Michigan had its miraculous postseason come to an end in the regional final against Lousiville on Sunday afternoon. It came in a controversial fashion given the call (or lack thereof) at second base, a wildly inconsistent strike zone in deciding moments, and an all-out botch show from the umpiring crew.
More on that later.
For now, I want to shift everyone's focus to the offseason. Reminder: Michigan's offseason was supposed to start last week, after the Big Ten Tournament. Things were already in order at the time, and this playoff run halted it. Of course, the team and staff showed up every day planning to win and make a run, but the offseason still creeps its head, and decisions are made in advance, regardless.
Before making this run on a national stage, this team struggled mightily by underperforming expectations as an annual contender to win the Big Ten. The weekend before the Big Ten Tournament, Michigan hosted No. 2 (Big Ten), Rutgers, at home for a 3-game series in which U-M had to win two games to secure a spot in the conference tournament or win one and hope for some losses below them. Of course, they won two, went to the BTT, and the rest is history.
However, that regular season isn't forgiven & forgotten. The team ERA finished 236th, giving up nearly seven runs per nine innings and allowing double-digit run totals in 15 games. Michigan's offense scored seven or more runs in seven-of-nine games in the postseason. Of course, it lost both of those games, and the only other loss was in the regional final, 11-9.
I've got an excellent baseball source, the same who slipped me a note on Jimmy Rolder before that recruitment sped up, and I'm told Michigan will be moving on from pitching coach Steve Merriman. I'm told that the decision to move on from Merriman was made before the playoff run, and head coach Erik Bakich took over game strategy for pitching in the postseason.
Merriman came from the MLB and had three stints at U-M before returning for a fourth. He started in Ann Arbor as a hitting coach in 1995, then returned in 2002 and 2012. After replacing superstar pitching coach Chris Fetter, who left for the Tigers, Merriman coached three All-Conference pitchers last season, including 2021 second-round pick Steven Hajjar.
In 2022, Michigan didn't have a pitcher with an ERA under 4.00. The team's ace, Connor O'Halloran, had a 5.44 ERA. Jacob Denner, who had the fourth-most innings, had an ERA of 6.38. The list goes on. This pitching staff was young and wasn't expected to be the team's strength, but it was far worse than a weakness, given how prolific the offense was. It was ultimately the team's demise.
In terms of a replacement, I'm told that former Western Kentucky head coach John Pawlowski is the name to watch as a replacement for Merriman. In late May, Pawlowski, who served as Auburn head coach from 2009-2013, and College of Charleston from 2000-2008, stepped down from his post as WKU head coach after seven seasons. He didn't do well there, resulting in only one winning season (2020). Between his six seasons with the Hilltoppers and five with Auburn, the 58-year-old served as San Diego State's Associate Head Coach/Pitching Coach, where he coached the pitching unit to its lowest team ERA since 1995.
The connection and intent are clear. Longtime Clemson head coach and college baseball legend, Jack Leggett, has one of the most impressive coaching trees in the sport's history. Michigan head coach Erik Bakich & Pawlowski are two of his former assistants. And while Pawlowski hasn't experienced great success as a head coach, he's sent 84 players to the MLB, and 51 of them are pitchers. He's a proven developer with the Leggett coaching DNA instilled in him, similar to Bakich.
I'm not reporting that Pawlowski was hired yet; however, that's the name I'm hearing most.
In other news...
Clemson fired head coach Monte Lee after seven seasons. Bakich started his career as a volunteer assistant and was a candidate for the job in 2015.
He is once again a candidate, and this time his name is more emphatic on the annual ACC contender's shortlist.
This makes sense for a lot of reasons.
1) Clemson's AD started in December and emphatically said that the department is willing to invest in the next head coach. Bakich will need a Brinks truck, or a recruiting hotbed, to be pulled away from Ann Arbor. Clemson has both of those things.
2) The obvious connection in returning to the school where it all started for Bakich. We know the foundation Leggett built there and how much it means to his former assistants who have gone on to be head coaches elsewhere. At one point in the early 2010s, 33-percent of the SEC's head coaches were Leggett disciples. To say he's had an impact on the sport is an understatement. Now, take it to the next level and consider the personal impact on former assistants he's become a mentor to, like Bakich.
3) Leggett was fired in 2015 after the Tigers went 0-2 in the NCAA Tournament in consecutive seasons and missed out on Omaha for five straight. He won't be involved in the search considering they didn't ceremoniously walk him out of Clemson. However, you must wonder if the new athletic director, Graham Neff, who is not the one who fired Leggett, will give the longtime head man a call about who to bring in. Considering Tim Corbin ain't leaving Vanderbilt for nothing, Bakich is likely the first name out of his mouth.
4) In a presser, Neff said, "I consider Clemson baseball a top-15 job. Period," Neff said. "With the tradition, the resources, the facilities, the fan base, and the talent within this state of South Carolina and the region, I think that's where Clemson baseball should be. And what that means from competition for postseason – regionals, super regionals, and Omaha. We've been to 12 College Worlds Series and intend to increase that number," and "We intend to win and win big. We're prepared to invest and invest big as it relates to attracting a coach to be able to restore and meet those expectations we have for Clemson baseball."
I'm told that Clemson has Michigan's head man at the top of its list, and the athletic department is ready to make a move on Bakich, and "it's his job if he wants it."
This interest from Clemson isn't the first time a big-time school called U-M's head coach's number after the postseason. In 2017, when Michigan was hot off of an NCAA Tournament appearance but was far from the CWS contender it became two seasons later, South Carolina tried to hire the then 39-year-old away. Bakich ultimately decided to stay, even writing an "I'm not going anywhere" letter to Michigan fans on Twitter that ended with "Those Who Stay Will Be Champions."
Two years later, Bakich would take his Wolverines on that improbable CWS run, and you have to wonder if, three years after that run, and five years after the last external offer, he'll consider this one closer.
Whether it's the nostalgia of returning to Clemson, his heart leading him there due to his connection with Leggett, recruiting in a hotbed at a school putting baseball on a pedestal, or the big check, he'll sign if and when he takes it.
If Bakich gives Michigan a chance to match the offer, will it? I'm not sure. Michigan doesn't value baseball the way Clemson, or any teams in the south, do. It's hard to blame them, considering baseball doesn't make their money, and college sports is a business. However, the brand of Michigan baseball is still growing, and it's already a night-and-day difference from even four years ago to now. Recruiting the state has never been so beneficial, considering this is the most prep baseball talent the state has ever seen.
Some believe Michigan baseball has reached its peak. Wrong. These last few seasons should be viewed as the tip of the iceberg for a program with exceptional facilities, a conference it competes to win annually, in a region with high-end prep talent that tends to opt for college over the draft, unlike the south.
All we know now is that Bakich will have the option to depart and return to Clemson, where it all began for him. Whether he does or not remains an unknown.
Last week, Neff said he wouldn't be reaching out to head coaches still in the postseason, as that's an NCAA rule. So it's likely the parties haven't connected in person yet, and may not for a few more days. Regardless, Clemson is a tiger, pun intended, in the cage waiting to make its move on Bakich.
As always, we will keep you posted.
More on that later.
For now, I want to shift everyone's focus to the offseason. Reminder: Michigan's offseason was supposed to start last week, after the Big Ten Tournament. Things were already in order at the time, and this playoff run halted it. Of course, the team and staff showed up every day planning to win and make a run, but the offseason still creeps its head, and decisions are made in advance, regardless.
Before making this run on a national stage, this team struggled mightily by underperforming expectations as an annual contender to win the Big Ten. The weekend before the Big Ten Tournament, Michigan hosted No. 2 (Big Ten), Rutgers, at home for a 3-game series in which U-M had to win two games to secure a spot in the conference tournament or win one and hope for some losses below them. Of course, they won two, went to the BTT, and the rest is history.
However, that regular season isn't forgiven & forgotten. The team ERA finished 236th, giving up nearly seven runs per nine innings and allowing double-digit run totals in 15 games. Michigan's offense scored seven or more runs in seven-of-nine games in the postseason. Of course, it lost both of those games, and the only other loss was in the regional final, 11-9.
I've got an excellent baseball source, the same who slipped me a note on Jimmy Rolder before that recruitment sped up, and I'm told Michigan will be moving on from pitching coach Steve Merriman. I'm told that the decision to move on from Merriman was made before the playoff run, and head coach Erik Bakich took over game strategy for pitching in the postseason.
Merriman came from the MLB and had three stints at U-M before returning for a fourth. He started in Ann Arbor as a hitting coach in 1995, then returned in 2002 and 2012. After replacing superstar pitching coach Chris Fetter, who left for the Tigers, Merriman coached three All-Conference pitchers last season, including 2021 second-round pick Steven Hajjar.
In 2022, Michigan didn't have a pitcher with an ERA under 4.00. The team's ace, Connor O'Halloran, had a 5.44 ERA. Jacob Denner, who had the fourth-most innings, had an ERA of 6.38. The list goes on. This pitching staff was young and wasn't expected to be the team's strength, but it was far worse than a weakness, given how prolific the offense was. It was ultimately the team's demise.
In terms of a replacement, I'm told that former Western Kentucky head coach John Pawlowski is the name to watch as a replacement for Merriman. In late May, Pawlowski, who served as Auburn head coach from 2009-2013, and College of Charleston from 2000-2008, stepped down from his post as WKU head coach after seven seasons. He didn't do well there, resulting in only one winning season (2020). Between his six seasons with the Hilltoppers and five with Auburn, the 58-year-old served as San Diego State's Associate Head Coach/Pitching Coach, where he coached the pitching unit to its lowest team ERA since 1995.
The connection and intent are clear. Longtime Clemson head coach and college baseball legend, Jack Leggett, has one of the most impressive coaching trees in the sport's history. Michigan head coach Erik Bakich & Pawlowski are two of his former assistants. And while Pawlowski hasn't experienced great success as a head coach, he's sent 84 players to the MLB, and 51 of them are pitchers. He's a proven developer with the Leggett coaching DNA instilled in him, similar to Bakich.
I'm not reporting that Pawlowski was hired yet; however, that's the name I'm hearing most.
In other news...
Clemson fired head coach Monte Lee after seven seasons. Bakich started his career as a volunteer assistant and was a candidate for the job in 2015.
He is once again a candidate, and this time his name is more emphatic on the annual ACC contender's shortlist.
This makes sense for a lot of reasons.
1) Clemson's AD started in December and emphatically said that the department is willing to invest in the next head coach. Bakich will need a Brinks truck, or a recruiting hotbed, to be pulled away from Ann Arbor. Clemson has both of those things.
2) The obvious connection in returning to the school where it all started for Bakich. We know the foundation Leggett built there and how much it means to his former assistants who have gone on to be head coaches elsewhere. At one point in the early 2010s, 33-percent of the SEC's head coaches were Leggett disciples. To say he's had an impact on the sport is an understatement. Now, take it to the next level and consider the personal impact on former assistants he's become a mentor to, like Bakich.
3) Leggett was fired in 2015 after the Tigers went 0-2 in the NCAA Tournament in consecutive seasons and missed out on Omaha for five straight. He won't be involved in the search considering they didn't ceremoniously walk him out of Clemson. However, you must wonder if the new athletic director, Graham Neff, who is not the one who fired Leggett, will give the longtime head man a call about who to bring in. Considering Tim Corbin ain't leaving Vanderbilt for nothing, Bakich is likely the first name out of his mouth.
4) In a presser, Neff said, "I consider Clemson baseball a top-15 job. Period," Neff said. "With the tradition, the resources, the facilities, the fan base, and the talent within this state of South Carolina and the region, I think that's where Clemson baseball should be. And what that means from competition for postseason – regionals, super regionals, and Omaha. We've been to 12 College Worlds Series and intend to increase that number," and "We intend to win and win big. We're prepared to invest and invest big as it relates to attracting a coach to be able to restore and meet those expectations we have for Clemson baseball."
I'm told that Clemson has Michigan's head man at the top of its list, and the athletic department is ready to make a move on Bakich, and "it's his job if he wants it."
This interest from Clemson isn't the first time a big-time school called U-M's head coach's number after the postseason. In 2017, when Michigan was hot off of an NCAA Tournament appearance but was far from the CWS contender it became two seasons later, South Carolina tried to hire the then 39-year-old away. Bakich ultimately decided to stay, even writing an "I'm not going anywhere" letter to Michigan fans on Twitter that ended with "Those Who Stay Will Be Champions."
Two years later, Bakich would take his Wolverines on that improbable CWS run, and you have to wonder if, three years after that run, and five years after the last external offer, he'll consider this one closer.
Whether it's the nostalgia of returning to Clemson, his heart leading him there due to his connection with Leggett, recruiting in a hotbed at a school putting baseball on a pedestal, or the big check, he'll sign if and when he takes it.
If Bakich gives Michigan a chance to match the offer, will it? I'm not sure. Michigan doesn't value baseball the way Clemson, or any teams in the south, do. It's hard to blame them, considering baseball doesn't make their money, and college sports is a business. However, the brand of Michigan baseball is still growing, and it's already a night-and-day difference from even four years ago to now. Recruiting the state has never been so beneficial, considering this is the most prep baseball talent the state has ever seen.
Some believe Michigan baseball has reached its peak. Wrong. These last few seasons should be viewed as the tip of the iceberg for a program with exceptional facilities, a conference it competes to win annually, in a region with high-end prep talent that tends to opt for college over the draft, unlike the south.
All we know now is that Bakich will have the option to depart and return to Clemson, where it all began for him. Whether he does or not remains an unknown.
Last week, Neff said he wouldn't be reaching out to head coaches still in the postseason, as that's an NCAA rule. So it's likely the parties haven't connected in person yet, and may not for a few more days. Regardless, Clemson is a tiger, pun intended, in the cage waiting to make its move on Bakich.
As always, we will keep you posted.
