The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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Inside Michigan E SEC and ACC, the heart of col- legiate baseball. But one experi- ence with the Michigan baseball program had always stood out in Bakich's mind. As the recruiting coordinator at rik Bakich had spent his entire coaching career thus far in the Erik Bakich Hired As U-M Baseball Coach "I think it really is a good hire," ATHLETICS Vanderbilt during the 2007 season, Bakich witnessed the Wolverines storm into Nashville and upset the Commodores to win an NCAA re- gional championship. "I watched them kick our butt in the 2007 regional. I was crying in the dugout when they were dog- piling on the mound," he said. "I knew from that moment that this place was special. We had a very special team in '07 at Vanderbilt, and they came in and dethroned that team and went to the Super Regionals. I knew with the 35 Big Ten championships and the tradi- tion they have, this can be a peren- nial Omaha contender and a place that can get to the NCAA Tourna- ment on an annual basis." On June 27, Bakich was intro- said Aaron Fitt, a college baseball writer for Baseball America. "I've been a Bakich guy for quite a while now. When you get to know him, it's real easy to see why he's such a good recruiter, and he is a great recruiter. "He's a charismatic guy that connects with young people. You can tell players love playing for this guy." Bakich, who has 11 years of coaching experience (one as a vol- unteer at Clemson, seven as an as- sistant at Vanderbilt and three at Maryland), has built a reputation as one of the best recruiters in the game. According to MGoBlue.com, Ba- duced as the 19th baseball coach in Michigan history, with an in- troductory press conference at the Wilpon Baseball Complex. "We don't create any boundaries as it relates to the field Bakich has 11 years of coaching experience, includ- ing three as a head coach at Maryland, and has built a reputation as one of the best recruiters in the nation. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL of candidates," director of athletics David Brandon said. "We looked at people in professional baseball. We looked at assistant coaches at terrific programs. We had interest from a number of head coaches, and we looked at all of them, went through our regular process to determine who was the best to come in and do the job we need." Bakich comes to Ann Arbor from Maryland, where he spent the last three seasons as the youngest head baseball coach in a BCS conference. With the Terrapins, he posted a 70-98 record, though the team improved every year he was there: 17-39 in 2010, 21-35 in 2011 and 32-24 in 2012. The 32 wins last season marked just the third 30-plus-win campaign and the second-highest win total in Maryland history (behind a 34-win season in 2002). 12 THE WOLVERINE AUGUST 2012 kich was responsible for recruit- ing 81 players who were selected in the MLB Draft, including nine who were taken in the first round. He was also the primary recruiter for Vanderbilt pitcher David Price, who went on to win the college baseball MVP award in 2007 and was selected with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2007 draft. Bakich has hit the recruiting trail cusing on 2013-15 classes — and his goal is to lock down the state of Michigan. "I think Michigan is a state that's going to produce," hard already. Although the incom- ing class is wrapped up, he is fo- he said. "I wouldn't say it's a hotbed for baseball, but I would say it's very similar to Maryland and Tennessee; there are going to be 10-15 kids that go on to play college baseball. We have to make sure we get the very best of all of those guys. If there are Big Ten ballplayers coming out of the state of Michigan, we have to make sure they're coming to the University of Michigan. "I'm going to take every opportunity to talk to as many people, speak to as many groups as I can. Anyone I can get in front of is going to hear the message that we're going to do this and get the best players in the state. Michigan is going to win championships with Michigan players." — Andy Reid