By Kevin Lonnquist
Publisher
The Topper
>From what I understand the remaining members of the 2022 class made it to Baylor Thursday and are ready to go. First summer session begins on Friday.
>Also, the 2022 basketball signing class that includes Kilgore College point guard Dantwan Grimes and West Virginia transfer Jalen Bridges and BYU transfer Caleb Lohner are also on campus. Remember, basketball coaches have a limited number of weekly hours they can work with their players during the summer.
>On top of our Nick Harris story to Baylor 2023 QB commit Austin Novosad’s Ohio State offer, I did ask him about Baylor’s reaction to this offer and if there were any concerns to this, he said: “Not really. I think they were understanding of the situation.”
Baseball Head Coach Hot Board
Your publisher will admit he doesn’t have the greatest feel for the college baseball coaching industry. But he knows a little bit about it.
So here are some candidates who could be in the running to replace Steve Rodriguez who resigned this past Monday. One thing that’s been mentioned is that Baylor probably has to start making some upgrades to its facilities.
Dan Heefner, Dallas Baptist: He’s been the head coach for the previous 15 seasons. Baylor made a run at him and didn’t get him and then turned to Rodriguez in 2015 in advance of the 2016 season.
Heefner has the Patriots back in the NCAA tournament, a year removed from playing in the Super Regionals. We’ll see.
Mitch Thompson, McLennan College: The former assistant under Steve Smith hasn’t been at Baylor since 2012. Much has changed since then. Thompson has been very successful including winning a JUCO national title in 2021.
However, Baylor needs a little more umph with this hire. Not sure if Thompson would be that. The optics of Baylor hiring a JUCO coach, despite his success, may not play very well for an athletic department that wants to be very good in everything.
Lane Burroughs, Louisiana Tech: He’s led the Bulldogs to six 40-win seasons. They were the No. 16 overall seed in the 2021 NCAA tournament and are back in the 2022 tournament playing in the Austin regional.
Pat Hallmark, UTSA: His candidacy would have been better had the Road Runners made this year’s NCAA tournament. But they just missed. However, they had some really good wins this season including Stanford and TCU. The big problem with him is that he has not made any postseason play as a head coach between Incarnate Word and UTSA.
D1 Baseball had those names and offered a few others
>Jake Gautreau, Mississippi State assistant coach: D1 reported Gautreau turned town Tulane and could be holding out for something better. He’s in an interesting position. The 2021 national champions didn’t even qualify for the SEC tournament. Very odd.
>Sean Allen, Texas pitching coach: D1 thinks he would be a strong candidate. Plus, there would not be the awkwardness of Texas with the Longhorns leaving the Big 12 in the next couple of years. However, his record for developing pitchers has been pretty strong. That’s something that Baylor has struggled with over the last couple of seasons.
>Rob Childress, former Texas A&M HC: He did a great job with the Aggies with 13 consecutive regional appearances until things fell apart in 2021 and he was fired. Childress landed at Nebraska as the Director of Player Development. Time will tell if he would be ready to take on another P5 job or if he has run his course as a college baseball head coach.
>Rob Vaughn, Maryland HC: The native of Corpus Christi has Maryland as the No. 15 overall seed in this year’s NCAA tournament with a 44-10 record. Maryland also made the 2021 tournament. Of course, Baylor will remember him because the Bears opened the season against the Terps. Vaughn is only 34.
Again, don’t look for this hire to be made until at least next week when the NCAA tournament field has been whittled down to the Super Regionals.
Baylor makes push for 2023 DE
A week after the Bears offered, they were able to secure an official visit with Fort Bend Marshall defensive end Trent Thomas. He visits Waco June 10-12.
Slowly but surely, the unrated defensive end has been receiving his fair share of attention. The Bears are the ninth program to offer. The other P5 programs to get involved are Boston College and Colorado. Of course, Houston is soon to join the P5 ranks when it joins the Big 12.
However, some solid G5 programs have offered including Memphis, UTSA and Tulsa. However, the Bears get the first OV next weekend (June 10-12).
“I like Baylor with the consistency,’’ he said. “And they just have a great defense.’’
Thomas has quickly been able to establish a quick relationship with defensive line coach Dennis Johnson. Of course, the story of Baylor’s defensive line emerging from suspect to established during the 2021 season has been well documented.
“It’s going great. I feel like a great relationship is forming,’’ Thomas said.
The tape and spring football helped Thomas’ name reach another level. That’s what the May evaluation period is what it is. If it was based on stats from the previous season, then Thomas may not have caught anyone’s attention. He collected 36 total tackles (18 solo, 18 assisted) and one sack.
Marshall recorded another a great season but was stunned in the bi-district round of the Class 5A Division II 2021 playoffs and finished 10-1.
Busting for Bussey
It says on his profile that Timpson 2024 prospect Terry Bussey is listed as an athlete. But if you want to hedge your bets, Baylor might be looking at the standout as a defensive back.
Now, Bussey has been playing on both sides of the field for the Class 2A Division I power. But when his profile reads 18 interceptions in the previous two seasons, that is not something to be dismissed.
The Bears recently offered Bussey. But the evaluation is just beginning.
“The feel I have for the game and my athleticism is just a couple of things I remember us talking about,’’ Bussey said. “But honestly, I see myself playing anywhere that I may be needed.’’
Bussey’s recruitment has a very Texas feel to it. SMU, UTSA, Texas Tech and SFA have all offered. The only outlier is Louisiana Tech. But his recruitment is just beginning. This summer camp season should open more doors for him.
As for Baylor, Bears are looking to have him camp at the end of July, their final camp of the season. That’s a pretty good sign because the Bears typically hold out some of their highly evaluated prospects toward the end of the camp season.
Timpson enjoyed a tremendous 2021 season. It finished 12-1 and fell to eventual state champion Shiner in the Class 2A Division I state semifinals.
Publisher
The Topper
>From what I understand the remaining members of the 2022 class made it to Baylor Thursday and are ready to go. First summer session begins on Friday.
>Also, the 2022 basketball signing class that includes Kilgore College point guard Dantwan Grimes and West Virginia transfer Jalen Bridges and BYU transfer Caleb Lohner are also on campus. Remember, basketball coaches have a limited number of weekly hours they can work with their players during the summer.
>On top of our Nick Harris story to Baylor 2023 QB commit Austin Novosad’s Ohio State offer, I did ask him about Baylor’s reaction to this offer and if there were any concerns to this, he said: “Not really. I think they were understanding of the situation.”
Baseball Head Coach Hot Board
Your publisher will admit he doesn’t have the greatest feel for the college baseball coaching industry. But he knows a little bit about it.
So here are some candidates who could be in the running to replace Steve Rodriguez who resigned this past Monday. One thing that’s been mentioned is that Baylor probably has to start making some upgrades to its facilities.
Dan Heefner, Dallas Baptist: He’s been the head coach for the previous 15 seasons. Baylor made a run at him and didn’t get him and then turned to Rodriguez in 2015 in advance of the 2016 season.
Heefner has the Patriots back in the NCAA tournament, a year removed from playing in the Super Regionals. We’ll see.
Mitch Thompson, McLennan College: The former assistant under Steve Smith hasn’t been at Baylor since 2012. Much has changed since then. Thompson has been very successful including winning a JUCO national title in 2021.
However, Baylor needs a little more umph with this hire. Not sure if Thompson would be that. The optics of Baylor hiring a JUCO coach, despite his success, may not play very well for an athletic department that wants to be very good in everything.
Lane Burroughs, Louisiana Tech: He’s led the Bulldogs to six 40-win seasons. They were the No. 16 overall seed in the 2021 NCAA tournament and are back in the 2022 tournament playing in the Austin regional.
Pat Hallmark, UTSA: His candidacy would have been better had the Road Runners made this year’s NCAA tournament. But they just missed. However, they had some really good wins this season including Stanford and TCU. The big problem with him is that he has not made any postseason play as a head coach between Incarnate Word and UTSA.
D1 Baseball had those names and offered a few others
>Jake Gautreau, Mississippi State assistant coach: D1 reported Gautreau turned town Tulane and could be holding out for something better. He’s in an interesting position. The 2021 national champions didn’t even qualify for the SEC tournament. Very odd.
>Sean Allen, Texas pitching coach: D1 thinks he would be a strong candidate. Plus, there would not be the awkwardness of Texas with the Longhorns leaving the Big 12 in the next couple of years. However, his record for developing pitchers has been pretty strong. That’s something that Baylor has struggled with over the last couple of seasons.
>Rob Childress, former Texas A&M HC: He did a great job with the Aggies with 13 consecutive regional appearances until things fell apart in 2021 and he was fired. Childress landed at Nebraska as the Director of Player Development. Time will tell if he would be ready to take on another P5 job or if he has run his course as a college baseball head coach.
>Rob Vaughn, Maryland HC: The native of Corpus Christi has Maryland as the No. 15 overall seed in this year’s NCAA tournament with a 44-10 record. Maryland also made the 2021 tournament. Of course, Baylor will remember him because the Bears opened the season against the Terps. Vaughn is only 34.
Again, don’t look for this hire to be made until at least next week when the NCAA tournament field has been whittled down to the Super Regionals.
Baylor makes push for 2023 DE
A week after the Bears offered, they were able to secure an official visit with Fort Bend Marshall defensive end Trent Thomas. He visits Waco June 10-12.
Slowly but surely, the unrated defensive end has been receiving his fair share of attention. The Bears are the ninth program to offer. The other P5 programs to get involved are Boston College and Colorado. Of course, Houston is soon to join the P5 ranks when it joins the Big 12.
However, some solid G5 programs have offered including Memphis, UTSA and Tulsa. However, the Bears get the first OV next weekend (June 10-12).
“I like Baylor with the consistency,’’ he said. “And they just have a great defense.’’
Thomas has quickly been able to establish a quick relationship with defensive line coach Dennis Johnson. Of course, the story of Baylor’s defensive line emerging from suspect to established during the 2021 season has been well documented.
“It’s going great. I feel like a great relationship is forming,’’ Thomas said.
The tape and spring football helped Thomas’ name reach another level. That’s what the May evaluation period is what it is. If it was based on stats from the previous season, then Thomas may not have caught anyone’s attention. He collected 36 total tackles (18 solo, 18 assisted) and one sack.
Marshall recorded another a great season but was stunned in the bi-district round of the Class 5A Division II 2021 playoffs and finished 10-1.
Busting for Bussey
It says on his profile that Timpson 2024 prospect Terry Bussey is listed as an athlete. But if you want to hedge your bets, Baylor might be looking at the standout as a defensive back.
Now, Bussey has been playing on both sides of the field for the Class 2A Division I power. But when his profile reads 18 interceptions in the previous two seasons, that is not something to be dismissed.
The Bears recently offered Bussey. But the evaluation is just beginning.
“The feel I have for the game and my athleticism is just a couple of things I remember us talking about,’’ Bussey said. “But honestly, I see myself playing anywhere that I may be needed.’’
Bussey’s recruitment has a very Texas feel to it. SMU, UTSA, Texas Tech and SFA have all offered. The only outlier is Louisiana Tech. But his recruitment is just beginning. This summer camp season should open more doors for him.
As for Baylor, Bears are looking to have him camp at the end of July, their final camp of the season. That’s a pretty good sign because the Bears typically hold out some of their highly evaluated prospects toward the end of the camp season.
Timpson enjoyed a tremendous 2021 season. It finished 12-1 and fell to eventual state champion Shiner in the Class 2A Division I state semifinals.
