IU Baseball

[FCHoosier]

BREAKING: I’m hearing from sources that @IndianaBase head coach Chris Lemonis will be the next head coach at @HailStateBB, and that top #HailState assistant Jake Gautreau will stay on staff. If that doesn’t change, I really like that duo.
@KendallRogers


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[Aaron]

7 minutes ago, FCHoosier said:

BREAKING: I’m hearing from sources that @IndianaBase head coach Chris Lemonis will be the next head coach at @HailStateBB, and that top #HailState assistant Jake Gautreau will stay on staff. If that doesn’t change, I really like that duo.
@KendallRogers


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I really don't think this is all that terrible. Losing Tracy Smith was a downgrade. I feel like Lemonis is a dime a dozen coach and good luck at Mississippi State developing players which is something he does not know how to do. 

I will be shocked if he succeeds there but I guess its to good to pass up. Time to put in a call to ASU to see if Tracy Smith wants back before he gets fired next year or find some other good young coach. 

[The Ola Depot]

I’m not terribly disappointed about this, I thought Lemonis was a good recruiter but was a very mediocre field manager and at developing talent. The only thing I’m afraid of is I don’t know if anyone better is available, I just don’t follow college baseball nearly enough to have a pulse on that. I know Tracy Smith will be a popular name to come up but I don’t know if hiring a coach who’s about to get fired is a good look. Hopefully Glass gets this right, going to have another hire in a major sport to hopefully prove himself.


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[Aaron]

13 minutes ago, The Ola Depot said:

I’m not terribly disappointed about this, I thought Lemonis was a good recruiter but was a very mediocre field manager and at developing talent. The only thing I’m afraid of is I don’t know if anyone better is available, I just don’t follow college baseball nearly enough to have a pulse on that. I know Tracy Smith will be a popular name to come up but I don’t know if hiring a coach who’s about to get fired is a good look. Hopefully Glass gets this right, going to have another hire in a major sport to hopefully prove himself.


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You said it. Really not disappointed about this. 

I know I have used Butler Basketball comparisons a lot and I've got another one. Butler had Todd Lickliter plucked by Iowa as Butler started to rise. However, Lickliter had issues and was a decent but not great coach and was replaced by a guy named Brad Stevens which is when program really took off. Butler fans really were not sorry to see him go and Iowa fans were not terribly happy about hire. Both were right and he failed miserably.

Here most of our fans are not terribly upset to see him go based on most responses I see and MSU fans are not terribly happy about hire. Hopefully we can find our Baseball version of Brad Stevens (Tracy Smith?) and program really takes off to next level.

[Aaron]

6 minutes ago, Iugradman said:

Did Fred not pony up enough dough again?

Lemonis is not worth any more dough than he makes if that. If Lemonis said 'Extend me and pay me or I'm leaving' Glass rightfully said 'bye'. Either that or Lemonis just left. Either way its not a terrible loss and Glass definitely did the right thing not trying to hard to hold onto him. 

[mdn82]

What the hell happened to this team?

Did Fred not pony up enough dough again?

Well a month ago you didn’t like the direction of the team but I guess it wouldn’t fit the weird obsession you have against Glass.


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[Magnanimous]

I think the AD's recent investment in the program is enough to attract a decent coach. The problem for a school like ours is that this recent surge in baseball prominence the last eight or so years is not something we can take for granted. This isn't a baseball school and we're not in a baseball conference. A couple of down years and it'll be tough to bounce back to where we've been recently. Making the tournament as often as we have recently with an occasional deep run is really the best we can hope for, unless Smith comes back for the long haul and can rekindle the magic he had before taking the ASU gig. Most decent coaches we land will use this as a stepping stone gig. Not upset to see Lemonis go though if we can pull in a capable coach. 

[Magnanimous]

5 minutes ago, LamarCheeks said:

Here's my dumb question of the day: Mississippi State just had a great season, coming within one win of reaching the CWS final. What in the world led them to Chris Lemonis? 

Their coach resigned in February for having an affair with a football team staff assistant. Not sure on the specifics but I guess they didn't want to retain their interim coach.

[ap2345]

I've got an idea for who I would consider targeting for a number of reasons and that is former IU player and current ASU assistant Michael Earley.  

[HoosierDYT]

Their coach resigned in February for having an affair with a football team staff assistant. Not sure on the specifics but I guess they didn't want to retain their interim coach.

I heard the interim coach was offered the job but declined it cause he is nearing retirement and enjoys the role of assistant


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[Brass Cannon]

Wow this snuck up on us. Really hope we dong botch this hire. Would reach out to Smith obviously. Imagine he might want to get out before getting axed. Hes in Crean territory now where if he has a down year anytime soon that could be it. 

No more assisants damn it 

[nerdvana]

1 hour ago, Brass Cannon said:

No more assistants damn it 

I won't be shocked if Glass offers the job to current pitching coach Kyle Bunn.  Not the sexiest hire on the planet, but he has a really strong baseball pedigree and brings continuity to a team with a fair amount of talent returning.     

[Indy]

1 hour ago, HoosierDYT said:

I heard the interim coach was offered the job but declined it cause he is nearing retirement and enjoys the role of assistant


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Not sure where you heard that, but this snippet from an online article made it very clear he wanted that job: (and Oregon State's HC devoted part of his post-game presser to publicly lobby for his friend as well)

Henderson wants the job

After remaining silent for weeks about the prospects of having the "interim" tag dropped from his title, MSU interim head coach Gary Henderson made his case for taking over the job permanently when asked directly about it at the post-game press conference.

"I'm just really optimistic," Henderson said. "That's coach (John) Cohen's decision. He'll do a good job with it.

[Brass Cannon]

25 minutes ago, nerdvana said:

I won't be shocked if Glass offers the job to current pitching coach Kyle Bunn.  Not the sexiest hire on the planet, but he has a really strong baseball pedigree and brings continuity to a team with a fair amount of talent returning.     

Prepare for me to ***** if that happens

[HoosierDYT]

45 minutes ago, Indy said:

Not sure where you heard that, but this snippet from an online article made it very clear he wanted that job: (and Oregon State's HC devoted part of his post-game presser to publicly lobby for his friend as well)

Henderson wants the job

After remaining silent for weeks about the prospects of having the "interim" tag dropped from his title, MSU interim head coach Gary Henderson made his case for taking over the job permanently when asked directly about it at the post-game press conference.

"I'm just really optimistic," Henderson said. "That's coach (John) Cohen's decision. He'll do a good job with it.

Yeah I wasn't sure if what I read on Twitter was credible or not haha. Thanks for the clarification

[LamarCheeks]

I didn't get to watch IU much this season, but when I did, I was somewhat disappointed. Among other things, I noticed atrocious baserunning and a horrible approach at the plate (for example, I seem to recall seeing two guys walk on 8 or 9 total pitches and the next guy up swings at the first pitch -- which was out of the zone). I still don't get what Mississippi State -- one of the final four teams at the CWS -- saw in this guy. Oh well ... 

[Aaron]

Two guys I have heard thrown around that I personally have met and am very impressed with is either Scott Googins or Ben Greenspan.

Googins was an assistant here and for Tracy Smith at Miami (OH) before going to Xavier where he did a solid job making Regionals 3 times in his last 4 years. He went to Cincinnati this year and without him Xavier tanked and UC had there best season in a long time.

Greenspan is Tracy Smith's assistant who has learned under him for a while. He is indirectly personally responsible for IU's turnaround. As bad as Rick Greenspan was as our athletic director in many ways, Ben's wanting to coach as an assistant is what gave Rick the push to can Morgan and bring in Tracy Smith to work under his son. His ability to develop hitters is second to none and where Lemonis really lacked.

I only know Googins very little and met him twice. Greenspan I know better and well enough that if I saw him on the street he would know who I am. I am personally impressed with him but negative is no coaching experience.

Obviously first call goes to Tracy Smith but assuming he says no from my selfish point of view definitely take a look at the two above guys. Anyone off Smith's coaching tree is a major bonus in my opinion.

Also Jeff Mercer at Wright St is intriguing to me being from Indiana. I have never met him but am familiar with the Wright St program and they have dominated the Horizon League similar to how IU has been the class of the Big Ten recently. I can also tell you having been to many Horizon League games that Wright St's stadium is about as nice as it gets at that level (basically a poor man's Bart Kaufman Field in design) and they are the only Horizon League team that draws a few locals from the community as fans and is not just a family and friends crowd.

I have not looked into other names yet but would be happy with any of the above.

One guy I hope Glass does not touch with a 10 foot pole is Rich Maloney at Ball St. He was among the finalists along with Lemonis last time and after some success at Michigan drove the program into the ground. He then resurfaced back at Ball St. where he has won very little even at that level. Guy is to old school and has not adjusted in last few years as game has gotten better.  

[TXHoosierDaddy]

3 hours ago, nerdvana said:

I won't be shocked if Glass offers the job to current pitching coach Kyle Bunn.  Not the sexiest hire on the planet, but he has a really strong baseball pedigree and brings continuity to a team with a fair amount of talent returning.     

This would be very underwhelming. I feel like as a baseball program we are past this. Anyone have a list of candidates from smaller schools or hot assistants that might be available? 

[ap2345]

1 hour ago, Aaron said:

Two guys I have heard thrown around that I personally have met and am very impressed with is either Scott Googins or Ben Greenspan.

Googins was an assistant here and for Tracy Smith at Miami (OH) before going to Xavier where he did a solid job making Regionals 3 times in his last 4 years. He went to Cincinnati this year and without him Xavier tanked and UC had there best season in a long time.

Greenspan is Tracy Smith's assistant who has learned under him for a while. He is indirectly personally responsible for IU's turnaround. As bad as Rick Greenspan was as our athletic director in many ways, Ben's wanting to coach as an assistant is what gave Rick the push to can Morgan and bring in Tracy Smith to work under his son. His ability to develop hitters is second to none and where Lemonis really lacked.

I only know Googins very little and met him twice. Greenspan I know better and well enough that if I saw him on the street he would know who I am. I am personally impressed with him but negative is no coaching experience.

Obviously first call goes to Tracy Smith but assuming he says no from my selfish point of view definitely take a look at the two above guys. Anyone off Smith's coaching tree is a major bonus in my opinion.

Also Jeff Mercer at Wright St is intriguing to me being from Indiana. I have never met him but am familiar with the Wright St program and they have dominated the Horizon League similar to how IU has been the class of the Big Ten recently. I can also tell you having been to many Horizon League games that Wright St's stadium is about as nice as it gets at that level (basically a poor man's Bart Kaufman Field in design) and they are the only Horizon League team that draws a few locals from the community as fans and is not just a family and friends crowd.

I have not looked into other names yet but would be happy with any of the above.

One guy I hope Glass does not touch with a 10 foot pole is Rich Maloney at Ball St. He was among the finalists along with Lemonis last time and after some success at Michigan drove the program into the ground. He then resurfaced back at Ball St. where he has won very little even at that level. Guy is to old school and has not adjusted in last few years as game has gotten better.  

I agree with all of that. I know it's been mentioned but I don't think Smith is out of the question. I know some people are against assistant's but Michael Earley has done a great job coaching the hitting at ASU plus he has a lot of Indiana connections in recruiting circles. He's also turned down a couple head coaching positions the last year or two. I agree on Maloney 100%. The guy sucks at recruiting Indiana compared to IU and Purdue and it drives me insane. 

[Gahoosierfan]

What about hiring the MSU interim coach Gary Henderson?