HawgBeat - Six candidates for SEC Baseball Coach of the Year
These six head coaches have a shot to take home the honor with two weeks left in the regular season.
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As the end of the 2023 regular season draws nearer, SEC coaches have some decisions to make regarding end-of-year awards, including one about themselves.
Since 2003, the first season of Dave Van Horn's tenure at Arkansas, all but three SEC Coaches of the Year have led their clubs to a No. 1 seed in the conference tournament.
Knowing that, here are the top six contenders for the yearly honor:
Dave Van Horn, Arkansas (17-7)
Razorback fans need not be reminded of all the injuries their team has suffered in 2023. Even still, the Hogs own the tiebreaker over the Vanderbilt Commodores for the best record in the league with six games to play.Things were looking bleak as could be two weeks ago. Home run leader Jared Wegner was in the middle of a month-long absence with a hairline fracture in his left thumb, and Arkansas lost another outfielder for the foreseeable future when Tavian Josenberger suffered a Grade 1 hamstring strain in the same game that it blew a four-run lead in the ninth inning to get swept by Georgia.
Without those lineup staples, all the Razorbacks have done since then is go 6-0 against SEC opponents, including most recently a road sweep against Mississippi State in which they were also missing the services of second baseman Peyton Stovall.
Whether their three key arms on the shelf for the rest of the year will catch up with them remains to be seen, but what is for sure is that they have their work cut out for them over the next two weeks.
Up next:
vs. No. 6 South Carolina
at No. 5 Vanderbilt
Tim Corbin, Vanderbilt (17-7)
As with Van Horn and Arkansas, the Commodores have been a machine of consistency under head coach Tim Corbin over the last 20 years.Through the first half of the season, it seemed that he was the favorite to take home the award for the fourth time in his illustrious career. However, a 10-0 start gave way to a 14-game stretch of .500 ball, and Vandy is now in the same camp as Arkansas with two top-10 opponents left on the regular season schedule.
It may not be a likely outcome, but it is entirely possible that the Commodores meeting with the Razorbacks next week could decide the regular season conference champion and therefore the SEC Coach of the Year.
Up next:
at No. 7 Florida
vs. No. 3 Arkansas
Jay Johnson, LSU (16-7)
Even though his Tigers are a half-game behind Arkansas and Vanderbilt, they probably have the best shot to win the league's regular season title.While those two teams clash with SEC East giants this week before meeting each other to finish it out, LSU is working with two sub-.500 teams.
Johnson's second year in Baton Rouge featured a slew of ridiculously talented transfers in addition to the return of projected No. 1 MLB draft pick Dylan Crews. The Tigers completely undid Arkansas in a way no other team has been able to do this year, netting 19 runs during a doubleheader to rally and win the series.
It took until week eight for LSU to finally lose a series, but compared to its fellow frontrunners in the conference, it likely has the easiest path to a title, and therefore a nod for Johnson from the rest of the league's coaches.
Up next:
vs. Mississippi State
at Georgia
Kevin O'Sullivan, Florida (15-9)
Another strong season in Gainesville is just one game shy of a series win on average every week.A 15-year veteran, three-time SEC Coach of the Year and 2010 national champion, O'Sullivan has the Gators in a position to pick up a division crown and potentially more if things go their way over the next two weeks.
Led by two-way phenom Jac Caglianone and top-five draft prospect Wyatt Langford, the high-octane Florida offense has the opportunity to flex its muscles and thrust its skipper into contention for Coach of the Year with a series win in Nashville this week.
Up next:
vs. No. 5 Vanderbilt
at. No. 17 Kentucky
Mark Kingston, South Carolina (14-9)
Year six of the Kingston era in Columbia is going swimmingly for a team that has not been a No. 1 seed in a regional since 2016.The Gamecocks were one of the hottest teams in the SEC over the first six weeks, hanging with Vanderbilt, splitting with LSU and sweeping Florida after their 6-0 start. Since then however, they have only picked up one win during their series against Auburn and Kentucky.
With two ranked opponents still left to get through, Kingston and South Carolina have plenty of work left to do if they want to climb the leaderboard, but anything can happen in a hurry.
Up next:
at No. 3 Arkansas
vs. No. 23 Tennessee
Nick Mingione, Kentucky (14-10)
The exception to the trend of the regular season conference champion head coach winning the award has been the same all three times such a feat has not occurred.If the league-winning skipper does not bring home the hardware, the Kentucky coach does. Mingione did it his first season, leading the Wildcats to a 19-11 record and a super regional appearance, as did Gary Henderson in 2012 and John Cohen in 2006.
Kentucky got off to a smoking hot start, becoming a mainstay in the top 10 for a few weeks before fading out of the top 25 completely.
After a sweep of the Gamecocks, however, the Wildcats are right back in the thick of it with the chance to keep the momentum rolling against a pair of division opponents to close out the regular season.
Up next:
at No. 23 Tennessee
vs. No. 7 Florida
