MSU Set To Conduct National Search For Head Baseball Coach
6/15/2005 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
June 15, 2005
EAST LANSING, Mich. - Michigan State head baseball coach Ted Mahan and MSU Athletics Director Ron Mason have reached a mutual agreement that Mahan will not return to his position for 2005-06.
Assistant coach John Young will serve as interim head coach as Michigan State begins a national search for a successor.
Mahan, who spent 14 years on the Michigan State baseball staff including the last 10 seasons as head coach, compiled a 256-294 record (.465) from 1996-2005, including a 117-170 mark (.408) in Big Ten play. His 256 career wins rank fourth on MSU's all-time list. During his tenure, the Spartans finished above the .500 mark four times and advanced to the Big Ten Tournament twice (2002 and 2004).
"We deeply appreciate the time, effort and energy Ted Mahan has put into the Spartan baseball program over the last 14 years," Mason said. "However, the time has come for the baseball program to head in a new direction. I wish Ted all the best in the future."
"I have thoroughly enjoyed my 14-year tenure at Michigan State, especially the last 10 seasons as head coach," Mahan said. "I've been blessed to work alongside some outstanding coaches, including my current assistants John Young and Dylan Putnam, plus former assistant Cory Mee. I appreciated developing strong relationships with the student-athletes and their parents. I have enjoyed every minute that I've been on this job."
In 2005, Michigan State posted a 22-31 overall record and finished ninth in the Big Ten at 10-18. Mahan reached the 250-win milestone on April 26 in the Spartans' 14-7 victory over Indiana Tech.
In 2004, Mahan led the Spartans to a 33-26 overall record, including a third-place finish in the Big Ten standings at 19-13. The 19 conference wins marked a school single-season record.
His 2002 ballclub produced a 38-19 overall record and finished third in the Big Ten at 16-12. The 38 victories marked the second-best single-season total in MSU history. In addition, outfielder Bob Malek became the first Spartan to earned first-team All-America honors since Kirk Gibson in 1978. Five Spartans were selected in the 2002 Major League Baseball Amateur Draft - the most in school history.
During his stint as head coach, he tutored seven players that earned first-team All-Big Ten honors: pitcher Brian Murphy (1996), pitcher Mark Mulder (1997-98), outfielder Bob Malek (2001-02), designated hitter Kyle Geswein (2002), pitcher Adam White (2004), third baseman James Moreno (2004) and outfielder Travis Gulik (2004). Mahan also helped develop five players that were named to the Louisville Slugger Freshman All-America Team: Malek (2000), pitcher Bryan Gale (2001), pitcher Tim Day (2002), catcher Sean Walker (2004) and outfielder Ryan Sontag (2005). Sontag also was selected Big Ten Freshman of the Year. In addition, nearly 60 of his Spartan players have signed professional baseball contracts, with eight advancing to the Major Leagues.
His Spartan players also enjoyed success in the classroom, with 28 student-athletes earning Academic All-Big Ten honors since 1996. Outfielder Mike Pisani received first-team Academic All-America honors from CoSIDA in 2000.
A native of Davison, Mich., Mahan previously spent four years as an assistant coach at Michigan State (1992-95) under Tom Smith.
Prior to joining the MSU baseball staff, Mahan spent five years at Michigan where he served as a graduate assistant from 1987-88 and a full-time assistant from 1988-91. During his tenure at Michigan, he helped the Wolverines to a combined record of 164-82-1 (.666), including back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances in 1988-89.
Before entering the collegiate coaching ranks, Mahan served as head coach at Davison High School for five years (1983-87) where he produced a 127-56 record (.694), including three conference championships (1983, 1985 and 1986) and one district title (1985). He also spent seven years as the head coach of the Grossi Connie Mack Baseball Club in Flint where he posted an impressive 257-98 worksheet (.724). Over 100 of his former Grossi players went on to play at the collegiate level while seven signed professional contracts.
A four-year letterman as a catcher for Coach Moby Benedict at Michigan from 1974-77, Mahan helped the Wolverines win back-to-back Big Ten championships in 1975-76. He played in three-straight NCAA Tournaments from 1975-77, earning a spot on the 1975 NCAA All-Mideast Region Team. Mahan was named third-team All-Big Ten three times and shared team Most Valuable Player honors with Rick Leach in 1977.
Mahan, 49, earned his bachelor's degree in education from Michigan in 1977 and received his master's degree in American culture from Michigan in 1991. He and his wife Jayne reside in Okemos with their son, Drew (19), a freshman on the 2005 MSU baseball team, and daughter, Jillian (13).
