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Coaching Big Board

Will Davis at Lamar is another good candidate. They pump out pitching. Had a few down years but they've rebounded nicely the last 2 years.

He could probably get back Sean Snedeker from Baylor as pitching coach who he just lost this off-season.
 
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OrangeBowlMagic said:
The next hire MUST be someone with a proven track record of success.

This isn't Stetson. Miami is one of the 5 best programs in the history of the sport, we have resources in place, and it's one of the most fertile areas on the planet for baseball talent.

This is not and should not be hard. You can attract a coach who has gotten the job done on a big stage. Get it done.

Under NO CIRCUMSTANCES should this job be given to an "up and comer", a "diamond in the rough" a ******* recruiting coordinator at FSU (you need to have your head examined). No. Someone who has won, at a real school, period. There is ZERO reason you can't poach a very good coach to come here. Not one.
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Baseball is slightly different than football and hoops.
Lots of first-time HCs have done well at big-time programs.
But it has to be a candidate who has coached and achieved something measurable with his players, like with pitching or hitting. Garbage like "mental skills coordinator" need not apply.
 
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JayCane20 said:
Hopefully Mike Neu doesn't want the job. Other alumni to watch out for - Jon Jay, Cora, etc. seem to be in the MLB and probably outside the realm.

With Radakovich at the helm and his former ties - Monte Lee as a candidate would be a concern - he wouldn't fire the guy at Clemson and then as soon as he left, Neff fired him quickly.

Sitting proven HCs - Unlikely but top of the board (trying to have someone realistic expectations - obviously won't mention Vitello and Jay Johnson):
1. Tom Walter - Wake Forest - timing finally right to get out of Winston-Salem?
2. Dan Heefner - Dallas Baptist - probably unlikely as he's declined Texas and A&M in the last decade.
3. Chris Pollard - Duke - likely burned the bridge a few years ago

Sitting smaller school or less proven HCs - not mentioning Godwin:
1. Christian Ostrander - Southern Miss (long time USM pitching coach)
2. Steve Sabins - West Virginia (long-time WVU assistant)
3. Mitch Hannahs (formerly at Indiana State)
4. Marc Rardin - Western Kentucky (longtime JUCO HC at Iowa Western)

Top Assistant Coaches:
1. Josh Elander - Tennessee
2. Nate Thompson - Arkansas
3. Scott Brown - Vanderbilt
4. Corey Muscara - Wake Forest
5. Kevin McMullan - Virginia
6. Nate Yeskie - LSU


Mitch Hannahs or Marc Rardin would be logical picks for me. Think Radakovich goes more into the top notch assistant pool for this one. He has done both in his time here - women's soccer hire was a high-end assistant, women's basketball was a high-end small school HC, men's basketball was a high-end assistant.
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Do you know what happened with Pollard?
 
shoeless said:
Do you know what happened with Pollard?
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No idea. Someone made it seem like they really weren’t sold on him enough to pay what he wanted vs what it would cost to keep JD and the results they thought they could get with that option. I find it hard to believe they weren’t sold on a guy doing what he’s doing… at Duke.

They didn’t get the results with JD that they thought they could get.

That may not be the truth though of what actually happened. We may have got turned down or wanted him but couldn’t agree on $.
 
Interested to see what some of you think of Dan Fitzgerald, the HC at Kansas. Former assistant at DBU and then a year at LSU before KU hired him as HC. Has turned KU around quickly. They are 27-6 this year and just swept UCF over the weekend.

kuathletics.com

Dan Fitzgerald - Head Baseball Coach - Baseball Coaches - University of Kansas

Dan Fitzgerald was named the Head Baseball Coach on June 15, 2022. Fitzgerald recently completed his third season as head coach in 2025. Following the 2025 s...
kuathletics.com kuathletics.com
 
Canesfreak said:
Interested to see what some of you think of Dan Fitzgerald, the HC at Kansas. Former assistant at DBU and then a year at LSU before KU hired him as HC. Has turned KU around quickly. They are 27-6 this year and just swept UCF over the weekend.

kuathletics.com

Dan Fitzgerald - Head Baseball Coach - Baseball Coaches - University of Kansas

Dan Fitzgerald was named the Head Baseball Coach on June 15, 2022. Fitzgerald recently completed his third season as head coach in 2025. Following the 2025 s...
kuathletics.com kuathletics.com
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Nice resume. You don't get to be an assistant at DBU and LSU by being mediocre.
I like how he has assembled rosters with players from everywhere, especially JUCOs.
I also see that former Marlins' SS and current MLB manager Craig Counsell's son is on the team. Always a good sign when a baseball guy entrusts a coach with his son.
Additionally, he swept UCF at their place.
Sounds like a good candidate to me.
Thanks for sharing his name.
Btw, whomever is hiring at UK knows good coaches (see football program).
 
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MedleyCane said:
Nice resume. You don't get to be an assistant at DBU and LSU by being mediocre.
I like how he has assembled rosters with players from everywhere, especially JUCOs.
I also see that former Marlins' SS and current MLB manager Craig Counsell's son is on the team. Always a good when baseball entrusts a coach with his son.
Additionally, he swept UCF at their place.
Sounds like a good candidate to me.
Thanks for sharing his name.
Btw, whomever is hiring at UK knows good coaches (see football program).
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I would hope that Rad has back channeled and reached out to his agent to gauge his interest.
This needs to happen once the season ends.
Fly the wife down to check out the real estate, schools, lifestyle...
 
Plymouth99 said:
I would hope that Rad has back channeled and reached out to his agent to gauge his interest.
This needs to happen once the season ends.
Fly the wife down to check out the real estate, schools, lifestyle...
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I think before or during back channeling happens, Rad needs to make sure he will be getting proper commitment to baseball by way of scholies, infrastructure, etc. This particular coach is from the Midwest and will require a lot to sell his family and him. My .02
 
I love the idea of stealing a big time coach like Pollard or Walters. We need to realize a couple of things beside overwhelming support from past players JD was hired because he was cheap and is backed by the Columbus Money Squad. This university has reinvested in athletics which is amazing but that money is going to support football and basketball. As a result baseball is going to have to suffer and while some will disagree with this if u were to poll the fanbase basketball and football are the sports fans want to see be successful most. Does not hurt these sports pull the most money in for the university. This being said we need to be realistic that Rad is going to look for either an “great” assistant that we can get for a cheaper price or a head coach at a smaller school who is a diamond in the rough. The other possibility is that a coach or a former player who has local money support is once again pushed into a job that they are not ready for or don’t deserve (like both JD and DiMare)
 
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kjbotsi said:
I love the idea of stealing a big time coach like Pollard or Walters. We need to realize a couple of things beside overwhelming support from past players JD was hired because he was cheap and is backed by the Columbus Money Squad. This university has reinvested in athletics which is amazing but that money is going to support football and basketball. As a result baseball is going to have to suffer and while some will disagree with this if u were to poll the fanbase basketball and football are the sports fans want to see be successful most. Does not hurt these sports pull the most money in for the university. This being said we need to be realistic that Rad is going to look for either an “great” assistant that we can get for a cheaper price or a head coach at a smaller school who is a diamond in the rough. The other possibility is that a coach or a former player who has local money support is once again pushed into a job that they are not ready for or don’t deserve (like both JD and DiMare)
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What is Arteaga's connection to the Columbus folks? He graduated from Westminster Christian, correct?
Lots of baseball programs have done well hiring highly-regarded assistant coaches from successful programs. Moreso baseball than basketball and football.
 
No Clemson
No Louisville
No Va Tech

Nice schedule this year. He keeps at .500 or even drops a couple below we will be looking at this in 2026.

Rad has to look at the numbers. Competition…

I hope our basketball coach really comes through but that hire doesn’t get me warm and fuzzy over any current head coaches. More like throwing darts.
 
I’m still on the Urso train. I’m making him say no first. Mainly because we’re struggling keeping local guys home. We needs somebody who can recruit in FL.
 
MedleyCane said:
What is Arteaga's connection to the Columbus folks? He graduated from Westminster Christian, correct?
Lots of baseball programs have done well hiring highly-regarded assistant coaches from successful programs. Moreso baseball than basketball and football.
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He’s Cuban and played for UM. Bro ball.
 
Canesfreak said:
He’s Cuban and played for UM. Bro ball.
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I’m sure he would be high on any other school’s Coaching Big Board…

That’s the Miami problem… we are so arrogant (and clueless) we think we’re so special that only Miami Bros can lead the University or Sports programs…

It’s sickening really to see us so far behind.
 
Tonio said:
Aka we better hope Jon Jay has no aspirations to be a college coach…
- Miami guy ☑️
- Cuban ☑️
- Columbus grad ☑️
- Former UM star ☑️
- Family ties that will help Billy Corben talk about another one of his documentaries because that’s the only time he cares about anything University of Miami ☑️
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Jon would be a nice off the field addition in an advisory role .
 
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Zbrod95 said:
Jon is actually highly thought of. An off the field role would be a waste of his abilities
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I'm not questioning his abilities as a coach...not sure he wants to work and recruit 48 weeks a year... especially with a young family.
 
Plymouth99 said:
I'm not questioning his abilities as a coach...not sure he wants to work and recruit 48 weeks a year... especially with a young family.
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He'd be crazy to leave the Cardinals organization. Marmol will be gone soon and Jay would be an asset to the new manager.
 
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