http://www.hokiesports.com/baseball/recaps/20170521aaa.html
Virginia Tech Director of Athletics Whit Babcock announced Sunday that Patrick Mason has been relieved of his coaching duties as head baseball coach. In making the announcement, Babcock indicated a national search for Mason's replacement will begin immediately.
"I want to thank Coach Mason for his commitment and dedication to our baseball program during his tenure as both head coach and as an assistant coach at Virginia Tech," Babock said. "We appreciate the work that Patrick and his staff have done to help our student-athletes both academically and athletically.
Whit is going to take this search personal. Would like to see Hokie baseball back up in the ACC.
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Mason is a great guy and good Hokie. But similar to James Johnson, he probably wasn't ready to be the head man when he was hired.
As far as possible candidates, I remember it being rumored a few years back that the Coastal Carolina coach was interested in VT, but with them winning it all last year, that's probably nothing more than a pipe dream now. I'm sure Whit will hire a stud though, he's a big baseball guy.
CCU has done a lot to support their baseball and softball teams. Their facilities for those sports are impressive.
Whew he's been there since 1996. Would take a lot to pry him away like you said. He makes $272,000 right now. Mason made $160,000. Also noticed that Pete Hughes jumped to OU for $350k.
Whit's a big baseball guy, and they're completing an $18 million renovation to English Field by opening day, 2018.
I'd say Whit's committed to baseball.
And, lets be honest... Whit isn't spending $18m to renovate the stadium only to pinch pennies with the coaching staff.
Much like we did in football and basketball, we're gonna go out and pay for whatever coach Whit thinks is best to run our program. If the Coastal Carolina coach really was interested in us previously, don't be surprised if we wave some straight cash homie in his face to see if he'd like to challenge himself in the ACC gauntlet.
Getting the Coastal Carolina coach would arguably be Whit's most impressive hire yet. Buzz, Fuente, Brooks, and John Sung (women's lax coach) all look to be tremendous hires, but stealing a coach from a team that won it all last June would be otherworldly.
I really doubt he leaves CCU though, but Whit has shocked the world before back in March 2014, and I'm sure he's ready to do it again. Like I said though, whoever Whit hires will likely be a good to great one, so I'm not going to worry about it too much.
I didn't realize this until looking it up, but Gary Gilmore (CCU head coach) is from Franklin County, VA.
Thing is, he's a CCU alum and has been head coach there for over 20 years, so I don't know if the allure of coming home means that much to him (especially after winning the national title there).
He apparently really wanted the job before we hired Pete Hughes back in 2006. But that is 11 years ago, and Coastal Carolina just won themselves a National Title after building themselves quite the program down around Myrtle Beach. Its a long shot at best.
That being said, Whit has thrived on the long shot hires so far. He seems to not give 2 craps about what should happen, and goes out and makes what he want happen. And considering he knows baseball better than any of the sports he's already performed a miracle hire in, you have to think we're going to crush it with this hire. Its also likely that we already have a coach chosen, we just have to wait for the other team's season to finish, first.
It's going to be very interesting to see what Whit can/is willing to pay. With football and then basketball (the two highest revenue sports) he had to pump up the salaries to get his guys. To land someone like Gilmore it will require the same model. Now given how much less a baseball coach makes as compared to the football and basketball (head) coaches a similar percentage increase will ultimately amount to a lot less least. All together though this is just another reminder how much money, and as a result how much Hokie Club giving plays into the success of the athletic programs.
Are baseball games still free? I wonder if they will begin charging admission after the renovations. I remember seeing an article a while back that VT is one of the few ACC teams that still offers free admission.
I'm guessing admission will be charged, at least for some seats... That is, unless that 'T' at the entrance stands for something other than 'Tickets'
So this means CWS by 2020 or so right?
Out of nowhere, Whit poaches Joe Maddon from the cubs...maybe not but it's Whitt so anything is possible
I wish things had worked out better for Mason, and appreciate his efforts, but baseball isn't performing at the level we hope for. We've have had success before, but it's time to step it up and get competitive again. The ACC is a tough conference for baseball, and we have some ground to make up. Go Whit, hit another homer!
Edit: clarity
This is the right thing to do.
Mason seems like a nice guy, but the program wasn't moving in the right direction.
Whit doesn't mess this stuff up....whoever the next baseball coach is, he is going to be good.
a year or two too late, but Whit will pick the right guy to get things going again
Waiting a year for the stadium remodel to be in full swing was probably the right move in the long run.
I found the perfect candidate for the job. Make it happen, Whit!
Whit has already made great hires at VT and Baseball is the sport he knows the best, having played for his Dad in college.
Weaver hired Mason, Right?
I would guess Weaver hired every coach left that Whit hasn't replaced.
Heard from a VT Baseball alum that played for Mason that he wasn't necessarily the one that was going to take them where they want to go. Interested to see who the replacement is going to be.
Here's your daily reminder to donate to the Hokie Club and join TKPC.
Hey, you're not Fireman!!!
I think we are starting to see a series of TKP promotions:
/s
Works for me, all hail the New Order of Things.
So basically, all hail NOT!
RichRod will be our next baseball coach. Book it!
Incoming gif in 3...2...1...
Wait, wait, wait... who's the new Rich Rod hater? Since we're swapping jobs and all.
http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/r/rodriri02.shtml
Not a lot of experience but in Whit I Trust.
Completely unrelated, but fireman, are you also @XplodingUnicorn on the side?
Nope but he must have cameras in my house because that is exactly how life is around here.
As long as Whit doesn't hire someone entreched in the old way of doing things, I'm all for a little change. So much has changed in baseball over the last 5-10 years, guys who are heavy into the "small ball" are doing less and less. I love what the guys over at Arizona are doing with regards to hitting and plate mentality, for example.
Whit's shown he's willing to embrace a coach with newer ideas (Fuente), so hopefully he can find someone who breaks the mold of "swing down, hit hard grounders and low line drives". For all the good that does, you're not gonna beat traditionally good ACC teams (UNC, FSU, Miami, Clemson, Georgia Tech, Duke, etc) at their own game, especially when it comes to trying to recruit top-flight pitching. You need someone who has a fresh perspective IMO.
For the love of Hokies everywhere, PLEASE stay away from Sonny Galloway. Dude's a nutjob.
I don't think we were ever teaching small ball. When we were winning and even I think as recent as last year we were near the top of the ACC in home runs. Pitching became terrible after we hosted the Regional.
I've got to believe that Whit knows his baseball, and has been thinking about this for a while.
Based on his record, I trust him.
Pitching seems to be the biggest issue, though we had some games slip away due to untimely and costly errors. And while it sure seemed like we had streaks of good offense, then we go and pull a stinker losing 20-0 to UNC. Still, we have to get upgraded on the mound and in the bullpen if we expect to compete successfully in the ACC.
Need to be able to pitch and hit to be successful in baseball. Right now, we can barely do one, and we aren't very good at the other.
The coaching change is desperately needed. Our talent just isn't where it needs to be, which is a damn shame considering how well we were trending just a few short years ago.
John Madden taught me that it helps if you score more points than the other team too.
Unrelated, but I did get to see a Hokie in the big leagues within the last week.
Chad Pinder is playing shortstop for the A's nowadays, playing pretty damn well too. They took 3 of 4 from the Red Sox, and Pinder had 3 home runs and 5 hits on the series.
I heard he's keen on blasting gigantic dongs
From this article in 2015, Coastal Carolina knows their coach is a short timer and have a coach-in-waiting:
His contract runs through 2020, maybe winning the CWS has sped up his schedule and he is ready to take on a new challenge early.
Usually in that situation the new challenge is retirement. If he's ready to go in 3-4 years, I am not sure he's right for us. It will take that long to build the program.
agreed, after further research. He will be around 60 years old in 2020.
Any thoughts regarding Chad Holbrook now that he has resigned from South Carolina? I can imagine that $$ could be an issue. He was faced with huge expectations and didn't deliver but in my estimation, could be a great hire for VT.
Definitely worthy of consideration.
Kind of underperformed at USC based on talent he had.
Totally agree with that, he inherited a very accomplished team when he took over and this year starting the season ranked in the top 10 and failing to make the postseason is a major knock.
Noooooo.......
Ray Tanner (AD at USCe and former Natty baseball coach) was taking serious heat on not firing Holbrook, his former assistant and friend.
Holbrook has run the program down with GREAT facilities, talent and fans.
Not the guy, IMO.
Been reading around...
Sounds like USF's Mark Kingston and Maryland's John Szefc have emerged as 2 leading contenders for the opening. Earlier today, there were reports that Kingston might be staying at USF with a pay raise.
For the record, Szefc is pronounced "chef".
No, it's pronounced "Kevin"
"Kevin" is always an acceptable pronunciation.
Hey it's Whit, anything is possible.
Contract Clause:
Must bring J-Lo with him.edit: I hate the yankees anyway
That would be ARod
Derek would bring Hannah Davis (Jeter)
That would be an EXCELLENT hire by Whit.
An excellent hire by Whit
That's an interesting way to spell "typical."
If it happens it could be a sneakier hire than Buzz. Sfecz didn't necessarily rebuild Maryland's program but he has had them continuing to play at a high level since he got there. If he's been able to do what he has Maryland with the facilities they have (read: not good... Not good at all) I can't wait to see what he can do at Tech with a brand new stadium combined with the Weaver Center.
So besides knowing Whit hires the best what can anyone tell us about this guy?
Hitters coach which knows how to get the best out of a lineup. Cares a hell of a lot about his players, which was evident during his expletive laden ejection in the Big Ten Tournament after a bad call by the ump. Recruits surprisingly well for the situation he has in College Park.
His name is pronounced "chef".
Or possibly "Kevin".
Sounds like he has a winning recipe.
All hail Chef Kevin!
Deal was just finalized, John Szefc has been hired to lead the VT baseball program.
Expect a Hokiesports announcement within the hour
Sure enough,
John Szefc Named 25th Head Coach
I can't wait to see what the Szefc cooks up for our program.
You could say he has all the right ingredients for success...
Maybe it's not as big a deal as I think it is, but the dude had EIGHT All Americans in just 4 seasons? Whit done did it again
This is just another reason I am glad I upped my Hokie Club donation this year. Whit definitely appears to know how to use it effectively in building a successful athletic program.
Join the Hokie Club you say.
Absolutely. My donation to the Hokie Club is my vote of confidence in Whit. One of those "put your money where your mouth is" things. I trust in Whit and he has my vocal and financial support.
If the Hokie Club was a stock, buy buy buy!
Pronounced "chef"
via GIPHY
Glad Whit is our Bae-D
I, for one, welcome Coach Chef Hardass as our new baseball overlord.
So... This is our new coach
ACC Umps, this is your warning.... (NSFW language in video)
Woooooooooooooooooooooooooow that's a bad call on the ump's part
I wonder if that call helped sway his decision in the sense that, if the B1G is going to give them shit refs like that, time to get the hell out and get to a conference where they take the sport seriously.
I was gonna make a joke about ACC refs but then I remembered we're talking baseball, not football.
But now I have the image of Ron Cherry as an ump and it's....entertaining
damn, that ump should be tarred and feathered.
Based solely off this video, I love this hire.
I'm not sure which I love more. This or Buzz dancing on the WV logo
You guys know when you look at your significant other and think "I don't deserve you, holy crap I'm lucky"?
I have no idea what that's like, but is this close?