Here’s a quick hit before we take a week-long holiday break. There is word out of Alabama that two-sport talent Justin Woodall will play baseball this spring for the Crimson Tide. Woodall, who started six games at safety in his sophomore season for the Alabama football team this fall, will start hitting after soon after the football season wraps up in the Dec. 30 PetroSun Independence Bowl against Colorado.

Alabama coach Jim Wells has reportedly spoken with Woodall about pitching and playing center field, and he has the potential to be a true impact player on the diamond. Here’s a look back at our predraft scouting report for Woodall in 2006: [...] Continue Reading »

I got a call today from Long Beach State coach Mike Weathers, who had shoulder surgery last week to remedy a lifetime of baseball-related wear and tear. His recovery is going well so far, though he expects there to be some pain along the way.

The same could be said of the search to replace pitching coach Troy Buckley, who Weathers said he hoped would succeed him one day as LBSU’s head coach. Weathers didn’t rule out that possibility even now that Buckley has gone to be the Pirates’ minor league pitching coordinator. In the meantime, life goes on. [...] Continue Reading »

Another of the top assistant coaches in college baseball is moving on up.

In a year that saw respected long-time assistants Jim Toman, Turtle Thomas, Kevin O’Sullivan and Bobby Moranda land head coaching gigs, Long Beach State pitching coach Troy Buckley left college baseball altogether. Buckley, who has been a Dirtbags assistant since 2001, accepted a position as the minor league pitching coordinator for the Pirates. [...] Continue Reading »

It’s been quite a year for Eastern Michigan. After going 21-4 in Mid-American Conference play to clinch the league’s West Division title and the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament–which they hosted–the Eagles lost to Kent State 3-2 in the MAC championship game, leaving them out in the cold on NCAA tournament selection day. The fall was tumultuous for EMU, as coach Roger Coryell was suspended for a month, reportedly for inadvertently sending an objectionable e-mail to supporters of the program. After his suspension, Coryell decided to retire after 20 years with the Eagles, resulting in a rather unusual November coaching search.

But Eastern Michigan didn’t have to look far to find the perfect replacement, and Jake Boss didn’t even have to look for a new house after the Eagles hired him away from Michigan. In fact, Boss said his new office in Ypsilanti is closer to his home than his old office in Ann Arbor, where he had served as a Wolverines assistant since the 2005 season. Before that, Boss spent seven years as an assistant to Coryell at EMU, so succeeding Coryell was an ideal situation for him. [...] Continue Reading »

From Mike Weathers to Steve Smith, Mike Gillespie to Ray Tanner, USA Baseball has a tradition of bringing back former collegiate national team assistants to serve as the head coach in a future summer. In keeping with that practice, Oral Roberts coach Rob Walton was named head coach of Team USA for 2008. Walton served as the pitching coach for the team in 2005. [...] Continue Reading »