U of L's Lemonis hired as Indiana baseball coach
Excerpts:
Lemonis left U of L on Wednesday to become head coach at Indiana University, replacing Tracy Smith, who took the Arizona State job after nine years in Bloomington.
"He's the slam-dunk choice," McDonnell said of Lemonis. "As soon as Tracy went to Arizona State, Chris was one of their top targets. And he should've been."
Lemonis, the Cardinals' recruiting coordinator and hitting coach, has been at U of L since the beginning of McDonnell's seven-year tenure. He was an assistant coach at their alma mater, The Citadel, for 12 seasons before that.He and McDonnell were assistants together at The Citadel for five years after playing on the school's 1990 College World Series team.
In his time at U of L, Lemonis developed into one of the top recruiters in the country, McDonnell said.
"He lived it," McDonnell said. "I needed him to be that road warrior, and he did it. He did it with personality and the ability to win people over. He gets it. Like I told Indiana, he gets it. He knows what this is all about."
Lemonis was at McDonnell's side through U of L's three College World Series runs, and he won the 2013 ?ABCA/Baseball America Assistant Coach of the Year award.
It just so happens that IU is one of U of L's chief rivals. They've played each other every year since 2007.
t was only a matter of time before Lemonis left U of L for a head coaching job. McDonnell said Lemonis and pitching coach Roger Williams have played key roles in the Cards' success.
"It's supposed to happen," McDonnell said. "Roger and Chris make this program go."
U of L’s Lemonis hired as Indiana baseball coach
Excerpts:
Lemonis left U of L on Wednesday to become head coach at Indiana University, replacing Tracy Smith, who took the Arizona State job after nine years in Bloomington.
"He's the slam-dunk choice," McDonnell said of Lemonis. "As soon as Tracy went to Arizona State, Chris was one of their top targets. And he should've been."
Lemonis, the Cardinals' recruiting coordinator and hitting coach, has been at U of L since the beginning of McDonnell's seven-year tenure. He was an assistant coach at their alma mater, The Citadel, for 12 seasons before that.He and McDonnell were assistants together at The Citadel for five years after playing on the school's 1990 College World Series team.
In his time at U of L, Lemonis developed into one of the top recruiters in the country, McDonnell said.
"He lived it," McDonnell said. "I needed him to be that road warrior, and he did it. He did it with personality and the ability to win people over. He gets it. Like I told Indiana, he gets it. He knows what this is all about."
Lemonis was at McDonnell's side through U of L's three College World Series runs, and he won the 2013 ?ABCA/Baseball America Assistant Coach of the Year award.
It just so happens that IU is one of U of L's chief rivals. They've played each other every year since 2007.
t was only a matter of time before Lemonis left U of L for a head coaching job. McDonnell said Lemonis and pitching coach Roger Williams have played key roles in the Cards' success.
"It's supposed to happen," McDonnell said. "Roger and Chris make this program go."
U of L’s Lemonis hired as Indiana baseball coach
