I am praying that Pat Casey doesn't retire from coaching the Beavers, but it's always good to have a list of candidates ready in case he does retire on Monday. Here's my top six:
Pat Murphy, Manager, Eugene Emeralds
Sure, this guy is a walking NCAA violation, but there is no doubt he can coach. His all-time record as a head coach (Notre Dame, Arizona State, Eugene Emeralds) is 1,002-456-2, and he led the Sun Devils to four College World Series appearences.
I know we don't want to get mixed up in any shady NCAA violations, especially because of what is happening down in Eugene, but I think he would be a great hire.
Scott Brosius, Manager, Linfield Wildcats
In my opinion, Scott Brosius should be at the top of our list. In four seasons at Linfield, Brosius has compiled a 133-49 record while leading the Wildcats to three Northwest Conference titles and two Regional titles. In 2008, Linfield took 5th at the NCAA Finals, and in 2010, the Wildcats finished 3rd in the Finals.
Brosius was an assistant for the Wildcats from 2002-2007, and then he took the head coaching job after former manager Scott Carnahan retired from coaching. Throughout his tenure as a assistant, Brosius managed all the team's recruiting, which is a huge part of being a coach in Division 1.
Brosius also played 11 seasons in the MLB with the Oakland Athletics and New York Yankees, where he won three World Series.
I see this hire being like the hiring of women's basketball coach Scott Rueck, who came from George Fox University. And as Rueck showed this season, just because you're from a lower division doesn't mean you can't coach on a higher level.
Chad Holbrook, Associate Head Coach, South Carolina Gamecocks
Holbrook is a longshot, but why not go after him? Holbrook has been the associate head coach at South Carolina for the years, and before that he spent 15 years as the recruiting coordinator at North Carolina. At South Carolina, Holbrook's main job is overseeing the Gamecock offense, but he also works with the outfielders.
Holbrook has made a huge impact on the back-to-back champion Gamecock offense, as USC averaged 6.5 runs per game in 2011 postseason play.
Recruiting-wise, there is no one better. Holbrook was instrumental in recruiting future major-leaguers like Dustin Ackley, Kyle Seager, Daniel Bard, Chris Iannetta, Andrew Miller, and Kyle Snyder to UNC. His 2003, 2004, 2006, and 2007 recruiting classes were all ranked in the Top 11 by Perfect Game Crosschecker.
If we could somehow lure Holbrook away from South Carolina, his offensive and recruiting genius would keep Oregon State at the top of the Pac for years to come.
More candidates after the break
Mike Gillespie, Manager, UC Irvine Anteaters
Gillespie would be a great hire for a couple reasons:
- First, he's a great coach. He has led the Anteaters to the postseason in each of his four years at Irvine, and before coming to UCI, he led USC to 15 postseason appearences and one national title. Also as head coach of the Trojans, he produced 28 major leaguers, including Mark Prior, Barry Zito, Aaron Boone, Bret Boone, and Geoff Jenkins.
- Second, Gillespie is a west coast guy. His three head coaching jobs (College of the Canyons, USC, and UC Irvine) have all been in California, so he definitely has the recruiting pipelines needed to coach at Oregon State.
Put all of these reasons together, and I think we have a good shot at hiring Mike.
Jim Penders, Manager, Connecticut Huskies
We need a guy that has built a cold-weather program into a very competitive division 1 team, and Penders would be that guy. Penders can definitely coach as he was named Big East, ECAC, ABCA/Diamond Northeast and NEIBA Coach of the Year in 2010. He also has a 289-184-2 record in eight years with the Huskies.
The thing is, all of these guys are great coaches, but like I said before, Penders understands how to coach and recruit to a cold-weather school. None of the other guys (besides Brosius), can say that.
Marty Lees, Associate Head Coach, Oregon State Beavers
This is the most likely man for the job, it seems, as Lees has been an assistant under Pat Casey for ten years. Lees' main jobs with the Beavers have been defensive coach and recruiting coordiantor, two jobs he has been great with.
Under his eyes, the defense constantly ranks in the Top 30 nationally in fielding percentage. In 2010, the Beavers finished the season with a .973 fielding percentage, good enough for #28 in the nation.
Oregon State has also placed in the Top 25 of recruiting rankings in every season under Lees, including a class that was ranked third in the nation in 2007. He was also instrumental in bringing players like Stefen Romero and Darwin Barney to Corvallis.
I think the one problem with hiring Lees would be the state of our offense. The Beaver offense struggled mightily at times this season, including the final five regual season games in which we only managed 1.6 runs a game.
Overall, any of these people would be great hires. My top two guys would be Brosius and Gillespie, but what do you guys think? Vote in the poll and explain your selection in the comments.