Jay Johnson officially became the baseball coach at LSU on Friday. Which means Dave Heeke is officially on the clock to find Johnsonโs replacement at Arizona.
A whirlwind week for the Wildcats that began with Johnson coaching them in the College World Series ended with him departing for Baton Rouge, Louisiana. LSU announced the hiring of the reigning Pac-12 Coach of the Year in a news release.
โJay's track record of postseason success, explosive lineups and highly ranked recruiting classes set him apart from the field,โ LSU athletic director Scott Woodward said. โHe's made an immediate impact at every program he's led, and he's one of the most energetic, innovative and focused coaches in America. I am confident he is ready to add to our extensive championship tradition at LSU.โ
LSU has won six CWS championships, tied for second most in NCAA history. Johnson just completed his sixth season at Arizona, which has four titles. He led the Wildcats to two CWS berths in the five seasons in which the NCAA Tournament was contested. Arizona made the CWS finals in 2016, Johnsonโs first season. The UA was eliminated from the tournament Monday.
"I am humbled and honored to be the head baseball coach at LSU and serve as the steward of the next generation of national champions," said Johnson, who will be formally introduced Monday. "LSU is a phenomenal university and athletics department, and I am very thankful to Scott Woodward and Stephanie Rempe (LSUโs executive deputy AD/COO) for entrusting me to lead this storied program into its next winning chapter.
โI view this as the opportunity of my lifetime and will do everything in my power to have our team playing a brand of baseball that makes everyone at LSU, the Baton Rouge community and the entire state of Louisiana incredibly proud."
Heeke, Arizonaโs athletic director, is now tasked with making yet another hire for one of the UAโs flagship programs. It will behoove him to act quickly to help keep the Wildcatsโ recruiting class intact and to enable the new coach to โre-recruitโ current players who might consider transferring.
Below are six possible candidates Heeke might consider, listed in alphabetical order. The list does not include UA associate head coach Nate Yeskie, who is set to be hired as Texas A&Mโs pitching coach, per multiple reports.
JORDAN BISCHEL
Current job: Head coach, Central Michigan
Age: 40
The skinny: Bischel just completed his third season at CMU, where one of his players was Heekeโs youngest son, Zach. Dave Heeke came to Arizona from CMU. Bischel has led the Chippewas to the NCAA Tournament berths in each of the two seasons it was conducted. He has a career record of 100-38. Heโs from Wisconsin and has no known connections to the West Coast aside from the Heekes.
ANDREW CHECKETTS
Current job: Head coach, UC Santa Barbara
Age: 45
The skinny: Checketts is one of the top coaches on the West Coast. He just finished his 10th season at UCSB, where he has a career record of 330-200-4. Checketts led the Gauchos to the 2016 CWS, where they were eliminated by Johnson and the Wildcats. Arizona also ousted UCSB in the Tucson Regional last month. Checketts was a candidate for the UA job in 2015.
UC Santa Barbara coach Andrew Checketts has a career record of 330-200-4, and was a candidate for the UA job in 2015.
CHIP HALE
Current job: Third-base coach, Detroit Tigers
Age: 56
The skinny: Hale, a star player for the Wildcats in the 1980s, is in his first season in Detroit. He has 15-plus years of MLB coaching experience, including a two-year stint as manager of the Diamondbacks. Hale also coached the Tucson Sidewinders. Although he has a strong connection to the UA, Hale doesnโt have any experience as a college coach.
ANDY STANKIEWICZ
Current job: Head coach, Grand Canyon
Age: 56
The skinny: Stankiewicz just completed his 10th season as the coach at GCU, where he has a 300-218-2 career record. The Lopes made their first NCAA Tournament appearance as a Division I program this season, losing to Arizona and Oklahoma State in the Tucson Regional. Stankiewicz attended Pepperdine and played seven seasons in MLB, including the โ98 campaign with the Diamondbacks. His prior coaching experience includes a three-year stint as an assistant at Arizona State.
ERIC VALENZUELA
Current job: Head coach, Long Beach State
Age: 42
The skinny: Valenzuela just completed his second season at LBSU, where he has compiled a 38-20 record. Before that, Valenzuela coached for six seasons at Saint Maryโs, where he went 180-156. Valenzuela worked under Tony Gwynn at San Diego State and under Rich Hill at San Diego. Johnson also was a member of that Toreros staff. A Los Angeles-area product, Valenzuela played at Arizona State before transferring to Pepperdine.
MARK WASIKOWSKI
Current job: Head coach, Oregon
Age: 50
The skinny: Wasikowski just completed his second season in Eugene, where he has a 47-23 record. He led the Ducks to a national seed in the NCAA Tournament this year after they were picked to finish seventh in the Pac-12. Wasikowski spent 10 seasons as an assistant coach at Arizona (2002-11) under Andy Lopez. Wasikowski was the head coach at Purdue from 2017-19. His average annual salary is only $350,000 (Johnson made more than $500,000), but itโs unclear whether thatโs supplemented by Nike.
Others: Louis Boyd (former UA player; current minor-league manager for Seattle Mariners); Tod Brown (former UA pitcher and Tucsonan; current head coach at New Mexico); Shelley Duncan (former UA player and Tucsonan; current analytics coordinator for Chicago White Sox); Ben Orloff (former Houston Astros minor-leaguer; current head coach at UC Irvine).
Inside pitch
Three Arizona players โ outfielder Dontaโ Williams, DH Jacob Berry and catcher Daniel Susac โ were named All-Americans by the American Baseball Coaches Association. Williams and Berry were first-team selections. Susac made the second team. It was the first time three Wildcats made the team since 2015.
