Tuesday, June 15, 2021

TCU Names Kirk Saarloos New Head Baseball Coach

 

TCU on June 15 named Kirk Saarloos its new head baseball coach (watch the press conference here).

Saarloos previously was the Frogs' pitching coach and recruiting coordinator.

Saarloos replaces Jim Schlossnagle, who recently was named head coach of Texas A&M's baseball team (no joke!). 

Saarloos signed a five-year contract, which reportedly immediately makes him one of the highest-paid head coaches in the Big 12. 

Associate head coach Bill Mosiello was considered for the head coaching position. He has agreed to remain on the staff, and he signed a contract extension. 

Saarloos joined the TCU Baseball as the Frogs' pitching coach in the summer of 2012 after two seasons as the pitching coach at his alma mater, Cal State Fullerton. In the summer of 2013, he was was named TCU Baseball's recruiting coordinator.

Over the last eight season, Saarloos has mentored one of the nation's top pitching staffs, which was a key factor in TCU's four straight trips to the College World Series from 2014-17.

The Horned Frogs' 3.19 ERA since 2014 ranks sixth nationally. TCU led the nation with a 2.22 ERA in 2014 and ranked second in 2015 with a 2.45 ERA. The TCU pitching staff has the fourth-most shutouts (45) nationally over the last seven years.

Since Saarloos arrived at TCU, the Frogs' recruiting classes continuously have been ranked in the top 25. The class for the 2021 season was ranked 13th nationally. TCU had the No. 4-ranked recruiting class in 2019. 

Under the guidance of Saarloos, the 2019 season produced TCU's highest-ever baseball draft pick. Nick Lodolo was selected in the first round by the Cincinnati Reds with the seventh overall pick. Brandon Williamson became the second player taken on Day 1 of the draft, getting selected by Seattle in the second round.

In 2016, Saarloos was honored with the D1Baseball.com National Assistant Coach of the Year award.

The 2014 TCU pitching staff, under the leadership of Saarloos, led the nation in ERA at 2.22. In addition, the staff ranked in the top six in all major pitching categories: H/9 (6th, 7.07), K:BB ratio (2nd, 3.80), K/9 (6th, 8.4), WHIP (2nd, 1.03) and BB/9 (5th, 2.22). The Frogs set a school and Big 12 record with 14 shutouts on the season.

The 2014 staff is one of the best in TCU history. It set a then-school record with 574 strikeouts and posted the lowest ERA since the 1972 season. Riley Ferrell established a new mark for saves in a season at the time with 15. Preston Morrison's 129 2/3 innings pitched are a school record. In addition to his innings pitched, Morrison posted the lowest individual ERA since 1972.

Three members of the 2014 pitching staff (Morrison, Brandon Finnegan and Ferrell) earned All-America accolades from various publications. Morrison was tabbed the Big 12 Pitcher of the Year. Finnegan was the 17th overall draft pick in the 2014 MLB First-year Player Draft. Tyler Alexander earned Freshman All-American honors and was named second-team all-Big 12. Finnegan went on to make history in the summer of 2014. He became the first player in history to appear in both the College World Series and the Major League Baseball World Series in the same year.

Saarloos joined the coaching staff of Cal State Fullerton in 2011, after a seven-year major league. He spent his first season on staff as an undergraduate assistant for Dave Serrano. Saarloos became the Titans' pitching coach when Rick Vanderhook took over the head coaching duties in the summer of 2011.

In the major leagues, Saarloos pitched for Houston (2002-03), Oakland (2004-06, 08) and Cincinnati (2007). In 2001, he was drafted 86th overall (3rd round) by Houston after a decorated collegiate career at Cal State Fullerton.

As a player at Cal State Fullerton, he racked up a school-record 127 appearances over his four seasons. He owns one of the Titans' three no-hitters. He blanked Pacific on April 8, 2001.

He pitched in two College World Series (1999 and 2001) with Cal State. He recorded a save and allowed two runs in 15 1/3 innings pitched.

Saarloos and his wife, Kristen, have a son, Brady, and two daughters, Emery and Lane.

 

 

Wednesday, June 9, 2021

TCU Baseball Coach Jim Schlossnagle Bolts for Texas A&M

 

Jim Schlossnagle

TCU head baseball coach Jim Schlossnagle has been hired as the new head baseball coach at Texas A&M University, where he reportedly will be one of the highest-paid college head baseball coaches in the country.

Schlossnagle had led TCU's baseball program since 2004. Over his 17 years with the Frogs, Schlossnagle, 50, compiled a 734-346 record, claimed 18 conference championships, appeared in 15 NCAA Tournaments and led the TCU to five College Word Series appearances (2010 and 2014-17) in Omaha, Nebraska.

TCU is one of three programs nationally to have appeared in five of the last 10 College World Series. Prior to Schlossnagle's arrival from the University of Nevada Las Vegas (UNLV), TCU had made two NCAA tournament appearances and never made it to the Word Series.

TCU finished this season with a 41-19 record, winning the Big 12 regular-season and tournament championships, but losing as the national sixth seed in its Fort Worth Regional tournament, which was won by Dallas Baptist.

During Schlossnagle's time in Fort Worth, 73 Frogs have been drafted and signed by Major League franchises, including Cy Young winner Jake Arrieta (2005) and silver slugger Matt Carpenter (2009). In 2014, pitcher Brandon Finnegan became the first player to play in the World Series and College World Series in the same year.

At the end of the 2019 season, history was made when TCU's Nick Lodolo became the highest-drafted player in the history of the school's baseball program. The All-American was selected seventh in the first round by the Cincinnati Reds.

Schlossnagle became TCU’s all-time winningest coach with a 5-0 win over Loyola Marymount on February 21, surpassing the legendary TCU head coach Lance Brown. 

Schlossnagle owns the best winning percentage of any college baseball program in Texas over the last 10 years.

At A&M, Schlossnagle replaces longtime head baseball coach Rob Childress. 

The Aggies have made two appearances in the College World Series since 2010. TCU knocked A&M out of the super regionals during CWS trips in 2015 and 2016.

A&M finished this season with a 29-27 record, 9-21 in the SEC, and missed the postseason for the first time in 13 years.

Schlossnagle becomes just the fourth head coach at Texas A&M since Tom Chandler was hired in 1959, with each coach in that time winning over 600 games during their tenures at the university.

Prior to coming to TCU, Schlossnagle spent two years as head coach of the UNLV baseball program. He served an eight-year stint at Tulane as associate head coach and recruiting coordinator. Schlossnagle joined the Tulane program in August of 1993 and was an integral part of the Green Wave’s success, helping Tulane to six NCAA Regional appearances during his tenure. Schlossnagle served as the Green Wave recruiting coordinator for the last five years and garnered three nationally ranked recruiting classes which helped produce two 48-win seasons and a number one NCAA Regional seed. 

Schlossnagle served as the pitching coach at Clemson in 1993 before his time at Tulane. The Tigers finished that campaign with a 45-20 record, an Atlantic Coast Conference championship, and a third place finish in the NCAA Midwest Regional. Seven members of the 1993 Clemson pitching staff were drafted into professional baseball.

Schlossnagle also spent three seasons as an assistant at Elon (North Carolina) College where he helped lead his alma mater to a 99-41 record, two South Atlantic Conference Championships, a District 26 title and an Area 7 Regional appearance. 

Schlossnagle twice has been honored as the nation's top coach in 2010 & 2016 and served as USA Baseball's Collegiate National Team head coach in 2013.

A native of Hagerstown, Maryland, Schlossnagle was a pitcher on the 1989 Elon squad that finished 39-7 and appeared in the NAIA World Series.