Alabama fires head coach Brad Bohannon amid college baseball betting investigation

Sports wagering is now legal and will soon be arriving in Kentucky. For most willing participants, this will allow folks to gamble on college football games in the fall and placed wagers during March Madness. College baseball wasn’t expected to get much action.

Surprisingly, the first college sports betting scandal is happening in college baseball.

On Thursday, the University of Alabama fired sixth-year head coach Brad Bohannon after some suspicious gambling activity took place last week before Alabama’s game against LSU on Friday.

“Alabama director of athletics Greg Byrne announced he has initiated the termination process for head baseball coach Brad Bohannon for, among other things, violating the standards, duties, and responsibilities expected of University employees. Bohannon has been relieved of all duties and Jason Jackson will serve as the interim head coach,” AL.com beat reporter Mike Rodak. “There will be no further comment at this time pending an ongoing review.”

SEC commissioner Greg Sankey released a statement on the issue last week. ESPN Staff Writer David Purdum is reporting that the betting activity took place in Cincinnati.

“The alleged suspicious activity took place last Friday at the sportsbook at The Great American Ballpark, according to the Ohio Casino Control Commission (OCCC),” writes Purdum.

“The OCCC’s investigation is centered on two bets on the Tigers to win from the same unidentified customer, multiple industry sources told ESPN. Bohannon has not been connected to the bets.”

Three states have ordered sportsbooks to not take anymore more bets on Alabama baseball. Purdum also writes that college baseball does not usually see a ton of gambling action.

“Regular-season college baseball does not typically attract significant betting interest or large wagers. FanDuel said it didn’t take a single bet on the game and other sportsbooks also reported minimal betting on the game.”

Bohannon finishes his Alabama career with a 166-124 (48-91) record. The Crimson Tide made the NCAA Tournament once during the 47-year-old’s tenure.

Former Kentucky assistant

Brad Bohannon is a Georgia native who spent his freshman season at Vanderbilt. Bohannon would then become a college baseball assistant in 2001 and landed his first SEC gig in 2004.

For 12 years, Bohannon was an assistant baseball coach at Kentucky serving under John Cohen and Gary Henderson. The assistant helped guide the Wildcats to four NCAA Tournament appearances and was a member of the 2006 SEC title team.

Bohannon departed Lexington to become an assistant coach at Auburn for two seasons before landing the head coaching job at Alabama in 2018. Per D1 Baseball’s latest Field of 64 projection, Alabama is currently a No. 3 seed in the West Virginia (No. 10 overall seed) pod.