best college coaches

The top college coach out there is the one who has your son in the starting lineup everyday

All kidding aside there are so many out there that are good it is hard to say who is the best.

1. Mike Martin @ Florida State
2. Augie Garrido @ Texas
3. Jim Morris @ Miami
4. Rod DelMonico @ Tennessee
5. Brian O'Connor @ Virginia

Four for the ages and one for the future.

Brian Shoop Birmingham Southern

Coach Shoop is entering his 17th year. 2001 team won NAIA National Championship, and in their first year of eligibilty in D1, got an at large bid to the Georgia Regional (2004) Not only is he a great baseball coach but also a great person that cares about his players outside of baseball.

A little bias here admittedly, however, because Baseball America also gave both these guys coach of the year at one time; I would have to say both the coaches of Georgia & Georgia Tech.

dad9,

I haved watched Birmingham Southern play a bunch of games the last few years - and I would have to say that Coach Shoop's approach to the game is reflected by his players.

Every kid seems to be in top notch shape - they take every single inch you give them - and they are a classy team - win or lose. They are also a pretty talented bunch each year as well.

IMO - A real solid coach and a real solid program.

how bout which college coach send the most players off to the pro's

Better yet, how about which coach graduates most of his players? They are STUDENT ahtletes!

06catcherdad-

Two totally different things. You will see most of the DIII & NAIA schools with the best graduation rates. These kids know that they are closer to the end of their careers than the beginning. However, DI schools that have the best baseball players in the world often go after their junior year when the money is the best. Again, these are only the best players I am talking about (round 1 & 2). However, how can you compare Georgia Tech or Texas with, say, Emory University in Atlanta. All great schools, but, completely different motivations.

Savannah, very, very interesting post IMO. While I think your observations may well be correct, I do not agree the differences should be "acceptable." To me, it suggests that for players at top DI programs, they are in college with the focus being their status as an athlete, not a student. Why should the DI student/athlete be any different in terms of expectations as a student/athlete than the player down the street at Emory? Similarly, why should the DI coach be judged any differently than the DIII in expectations for graduation of his players? In the "After High School" section, I posted on graduation rates. If the NCAA really does start imposing sanctions/loss of scholarships because of low graduation rates, I for one, do not think it would be a bad thing.

I agree with you. Where would I be now if I didn't graduate from college? I was just making the exception for a handfull of athletes (about 50 - 60) where leaving your junior year brings in the most money. In this situation I don't believe the school should be punished. These kids have indeed gone on to their profession (baseball). After all, isn't that what college is for. To prepare you for your profession.

Savannah, I think you just answered what I was going to say, namely, the number of D-1 or 2 players who leave school early to turn professional is a low percentage of all the college baseball players. The beginning of the post asks for people's opinions of the top college coaches and reasons for picking them. While I didn't offer any names, I think the ability of a coach to graduate the majority of his players says a lot about the quality of the coach, and by extension the entire baseball program. They are called STUDENT-Athletes, afterall.

You're only looking at 1,500 +/- players going in the draft each year, and that is spread pretty thin when you take into account college seniors, juniors, juco players and high school players. For every player who turns professional, there are a great number who finish their baseball careers as college players. For them, a coach that graduates a high percentage of his guys gets top consideration from where I sit.

For a couple coaches, I'll offer Mark Marquess and Dean Stotz of Stanford. They've both been running that team for many years, and it is impossible to argue with their success in sending players on with something much more valuable than a signing bonus for 95% of their players, a STANFORD degree. The fact that they run one of the finest baseball teams in the country is further proof of their ability. I'm sure we could say the same thing about most of the Ivy League coaches.

I have attending numerous clinics, etc. over the past few years and the one that really stands out for me is Jack Leggett from Clemson.

I just love watching him run to his coaching box every inning. He has a lot of enthusiasm for what he does and he does it well.

quote:

Originally posted by CatchingCoach05:
I have attending numerous clinics, etc. over the past few years and the one that really stands out for me is Jack Leggett from Clemson.

I just love watching him run to his coaching box every inning. He has a lot of enthusiasm for what he does and he does it well.

Sorry. I got a little off topic. Stanford....are you kinding. Forget about the baseball team. You would have to have a screw loose to want to leave early and not finish a degree from Stanford!

Three of the greatest that I have ever worked with/played for are from the NAIA ranks:

Terry Bocian, Aquinas (MI)
Gordie Gillespie, St. Francis (when I played)
Hank Burbridge, Spring Arbor (my mentor and former coach, may he rest in peace)

I could be mistaken, but I'm pretty sure that most of the Stanford baseball players who leave early for professional baseball do come back and finish their degree within a year or two, taking classes in fall.

I've also heard that Coaches Marquess and Stotz encourage their underclassmen to load up on units early in their college years to enable them to be close to their degree if they are fortunate enough to be drafted after the junior year. I'm sure that justbaseball could help with some information here, since his son plays for the cardinal.

06catcherdad - You are correct. Many of their players also graduate after 3 years or a little more. Many of their seniors are already finished during the last term of their baseball career and a fairly high number are already in graduate school including at least one this year. All of last year's draftees from the junior class were in school this past Fall trying to finish up.

Their most recent reported graduation rate...93%...in the top-5 in the NCAA. Pretty darn good for a school that loses most of their scholarship players after their junior season.

Good men running a terrific program.

Hey Tom You covered it well...just wanted to add that it helps for players to take those AP courses in HS. Entering college with units in hand plus having coaches that closely monitor players progress in the classroom makes the difference.