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Mississippi State

Mississippi State assistant baseball coach Jake Gautreau declines opportunity to coach alma mater

275133747_4796292347117549_592518599057046758_nby:Jonathan Wagner•05/29/22•

Jonathan Wagner

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Jamie Schwaberow/NCAA Photos via Getty Images.

The Mississippi State Bulldogs just received some clarity on its baseball coaching staff, as assistant Jake Gautreau has come to a decision on the open Tulane job. According to Kendall Rogers of D1Baseball, Gautreau has declined the opportunity to become the new head coach of the Green Wave.

Tulane reportedly was targeting Gautreau, the 2019 D1Baseball National Assistant Coach of the Year, but he will not be going anywhere.

“I’ve had some great conversations with Tulane and love my alma mater but after talking through it with my wife we agreed the timing just isn’t right,” Gautreau said, via Rogers.

Gautreau is highly regarded at Tulane, after he starred for the Green Wave during his playing career. His best season came as a junior, where he hit .355 with 44 extra base hits, and led all of college baseball with 96 RBI. That year, he was a first-team All-American and a Golden Spikes Award finalist. In three years at Tulane, Gautreau was part of 142 wins and was a big part of the Green Wave’s first appearance in the College World Series in 2001.

Gautreau served as an assistant at Tulane from 2010-2014, and he played a pivotal role in recruiting during that time. He even served as the team’s interim head coach in 2014. Since coming to Mississippi State’s staff, Gautreau has been part of three College World Series appearances. The Bulldogs won the national championship last season.

Tulane fired head coach Travis Jewett at the end of the regular season. Jewett had led the Green Wave to a 160-138-1 overall record in six seasons, but did not make an appearance in any NCAA regionals. And after targeting Gautreau, Tulane is still on the search for its new head coach.

This season, Mississippi State went 26-30 and missed out on the SEC Tournament. The Bulldogs will not play any postseason baseball. Tulane went 33-26-1 this season, and 11-13 against opponents in the American. The Green Wave entered this week’s AAC Tournament as the No. 5 seed, and lost its opening game on Tuesday against Cincinnati. Tulane bounced back with wins on Wednesday and Friday, advancing to the semifinals on Saturday. There, East Carolina beat Tulane 8-5, bringing the season to an end for the Green Wave.