2024 College Baseball Coaching Changes Tracker
Image credit: Gary Gilmore (Photo by Robert Gurganus_Four Seam Images)
As we do every year, Baseball America is tracking the latest news and movement in the college baseball coaching market.
As the end of the regular season approaches, there are already a few changes in the works due to retirements. The market is expected to heat up significantly in the weeks to come.
This story will update every time there are coaching changes this year.
Arkansas-Pine Bluff
Former coach: Carlos James
Incoming coach: Open
What to know: James is out as head coach at Arkansas-Pine Bluff after 14 seasons. He went 212-414-2 during his 14 years, including a 133-165 mark in SWAC play. Pine Bluff is one of the toughest jobs in the SWAC.
Arkansas State
Former coach: Tommy Raffo
Incoming coach: Open
What to know: Arkansas State on May 29 announced it had fired Raffo after 16 seasons as head coach. Raffo is the winningest coach in school history, but he never led the Red Wolves to the NCAA Tournament. Arkansas State this year went 21-32-1 and finished last in the Sun Belt.
Cal State Bakersfield
Former coach: Jeremy Beard
Incoming coach: Open
What to know: Cal State Bakersfield on May 28 announced it had fired Beard after eight years as head coach. Beard went 153-233 with the Roadrunners, including a 15-38 mark in 2024.
Charleston Southern
Former coach: Marc MacMillan
Incoming coach: Open
What to know: Charleston Southern on June 3 announced MacMillan was out as head coach after four seasons. MacMillan went 86-116 with the Buccaneers, including a 22-32 mark this spring and a fourth-place finish in the Big South. Charleston Southern has not had a winning season since 2014.
The Citadel
Former coach: Tony Skole
Incoming coach: Open
What to know: The Citadel on May 24 announced Skole was out as head coach after seven seasons. He went 123-316 at his alma mater, including a 21-32 mark in 2024. The Bulldogs finished in last place in the Southern Conference.
Coastal Carolina
Outgoing coach: Gary Gilmore (retiring)
Incoming coach: Kevin Schnall
What to know: Gilmore last year announced he would retire following the 2024 season, his 29th at the helm of his alma mater. He’s won more than 1,300 games and entered the season with the fourth most wins of any active Division I baseball coach. Schnall has been an assistant coach under Gilmore for 21 seasons, including in 2016, when the Chanticleers won the national championship. He starred at Coastal, winning Big South player of the year honors in 1999, and has since become a top assistant coach. He was twice voted by sitting head coaches as one of the 10 assistant coaches most ready to become a head coach.
Delaware State
Former coach: JP Blandin (retired)
Incoming coach: Open
What to know: Blandin on March 29 announced he would retire following the 2024 season, his 23rd as head coach. He led the Hornets to more than 500 wins. This season, Delaware State went 22-27 overall and finished fifth in the Northeast Conference.
Eastern Kentucky
Former coach: Chris Prothro
New coach: Walt Jones
What to know: Prothro went on a medical leave of absence March 25. Jones was named acting head coach in his absence. On May 15, EKU announced Prothro would not return from his leave and Jones would be promoted to head coach on a permanent basis. Jones is in his fourth season with the Colonels. He previously was associate head coach at Nicholls State, his alma mater.
Houston Christian
Former coach: Lance Berkman
Incoming coach: Open
What to know: Berkman on May 24 announced his resignation after three years as head coach. He went 47-105 as head coach and the Huskies finished last in the Southland Conference in each of the last two seasons.
Long Beach State
Former coach: Bryan Peters (interim)
Incoming coach: Open
What to know: Peters was named head coach for the 2024 season on an interim basis in June 2023, after Eric Valenzuela left Long Beach to become head coach at Saint Mary’s. Peters served as the Dirtbags associate head coach for four seasons under Valenzuela. LBSU has undergone significant turnover in the last year, including the arrival of athletic director Bobby Smitheran in August. Smitheran is a former college baseball player and opted to run a new coaching search.
Manhattan
Former coach: Dave Miller
New coach: Steven Rosen (interim)
What to know: Miller stepped down after two seasons at Manhattan and Rosen was promoted to interim head coach. Miller went 44-64 with the Jaspers, including a 22-30 mark in 2024. Rosen, 29, spent two seasons on staff under Miller. He previously was the director of player development at Alabama.
Minnesota
Former coach: John Anderson (retired)
New coach: Ty McDevitt
What to know: Anderson announced before the season that this would be his last as head coach. He is an institution in Minnesota, spending 41 years as head coach and winning more than 1,300 games at his alma mater. He is the winningest baseball coach in Big Ten history. McDevitt was promoted to replace Anderson on May 22. He pitched at Minnesota and spent eight years on staff under Anderson, including the last six as pitching coach. The Gophers have produced some high-end pitching prospects under his tutelage, including Max Meyer, a first round pick in 2020. McDevitt is just 31, making him the youngest head coach in a Power Four conference.
Missouri State
Former coach: Keith Guttin (retired)
New coach: Joey Hawkins
What to know: Guttin announced in November that he would retire at the end of the season, his 42nd at the helm of his alma mater. He has won more than 1,300 games and led the Bears to the 2003 College World Series. Hawkins was a standout player for the Bears, twice serving as a captain and in 2015 he was named Missouri Valley Conference defensive player of the year. He returned to his alma mater as an assistant coach in June 2021 and spent the last two seasons as associate head coach. He was promoted to head coach following at the end of the season.
Pacific
Outgoing coach: Chris Rodriguez
New coach: Open
What to know: Pacific on May 20 announced Rodriguez was out as head coach after five years. He went 66-164. The Tigers this year went 11-44 and finished eighth in the West Coast Conference.
Pepperdine
Former coach: Rick Hirtensteiner
Incoming coach: Open
What to know: Pepperdine on May 29 announced Hirtensteiner was out as head coach after nine years. He went 194-226 as head coach and hadn’t had a winning season in a full season since 2018, when the Waves won the West Coast Conference. They went 15-38 in 2024 and finished sixth in the WCC standings. Pepperdine has had some incredible highs as a program, including winning the 1992 national championship. The Waves went to the NCAA Tournament three times in four years under Steve Rodriguez from 2012-15, before he left for Baylor, but they haven’t been back to that level since. Can they recapture their former form under a new coach?
South Carolina
Former coach: Mark Kingston
New coach: Open
What to know: South Carolina on June 3 fired Kingston after seven seasons as head coach. He twice led the Gamecocks to super regionals (2018 and 2023) and went 217-155 in his tenure. But he wasn’t able to lead South Carolina back to the College World Series, where it still has not reached since 2012. The Gamecocks this year went 37-25 and 13-17 in SEC play, the second time in three seasons they finished 13-17 in conference play. South Carolina is a significant job in college baseball and could be the biggest job to open in this cycle. That presents Ray Tanner a huge opportunity. This will be the third baseball coach he has hired as athletic director and there’s a lot of pressure on him to nail this hire.
South Florida
Former coach: Billy Mohl
New coach: Open
What to know: South Florida on May 20 fired Mohl after seven seasons as head coach and 10 seasons on staff. He led the Bulls to super regionals in 2021 and regionals in 2018, but they struggled to find consistency in the American Athletic Conference. He went 174-181-1 as head coach. The job should be an attractive one, due to its advantageous location in Tampa and the American, which has been down recently but has the makings of a solid baseball conference.
Stephen F. Austin
Former coach: Johnny Cardenas (retired)
New coach: Open
What to know: Cardenas on May 23 announced his retirement after 16 seasons as head coach at SFA. He went 293-483.
West Virginia
Outgoing coach: Randy Mazey (retiring)
Incoming coach: Steve Sabins
What to know: West Virginia announced last summer that Mazey would retire following the 2024 season and Sabins would be promoted to head coach. Mazey is in his 12th season at the program’s helm and has built the Mountaineers into a consistent contender. Sabins is in his ninth season as an assistant under Mazey and his third as associate head coach. He previously spent four years on staff at Oklahoma State.
William & Mary
Former coach: Mike McRae
Incoming coach: Open
What to know: William & Mary on May 25 announced it would not renew McRae’s contract, ending his three-year tenure as head coach. McRae had back-to-back 30-win seasons with the Tribe and went 90-74 in three seasons. He previously was head coach at Niagara and Canisius, and has won 590 games in his career.
Winthrop
Former coach: Tom Riginos
New coach: Open
What to know: Winthrop on May 20 announced it would not renew Riginos’ contract, bringing an end to his 14-year tenure as head coach. He went 329-348, making him the fourth-winningest coach in Big South history. While Winthrop hasn’t made the NCAA Tournament since 2006, it is seen as a one of the better jobs in the Big South due to its proximity to Charlotte and facilities.
Youngstown State
Former coach: Dan Bertolini
New coach: Open
What to know: Bertolini is out as head coach after eight seasons as head coach. He went 141-266 with the Penguins, including a 16-44 mark in 2024. While YSU finished last in the Horizon League standings, it did reach the conference tournament championship game before losing to Northern Kentucky.
