were doing well several years ago.

Goff is kind of similar... he has coached in several places. First at Montevello he did very well. Then he struggled for 4 years at Campbell. In his 4th year they won just 17 games. They change conferences and the next year he goes 41-18, then wins 49 games the next year before again winning over 40 games and going to the NCAA tournament in 2011. He then gets the La. Tech job and there he struggled the first year, but once again turned it around this year and won 40+ games. So, I have to wonder why he struggled at Campbell for those 4 years and what suddenly turned it around? Was the change of conference that big of a difference or did things finally come together or what?

haha this is why I could never be an athletic director.

 

[Black Diamond Cat]

This coaching speculation is fun isn't it !! I will try to catch as much of Wright State and Louisiana Tech action this weekend as I can. Any other dark horse candidates out there in the NCAA tourney ?

 

[Comebakatz3]

I think the Bryant coach is definitely worth watching. 6 years at Bryant and he has done an excellent job making the NCAA tournament in 3 of the 6. He's won over 30 games in 5 of the 6. He has been a head coach for 25 years and he's been a winner at all three of his stops.

Steve Bieser is at Southeast Missouri State and he goes into the tournament with a team that is 39-19. He is in just his fourth year there and he has won a lot of games. They haven't had as much success winning the OVC tournament and getting into the NCAA tournament, but they did this year. He is a SEMO alumni so he might not really want to leave, but the lure of the SEC might be hard to turn down.

Matt Deggs at Sam Houston State has done a good job in a short time. He is a former SEC assistant coach in just his second year at Sam Houston State. He is definitely more of a Texarkana type guy so I don't know what his interest would be in Kentucky, but he still has shown some spark early on.

There are probably a good handful of others, but I don't really know how seriously they would be looked at.

 

[BluegrassBlake]

John Szfec head coach at Maryland is another name that could be mentioned.

 

[BigBoyBlueMMA]

Interesting choices.

I was higher on Bragga in 2014, but now I am concerned by the fact that he's only been to the NCAA tournament once in 11 years at Tech. I went to Tech when Bragga was hired, and I understand his limitations, but I would just like to see him owning the OVC a bit more before I give him the nod.

Bohannon... ehh... I personally want to move on from what we've had. I think Bohannon did a great job recruiting here, but I think there are likely better choices. If he does a pretty solid job as the head assistant at Auburn, and whoever we pick struggles, then I would definitely start moving him up the list though.

I will acquiesce to your knowledge as mine is to be considered somewhat short of complete understanding - basically the truth is when it comes to Baseball at UK

 

[Comebakatz3]

I will acquiesce to your knowledge as mine is to be considered somewhat short of complete understanding - basically the truth is when it comes to Baseball at UK

Nah... we are just having fun with it. It is enjoyable to speculate and I like that people make their choices and their arguments why. It makes for good discussion about the topic. Glad you joined.

 

[Big_Blue_1018]

I just wonder how long this process will take.

 

[Comebakatz3]

I just wonder how long this process will take.

Probably quite a while. Has the opening been posted? Does that even matter? I think I would watch a lot of teams and feel out a lot of people before making my decision.

My number one is Williams so if I'm in Barnhart's position I'm likely spending my time while he is in the Ncaa tournament trying to figure out why he has never been a head coach and what his interest might be.

 

[AgesBlue]

I think a new HC will be in place in a couple of weeks, you have summer league baseball coming up soon. I say G Lovelady, G Goff, and maybe Williams of Louisville could-should be the front runners. Lovelady and Williams due to proximity, and Goff due to being at UK in the past.
I don't think the Southern Miss coach is in play, he has a strong program in Hattiesburg, and plays in a 6600 seat stadium. He may end up at Alabama though.

 

[Big_Blue_1018]

What do you guys think about Chris Pollars from Duke?