| 2014 COLLEGE BASEBALL COACHING CAROUSEL |
| Arizona State |
Out: Tim Esmay
In: Tracy Smith
Buzz: Arizona State head coach Tim Esmay was forced to resign with one year left on his contract. Esmay tallied a 201-94-1 overall record during his tenure at Arizona State. Arizona State officially interviewed College of Charleston's Monte Lee and Houston's Todd Whitting, before hiring Indiana's Tracy Smith. Smith spent nine seasons at IU, leading the program to the College World Series in 2013, while compiling a 287-237 overall record.
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| Arkansas-Little Rock |
Out: Scott Norwood
In: Chris Curry
Buzz: Norwood is under investigation by the university and resigned his post as head coach of the Trojans at the end of the season. Norwood tallied a 148-178 overall record and guided the program to a 25-29 overall record this past season, along with two Sun Belt tournament appearances in six seasons ... It appears the Trojans made a very safe, and good hire in Curry, who spent the past couple of seasons as an assistant coach at Northwestern State. Curry also has extensive experience at the professional ranks.
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| Brown |
Out: Marek Drabinski
In: Grant Achilles
Buzz: The Bears parted ways with head coach Marek Drabinski after his spent 18 seasons with the program. He compiled an overall record of 306-464-2, while also guiding Brown to an Ivy League Championship in 2007 with a 27-21 overall record ... The Bears replaced Drabinski with Grant Achilles, who had spent the past two seasons as an assistant in the program before taking over halfway through the 2014 campaign. He becomes Brown's 17th head coach.
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| Campbell |
Out: Greg Goff
In: Justin Haire
Buzz: After leading Campbell to new heights with almost 50 wins two seasons ago, and an NCAA postseason this past season, Greg Goff decided to start a new chapter in his career with a move to Louisiana Tech. With that, Justin Haire, who spent seven seasons as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator for Goff, was promoted to head coach of the Camels.
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| East Carolina |
Out: Billy Godwin
In: Cliff Godwin
Buzz: East Carolina didn't renew Billy Godwin's contract after he had been with the program since 2005. Godwin finishes his ECU tenure with a 317-215-1 overall record, while also leading the program to five NCAA postseason appearances and a 33-26 record this past season ... In a move we reported since the beginning of the search process, the Pirates hired Cliff Godwin as their new head coach. Godwin spent the past three seasons as an assistant coach/hitting coach for the Rebels, while also playing collegiately At East Carolina. Godwin is considered to be relentless on the recruiting trail.
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| Eastern Michigan |
Out: Jay Alexander
In: Mark Van Ameyde
Buzz: The Eagles parted ways with Jay Alexander after he spent six seasons with the program, guiding the program to a 159-182 overall record during that mark. EMU finished the 2014 campaign with a 19-34 overall record, including a 6-21 mark in the Mid-American Conference ... The Eagles stayed within the State of Michigan for their newest hire in Mark Van Ameyde, who spent the past six seasons as the top assistant coach at Michigan State. Van Ameyde brings 16 years of coaching experience to the table, including one as an EMU assistant.
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| Illinois State |
Out: Mark Kingston (to USF)
In: Bo Durkac (previous associate head coach)
Buzz: With Kingston headed to South Florida, the Redbirds entertained coaches such as Sacramento State's Reggie Christiansen and Texas A&M assistant Andy Sawyers before hiring associate head coach Bo Durkac. Durkac has 12 years of coaching experience, including the last five seasons as an assistant for Kingston, and the last two as an associate head coach for the Redbirds.
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| Indiana |
Out: Tracy Smith (took Arizona State job)
In: Chris Lemonis
Buzz: It was expected that Smith would somehow parlay his success at IU into a big-time gig in another part of the country, and that indeed happened as the long-time Hoosiers head coach took the head coaching job at prestigious Arizona State. With that said, Indiana will have an impressive list of candidates to sift through, and I'd also take a hard look at Vandy assistant Travis Jewett, who has learned under some outstanding head coaches ... (UPDATED: JULY 2): Sources have informed that Indiana is taking a very strong look at Maloney and Lemonis at this point, but that a third candidate also could enter the mix ... The Hoosiers made an exciting hire with the addition of Lemonis, who spent the last eight seasons as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator under head coach Dan McDonnell at the University of Louisville. Lemonis is hailed as a strong recruiter and solid coach.
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| Long Island-Brooklyn |
Out: Don Maines
In: Alex Trezza
Buzz: In one of the more interesting situations on the college coaching carousel this season, Maines resigned his post with the Blackbirds just a few games into the season ... LIU-B announced the hiring of Alex Trezza, who served last season as the top assistant coach at Sacred Heart. Prior to his stint at SHU, Trezz served as assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at the University of New Haven.
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| Longwood |
Out: Brian McCullough
In: Ryan Mau
Buzz: The Lancers have their newest head coach, and it's a good one in Ryan Mau. Mau earned a good reputation on the national stage, spending the past four seasons as the recruiting coordinator for the Naval Academy.
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| Louisiana-Monroe |
Out: Jeff Schexnaider
In: Bruce Peddie
Buzz: After parting ways with long-time head coach Jeff Schexnaider, the Warhawks went an interesting direction by promoting assistant coach Bruce Peddie, formerly at the University of New Orleans, to the head coaching spot. The most interesting aspect about hiring Peddie is that ULM only gave him a one-year deal, something not very customary when hiring a new coach.
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| Louisiana Tech |
Out: Wade Simoneaux
In: Greg Goff (previously at Campbell)
Buzz: The Bulldogs fired head coach Wade Simoneaux after 12 seasons with the program, including a 15-35 overall record, 5-25 mark in Conference USA this past season. The Bulldogs went out and hired a very nice coach in Greg Goff, who has guided Campbell to very good campaigns the past couple of seasons, including an NCAA postseason appearance this year.
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| Murray State |
Out: Rob McDonald
In: Kevin Moulder (previously Saint Louis)
Buzz: McDonald will not return to Murray State after finishing his 12th season with the program. McDonald compiled an overall record of 247-347-2, and his most successful campaign came in 2009 when his club finished the season with a 34-21-1 overall record ... The Racers aimed for a young, charismatic, head coach in Kevin Moulder, who spent the past seven seasons as the associate head coach and recruiting coordinator at Saint Louis under head coach Darin Hendrickson.
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| New Mexico State |
Out: Rocky Ward
In: Brian Green
Buzz: New Mexico State parted ways with long-time head coach Rocky Ward after he spent 16 seasons at the program, including two more as an assistant. Ward finished his career with the Aggies with a 455-458-2 overall record, along with a 23-31 mark in his final season with the program ... The Aggies hired a familiar name to the program in Kentucky assistant coach Brian Green. Green, who has made several coaching stops, including one at New Mexico State, comes to the program after spending the past seven seasons at UK.
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| Rhode Island |
Out: Jim Foster
In: Raphael Cerrato
Buzz: After spending several seasons as the head coach at URI, Jim Foster decided to head another route by joining Mike Gambino's coaching staff at Boston College. With that, the Rams aren't in a hurry to hire a full-time head coach, thus promoted top assistant (for the past three seasons) Raphael Cerrato to the post. The move comes widely supported by those inside the URI program.
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| Sam Houston State |
Out: David Pierce (to Tulane)
In: Matt Deggs (previously Louisiana-Lafayette)
Buzz: David Pierce led the Bearkats to a 43-19 overall record this season, as well as three-straight NCAA postseason trips. Now, the Bearkats are looking for a new head coach and have some strong options with Deggs, Fikac, Malone and Bolt all high quality, good coaches ... UPDATE: June 27th -- The Bearkats decided on a head coach and hired Louisiana-Lafayette top assistant Matt Deggs. Deggs spent the past couple of seasons transforming the Cajuns into one of the most feared offensive clubs in the country, but also earned his stripes at Texas A&M and Arkansas.
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| South Florida |
Out: Lelo Prado (took administrative job at USF)
In: Mark Kingston (formerly Illinois State)
Buzz: After eight seasons as the head coach of the Bulls, Prado is headed to the administration role as associate athletic director for external relations. The Bulls then hired Mark Kingston from Illinois State. Kingston captured a pair of Missouri Valley Coach of the Year honors at Illinois State, while also guiding the Redbirds to five-straight 30-plus win seasons. Kingston's ties to the State of Florida should help him excel.
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| Tennessee-Martin |
Out: Bubba Cates
In: Rick Robinson (previously Young Harris)
Buzz: The Skyhawks announced the 10th coach in program history with the addition of Robinson. Robinson has 17 years of coaching experience, including spending the last 16 helping Young Harris transform from a junior college to a successful program at the NCAA Division II level.
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| Tulane |
Out: Rick Jones
In: David Pierce (Sam Houston State)
Buzz: Rick Jones led the Green Wave to 12 NCAA postseason appearances and 818 victories in his 21 seasons with the program, but retired after missing half of the 2014 college baseball season. Jones led the Green Wave to a national seed in 2005 and eventually would like to return to coaching. As for Pierce, his replacement, he did a terrific job in continuing Sam Houston State's winning tradition, and even improving its overall profile.
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| UC Riverside |
Out: Doug Smith
In: Troy Percival
Buzz: After 36 seasons with the UC Riverside program, including as a player and coach, Smith announced his retirement. He was head coach for the last 10 seasons, winning more than 280 games and being named Big West Coach of the Year in 2007 ... UCR replaces Smith with former catcher and big league pitcher Troy Percival. Percival is considered to be charismatic and spent the last two seasons as the head coach at his alma mater of Moreno Valley High School.
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| UNC Asheville |
Out: Tom Smith
In: Scott Friedholm
Buzz: UNCA parted ways with Tom Smith after he spent five seasons with the program, compiling an 86-177 overall record in the process. The program hired Scott Friedholm at Boston College, who was the top assistant under head coach Mike Gambino.
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