MIAA Baseball Coaching Changes

[Randy]

I will use the term agruably but I don't think there is any argument.

Agruably the two most successful active MIAA coaches in 2018 will not be coaching at the same job in 2019. Tom Myers has resigned at Pitt State "to pursue other personal and professional interests outside of higher education" and Bob Fornelli has been hired as his replacement.

Myers (7 seasons @ CentralMO & 2 @ Pitt) won 4 MIAA regular season & 4 tournament titles. His teams played in 7 NCAA regionals winning 3. His 2018 Pitt team played in the regional, the rest of those numbers came when he was coach of the Mules.

Fornelli (15 seasons @ Emporia) won 5 MIAA regular season & 2 tournament titles. His teams played in 13 NCAA regionals winning 2. Prior to Emporia he had a very successful 7 year run with Ft Hays. His teams at Hays won 4 RMAC titles and played in 5 NCAA regionals winning 1. (The Pitt press release says 6 regionals but Hays only claims to have played in 6 and the last one was after Fornelli left.)

If Fornelli's MIAA championships appear low it's only because of the Mules. In his 15 seasons at Emporia, the only regular season titles not won by the Mules or Hornets were Western in 2013, Southern in 2015 and the CentralOK/Northwest tie in 2018. In those same 15 seasons, Southern in the only team (other than the Mules or Hornets) to have won 2 MIAA tournament titles and one of those was basically a tie with Emporia. In 2015, Emporia came out of the loser's bracket and beat Southern to force the "if" game that was never played due to rain. The tournament title (and automatic regional birth) was awarded to Southern as the last unbeaten team.

[Randy]

Re: MIAA Baseball Coaching Changes

MIAA related coaching news:

The man who is IMO the greatest coach in the history of MIAA baseball will also not return to his 2018 coaching job as Brad Hill resigned at Kansas State. The MIAA did not recognize a regular season champion until 2001 but in Hill's 9 seasons at CentralMO the Mules had the best regular season record every year and won the tournament in 8 of the 9. All 9 teams made the NCAA tournament and 7 of the 9 won the regional. He announced his resignation from CentralMO to take the K-State job after the Mules won the 2003 national championship.

[Kiss My Ass]

Re: MIAA Baseball Coaching Changes

May 30th Pitt State announces that Myers was leaving to pursue other interests. Ok, that makes sense.

June 5th Emp. State announces that Fornelli is leaving and that same day Pitt State announces Fornelli's hiring. Fornelli is an Emp. State alum, so I'm a little puzzled why he made that move. Maybe he just felt like he needed a change of scenery.

I hope the Emp. and Pitt posters will weigh in if they have any backstory information.

[Randy]

Re: MIAA Baseball Coaching Changes

Whenever a coaching move doesn't obviously make since, I figure it's all about the $$$$. Maybe Pitt made him an offer he couldn't refuse.

[GrifFan]

Re: MIAA Baseball Coaching Changes

I don't remember the story - why did Myers go from UCM to Pitt in the first place?

[Randy]

Re: MIAA Baseball Coaching Changes

I don't remember the story - why did Myers go from UCM to Pitt in the first place?

To take the Associate Athletic Director for Facilities job at Pitt. The reason given for retiring from CentralMO was the standard "pursue other interests and to spend more time with his family".

http://www.ucmathletics.com/news/201...?path=baseball

[Kiss My Ass]

Re: MIAA Baseball Coaching Changes

Myers is a Pitt State alum and took the facilities job with the promise (IMO) that he would soon take over the baseball team.

[Randy]

Re: MIAA Baseball Coaching Changes

Emporia hires former Mules catcher and current Hornet pitching coach Seth Wheeler as their next head coach.

http://www.esuhornets.com/news/2018/...all-coach.aspx

[Kiss My Ass]

Re: MIAA Baseball Coaching Changes

Wow, that's a pretty good gig for a guy just four years out of college. Way to go Seth Wheeler.

[Hornetfan]

Re: MIAA Baseball Coaching Changes

Wow, that's a pretty good gig for a guy just four years out of college. Way to go Seth Wheeler.

Fornelli was kind of out of the norm when you look at past Hornet baseball coaches going back 50 years.

Larry Cochell was 27 years old and had never been a head coach when he took over in 1967 and he led the Hornets to the NAIA World Series in 1969 before going to D-I and finished his career with over 1300 wins and a national championship at Oklahoma.

Jack Smitheran was 27 years old and had never been a head coach when he took over in 1970 and led the Hornets back to the World Series in his first year. He left after four years for UC-Riverside and had over 1000 wins with two D2 championships.

Dave Bingham was 25 years old and had never been a head coach when he took over in 1974 and he led the Hornets to four World Series including the 1978 national championship and a runner-up finish in 1987. He left for D-I and took KU to their only College World Series appearance.

Brian Embery was maybe 31 years old and had been a juco coach for two years when he took over in 1988 after Bingham left. He took the Hornets to their first NCAA Tournament as ESU won the MIAA and hosted the 1993 regional at old Hornet Field. He was a four time MIAA Coach of the Year before he left ESU and Fornelli took over.

Bob Fornelli was 37 years old and had already been a head coach for seven years when he took over in 2004. But he was only 30 and had never been a head coach when he took over at Ft. Hays in 1996.

Wheeler has a pretty good pedigree between playing at Butler CC, then UCM and then coaching at ESU. Although it was a summer wood bat league, he has already been a head coach of college aged guys as he had a winning record in his three years with the Junction City Brigade of the MidPlains League.