It's so obvious that we should hire Lane Burroughs.....

[OG Goat Holder]

The assistant architect of the Cohen revival. The guy who went out and projected the development of that 2013 team. And we could get him for a good price, before he gets a bigger job elsewhere. AND, we likely could bring our pick of these guys with him, who have good stats.

Zeb Ruddell - Baseball - LA Tech Athletics

Zeb Ruddell (6) Outfielder - CAREER HONORS & AWARDS CUSA Commissioner's Honor Roll (2025)

latechsports.com

Sebastian Mexico - Baseball - LA Tech Athletics

Sebastian Mexico (24) Outfielder

latechsports.com

Matt Houston - Baseball - LA Tech Athletics

Matt Houston (29) Catcher - CAREER HONORS & AWARDS CUSA Commissioner's Academic Medalist (2025) CUSA Commissioner's Honor Roll (2025)

latechsports.com

Trey Hawsey - Baseball - LA Tech Athletics

Trey Hawsey (50) Infielder

latechsports.com

Blake Hooks - Baseball - LA Tech Athletics

Blake Hooks (26) Pitcher - CAREER HONORS & AWARDS CUSA Academic Medalist (2024) CUSA Commissioner's Honor Roll (2024, 2025) 2024: Appeared in 25 games in

latechsports.com

Michael Ballard - Baseball - LA Tech Athletics

Michael Ballard (7) Infielder - CAREER HONORS CUSA Commissioner's Honor Roll (2024, 2025) SSC Spring Commissioner's Honor Roll (2022) SSC Spring Commissioner's

latechsports.com

Brooks Roberson - Baseball - LA Tech Athletics

Brooks Roberson (10) Pitcher - CAREER HONORS & AWARDS CUSA Commissioner's Honor Roll (2025)

latechsports.com

Luke Cooley - Baseball - LA Tech Athletics

Luke Cooley (12) Pitcher - CAREER HONORS & AWARDS CUSA Commissioner's Honor Roll (2025)

latechsports.com

I'd also raid USM's roster for their top guys too. Rebuild this thing tomorrow. Keep a few of our upperclass guys and the freshmen class, and let's roll.

 

[MSUDC11-2.0]

I mean he’s a candidate but I wouldn’t have him at the top of the list.

 

[17itdawg]

I like Lane a lot. I think he would be a good fit here, but I don't think he should be at the top of the list. Personally I'd put him ahead of Mingione and Butch, but there are other guys I'd be interested in first. How realistic those guys ahead of him are is yet to be seen.

 

[OG Goat Holder]

I mean he’s a candidate but I wouldn’t have him at the top of the list.

We’ve been through this before. Chances are not high we catch the big fish. I’d love to be wrong.

 

[dawgstudent]

He's been at LA Tech since 17. Him getting a bigger job elsewhere shouldn't be the concern.

 

[BulldogBlitz]

Ls-who will probably offer him a pontoon boat full of cash to wit in the dugout and apply mustard to corndogs.

 

[WrightGuy821]

I like Lane a lot. I think he would be a good fit here, but I don't think he should be at the top of the list. Personally I'd put him ahead of Mingione and Butch, but there are other guys I'd be interested in first. How realistic those guys ahead of him are is yet to be seen.

I really don't have a ton of interest in Mingione or Butch at this point in their careers

 

[HuntDawg]

No way he should be at the top of anyones list... if he was as good as the OP he wouldve landed a job somehwere by now. Hes been a HC for 11 years.. 3 regionals.. there are a laundry list of coaches with better resumes

And lets please not go raid USM for players. They are at USM for a reason. The bar should be set much higher than a raid of CUSA talent.

 

[Maroon Eagle]

I mean he’s a candidate but I wouldn’t have him at the top of the list.

I have Dusty above Lane. **

(I know we aren’t getting Dusty since he’s retired but he’s on the Pantheon so he’s above all candidates…)

 

[MSUDC11-2.0]

We’ve been through this before. Chances are not high we catch the big fish. I’d love to be wrong.

I’m not even saying we are getting a big fish. I’m saying of the non-big fish, I don’t know that he’d be my first choice. The consistency at LA Tech is not quite what I’d like for it to be. I realize they don’t have much history but he did take over for a coach that made the NCAAT before taking the Bama job. And Lane has only gotten there three times since 2017, and likely isn’t making it this year.

He’s a good coach, not disputing that. I’d just have to get told no by several options before I hired him here.

 

[HuntDawg]

I’m not even saying we are getting a big fish. I’m saying of the non-big fish, I don’t know that he’d be my first choice. The consistency at LA Tech is not quite what I’d like for it to be. I realize they don’t have much history but he did take over for a coach that made the NCAAT before taking the Bama job. And Lane has only gotten there three times since 2017, and likely isn’t making it this year.

He’s a good coach, not disputing that. I’d just have to get told no by several options before I hired him here.

This.

Burroughs just isnt a good option. If you want more of the same that lemonis brought, then he's your guy. He'll probably even bring in a higher floor.. but he doesnt have a ceiling. Again if he was someone anyone thought would be a difference maker for a program, he'd already have a chance taken on him. 11 seasons as a head man.. very MEH resume... he shouldnt be on our list anywhere unless we get a LOT of NOs from people way up the list.

 

[Trojanbulldog19]

We’ve been through this before. Chances are not high we catch the big fish. I’d love to be wrong.

I don't see firing lemonis and not going big game hunting. This isn't football.

 

[POTUS]

Again, the delusion of our fanbase is astounding. It's a new world folks. There is NIL and big money to spend. Yet our fans are busy crowing about attendance records. No one cares! Show them the salary and the recruiting budget. On that front, we are nowhere near a big boy.

 

[Trojanbulldog19]

Again, the delusion of our fanbase is astounding. It's a new world folks. There is NIL and big money to spend. Yet our fans are busy crowing about attendance records. No one cares! Show them the salary and the recruiting budget. On that front, we are nowhere near a big boy.

The money potential is there for baseball. MSU cares about baseball probably more than any other sports. If you give them something to care about again

 

[Seinfeld]

I don't see firing lemonis and not going big game hunting. This isn't football.

I want to believe this too, but I’m prepared to be very underwhelmed. If Cohen and our alleged big baseball boosters weren’t able do any better than a middling Big10 coach 7 years ago, I’m really not optimistic about our chances during this age of cost cutting.

If we land a big fish, I’ll gladly give kudos to Selmon, but I think there’s a better chance that we end up with a guy pretty far down the list that’s willing to accept a contract @ 50-75% of what Lemonis was making

 

[Trojanbulldog19]

I want to believe this too, but I’m prepared to be very underwhelmed. If Cohen and our alleged big baseball boosters weren’t able do any better than a middling Big10 coach 7 years ago, I’m really not optimistic about our chances during this age of cost cutting.

If we land a big fish, I’ll gladly give kudos to Selmon, but I think there’s a better chance that we end up with a guy pretty far down the list that’s willing to accept a contract @ 50-75% of what Lemonis was making

Maybe so. I feel like shot ourselves in the foot last time. We may do that this time. Changing landscape in baseball ncaa. I think we can pull acc or big 12 head guy.

 

[Darryl Steight]

This.

Burroughs just isnt a good option. If you want more of the same that lemonis brought, then he's your guy. He'll probably even bring in a higher floor.. but he doesnt have a ceiling. Again if he was someone anyone thought would be a difference maker for a program, he'd already have a chance taken on him. 11 seasons as a head man.. very MEH resume... he shouldnt be on our list anywhere unless we get a LOT of NOs from people way up the list.

I'm not advocating for hiring Lane over anyone else at this point, but comparing him to Lemonis is not accurate.

Lane is a fiery guy, more like an intense bastard than a soft "players coach" type who coddles. I would have liked to see Lane coaching the last couple of years here, because I don't think it was a pure talent issue. I think he would have gotten more out of them than we've had.

Can he recruit at this level, that would be my question about Lane. If we did end up hiring him, you'd just have to make sure and get a young lock down recruiter to go with him.

 

[HuntDawg]

I'm not advocating for hiring Lane over anyone else at this point, but comparing him to Lemonis is not accurate.

Lane is a fiery guy, more like an intense bastard than a soft "players coach" type who coddles. I would have liked to see Lane coaching the last couple of years here, because I don't think it was a pure talent issue. I think he would have gotten more out of them than we've had.

Can he recruit at this level, that would be my question about Lane. If we did end up hiring him, you'd just have to make sure and get a young lock down recruiter to go with him.

wasnt comparing styles.

Was more or less saying... we'd be hiring a guy with a long history of MEH success at a school/conference/program that is nowhere close to our standards.. and hoping it works out.

Very much the same way we did with Lemonis.

There are better candidates out there... and it'll be hard to justify hiring someone with Burroughs resume...

 

[Darryl Steight]

wasnt comparing styles.

Was more or less saying... we'd be hiring a guy with a long history of MEH success at a school/conference/program that is nowhere close to our standards.. and hoping it works out.

Very much the same way we did with Lemonis.

There are better candidates out there... and it'll be hard to justify hiring someone with Burroughs resume...

We can agree with all that... and I still hope we get someone who no one ever calls a 'players coach'.

 

[johnson86-1]

I want to believe this too, but I’m prepared to be very underwhelmed. If Cohen and our alleged big baseball boosters weren’t able do any better than a middling Big10 coach 7 years ago, I’m really not optimistic about our chances during this age of cost cutting.

If we land a big fish, I’ll gladly give kudos to Selmon, but I think there’s a better chance that we end up with a guy pretty far down the list that’s willing to accept a contract @ 50-75% of what Lemonis was making

On the surface, we looked to be in a much better position as a program then, but there are a couple of things that may have been working against us:
1) We were on a good stretch, but we had 3 head coaches over the previous three years, so there may have been some concern about the recruiting pipeline. Not sure that would be a real issue since you'd think coaching turnover kills your recruiting pipeline regardless, but baseball seems different, so maybe that hurt some.
2) Cohen was going to be the AD. I can see baseball coaches not wanting to work for an AD that is probably half as smart as he thinks he is, and that is probably much more concerning for a potential baseball coach considering working for an AD that is a former baseball coach that is only half as smart as he thinks he is.

On the flip side, while we are in much worse shape and NIL hurts us compared to some SEC programs, there are probably a lot of successful head coaches, even at P4 schools, that are worried about baseball essentially becoming a casualty of revenue sharing and NIL. So they may see MSU as a step up, even if MSU's position compared to other SEC teams has become more challenging.

 

[Perd Hapley]

Sebastian Mexico? I’m sold.

 

[Chesusdog]

Sebastian Mexico? I’m sold.

If he's related to Ron, we better keep a close eye on Bully.

 

[Seinfeld]

On the flip side, while we are in much worse shape and NIL hurts us compared to some SEC programs, there are probably a lot of successful head coaches, even at P4 schools, that are worried about baseball essentially becoming a casualty of revenue sharing and NIL. So they may see MSU as a step up, even if MSU's position compared to other SEC teams has become more challenging.

I was actually thinking about this exact topic while listening to T&L today. They were talking about good P4 coaches that might be looking to get out of a bad situation, and we usually think of that as meaning a negative trajectory from a results point of view. However, in the current environment, I think there very well could be a bad situation involving schools wanting to cut baseball funding, and an acting head coach may see the writing on the wall as far as where things are headed.

This will be an interesting search, that's for sure

 

[The Peeper]

Again, the delusion of our fanbase is astounding. It's a new world folks. There is NIL and big money to spend. Yet our fans are busy crowing about attendance records. No one cares! Show them the salary and the recruiting budget. On that front, we are nowhere near a big boy.

Lemonis was tied at 11th this season in salary at $1.33 million. He was ahead of Schlossnagle at TX, Mainieri at SC, Vaughn at AL and others. There's less than half a million separating 4th and 11th place, salary is there.
2025 Coaches Salaries

We are 13th in latest total budget I could find from 2022, but do you think its gone down since we won a Natty the year before that?
NCAA Baseball Budgets

As for your attendance comment (which by the way NOBODY has commented on in this thread but you), when attracting a good coach, do you think they would rather coach in front of 10K-15K fans here (we had 33,000 during the SC series a couple weeks ago in a year in which we suck) or in front of lets say 1,800 at the UCLA stadium, Clemson or FL St at 6,000: Louisville or Stanford 4,000: Miami 5,000: Notre Dame 2,500? Fans in the stadium translates to dollars donated, shirts and souvenirs bought, ballpark food purchased, parking passes, etc. SEC ticket prices at Dudy Noble this year are at $22 each even for toddlers/infants. Beer is $9.99 for a 16 oz can. But you don't want to talk about attendance, "no one cares" you said. How 17n stupid are you? Did you see where you can buy 4 tickets and a parking pass for Davis Wade games this Fall for $49? Try that at Dudy Noble this weekend.
There's your budget numbers, there's your salaries, there's your facilities, what else do you want to whine about? We'll put you down on the "got my feelings hurt in the LFL" list. Its just a club sport that "nobody cares about anyway"

 

[OG Goat Holder]

Can he recruit at this level, that would be my question about Lane. If we did end up hiring him, you'd just have to make sure and get a young lock down recruiter to go with him.

Uhhh, yeah. Who do you think recruited our 2013 team...

 

[dickiedawg]

The assistant architect of the Cohen revival. The guy who went out and projected the development of that 2013 team. And we could get him for a good price, before he gets a bigger job elsewhere. AND, we likely could bring our pick of these guys with him, who have good stats.

Zeb Ruddell - Baseball - LA Tech Athletics

Zeb Ruddell (6) Outfielder - CAREER HONORS & AWARDS CUSA Commissioner's Honor Roll (2025)

latechsports.com

Sebastian Mexico - Baseball - LA Tech Athletics

Sebastian Mexico (24) Outfielder

latechsports.com

Matt Houston - Baseball - LA Tech Athletics

Matt Houston (29) Catcher - CAREER HONORS & AWARDS CUSA Commissioner's Academic Medalist (2025) CUSA Commissioner's Honor Roll (2025)

latechsports.com

Trey Hawsey - Baseball - LA Tech Athletics

Trey Hawsey (50) Infielder

latechsports.com

Blake Hooks - Baseball - LA Tech Athletics

Blake Hooks (26) Pitcher - CAREER HONORS & AWARDS CUSA Academic Medalist (2024) CUSA Commissioner's Honor Roll (2024, 2025) 2024: Appeared in 25 games in

latechsports.com

Michael Ballard - Baseball - LA Tech Athletics

Michael Ballard (7) Infielder - CAREER HONORS CUSA Commissioner's Honor Roll (2024, 2025) SSC Spring Commissioner's Honor Roll (2022) SSC Spring Commissioner's

latechsports.com

Brooks Roberson - Baseball - LA Tech Athletics

Brooks Roberson (10) Pitcher - CAREER HONORS & AWARDS CUSA Commissioner's Honor Roll (2025)

latechsports.com

Luke Cooley - Baseball - LA Tech Athletics

Luke Cooley (12) Pitcher - CAREER HONORS & AWARDS CUSA Commissioner's Honor Roll (2025)

latechsports.com

I'd also raid USM's roster for their top guys too. Rebuild this thing tomorrow. Keep a few of our upperclass guys and the freshmen class, and let's roll.

Lane is a very "MSU" hire. He's safe. He's comfortable. Like a well-worn pair of PJs.
He's exciting absolutely no one.

And he could be great. But I don't think we're making a meh hire.

 

[dickiedawg]

I like Lane a lot. I think he would be a good fit here, but I don't think he should be at the top of the list. Personally I'd put him ahead of Mingione and Butch, but there are other guys I'd be interested in first. How realistic those guys ahead of him are is yet to be seen.

I've scratched Mingione off my list entirely based on his reported buyout. He would make a lot of sense otherwise but he's well taken care of at Kentucky.