Alabama State Promotes Vazquez To Head Coach
Jose Vazquez, associate head coach to Mervyl Melendez at Alabama State, was promoted Wednesday to head coach, replacing Melendez, who left to become the coach of Florida International last month.
In addition to his time at Alabama State, Vazquez also played for and then coached with Melendez at Bethune-Cookman. He was an assistant coach for the Wildcats for nine years before following Melendez to Alabama State.
At Alabama State, Vazquez helped turn the Hornets into a powerhouse in the Southwestern Athletic Conference. The Hornets have won three straight SWAC East Division championships and were named Black College National Champions by BlackCollegeNines.com in 2014 and 2016.
Alabama State reached new heights this season, culminating with a SWAC Tournament championship and its first ever berth in the NCAA Tournament. The Hornets went 38-17, including a 24-0 mark in SWAC play, becoming the first team in the nation to go undefeated in conference play since 2012.
Melendez and Vazquez are both natives of Puerto Rico and, as recruiting coordinator, Vazquez has had success bringing players from the island to Bethune-Cookman and Alabama State. Seven players on the Hornets’ roster this year were Puerto Rican natives, including righthander Angel Alicea, who was drafted in the 20th round by the Blue Jays.
| 2016 COACHING CHANGES | ||
| School | Departures | Arrivals |
| Alabama | Mitch Gaspard | Greg Goff |
| Alabama State | Mervyl Melendez | Jose Vazquez |
| Appalachian State | Billy Jones | |
| Army | Matt Reid | Jim Foster |
| Butler | Steve Farley | Dave Schrage |
| Central Florida | Terry Rooney | Greg Lovelady |
| Florida International | Turtle Thomas | Mervyl Melendez |
| Furman | Ron Smith | Brett Harker |
| Jacksonville | Tim Montez | Chris Hayes |
| Kentucky | Gary Henderson | Nick Mingione |
| Lamar | Jim Gilligan (ret.) | Will Davis |
| Liberty | Jim Toman | |
| Louisiana Tech | Greg Goff | Lane Burroughs |
| Missouri | Tim Jamieson | Steve Bieser |
| Nebraska-Omaha | Bob Herold | |
| Northwestern State | Lane Burroughs | Bobby Barbier |
| Oakland | John Musachio | Jacke Heale, Colin Kaline |
| Purdue | Doug Schreiber | Mark Wasikowski |
| San Jose State | Dave Nakama | Jason Hawkins |
| SIU-Edwardsville | Tony Stoecklin | Sean Lyons |
| Southeast Missouri State | Steve Bieser | |
| Texas | Augie Garrido | David Pierce |
| Tulane | David Pierce | |
| Villanova | Joe Godri | |
| Wright State | Greg Lovelady | |
| Youngstown State | Steve Gillispie | Dan Bertolini |
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