Sizing Up Potential Candidates To Become Miami’s Next Coach

Miami on Friday was thrust into the coaching market when Gino DiMare stepped down after five seasons as head coach. His decision brings an end to his 24-year run with the program, first as a player, then an assistant coach under Jim Morris and then as Morris’ successor.

Miami is one of college baseball’s blue bloods. It has four national championships and was the runner-up twice in Omaha. Famously, when Morris interviewed at Miami, he found the 1974 runner-up trophy being used as a doorstop.

Under Ron Fraser and Morris, the bar at Miami was clearly set. The Hurricanes have struggled to reach that bar over the last 15 years, however. Their lone CWS trips in that span came in 2015 and 2016 and they missed the NCAA Tournament in 2017 and 2018 after making it 44 straight seasons. DiMare hauled in the top-ranked recruiting class in 2020, got Miami to the NCAA Tournament in each of his four full seasons at the program’s helm and hosted regionals in each of the last two years. But the Hurricanes haven’t won a regional since 2016.

Getting Miami back to the top of the sport won’t be easy. The competitive environment in the ACC and beyond has changed. Seven ACC teams (half the conference) has been to Omaha since the Hurricanes’ last trip. Kevin O’Sullivan is 39-17 (.696) against Miami in his 16 years at Florida. South Florida is a recruiting goldmine but getting players to stay home isn’t always easy.

It’s also an uncertain question of how much Miami wants to pay for a head coach. It hasn’t been on the open market since 1994, when Morris was hired away from Georgia Tech and the market, to say the least, has changed. Because Miami is a private school, we don’t know exactly what it’s been paying, but the expectation from industry sources is that it’s not going to pay at the top of the market for this hire. That likely means it’s not going to be prying Dan McDonnell away from Louisville, for instance. It’s still a strong job that will have plenty of interest, but that is an important consideration as the search develops.

The Candidates

J.D. Arteaga, associate head coach, Miami

Arteaga has already gotten plenty of support from the program’s alumni, including the public endorsement of Red Sox manager Alex Cora. He’s a program legend who is in the Hurricanes’ hall of fame and has spent the last 21 years as their pitching coach. He’d bring continuity and a strong connection to the program’s history, and his pitching staffs have been a big part of Miami’s recent success. Is this his time to lead the program?

Mark Kingston, head coach, South Carolina

Kingston spent two years on staff under Morris from 2000-01, helping the Hurricanes to the 2001 national championship. He’s called his time working for Morris the equivalent of getting his master’s degree in coaching. He later returned to the state for three seasons as the head coach at South Florida, before moving to South Carolina after the 2017 season. Head coaches don’t voluntarily leave the SEC (it hasn’t happened in the last 50 years), so this move is unlikely. But Kingston is coming off a super regionals appearance, has proven success as a head coach and an appreciation and understanding for the program’s history.

Troy Tulowitzki

After 14 years in the big leagues, Tulowitzki retired and joined the coaching staff at Texas as a volunteer assistant coach. He worked with the Longhorns for three seasons before stepping away from the role after the 2022 season. Tulowitzki also has coached with USA Baseball in a variety of roles. He has a unique resume and wants to be a head coach. Is Miami the right fit? His big league connections in a big league city make this intriguing. He doesn’t have head coaching experience and he’s not a part of the Hurricanes’ family, but how much will either of those factors matter in this search? He’d certainly bring new energy and excitement to Coral Gables.

Chris Pollard, head coach, Duke

Pollard has taken a dormant program that hadn’t been to the NCAA Tournament since 1968 and turned it into a consistent contender in the ACC. Duke this year made super regionals for the third time in five seasons and was one win away from Omaha. That success came after Pollard took Appalachian State to a regional final. He knows the ACC landscape and has won big at places that aren’t as resourced as Miami. What would he be capable of if he got the chance at a blue blood? It’s an exciting thought experiment.

Tom Walter, head coach, Wake Forest

Walter has built Wake over the last 13 years and this year the program has risen to another level. The Demon Deacons rose to No. 1 for the first time in program history, won the ACC for the first time since 1963 and are in the CWS for the first time since 1955. Walter is in a comfortable spot at Wake Forest, a program he’s now built into a power and that has invested heavily into the program. You have to believe that Wake isn’t going to let him get away after this season, especially to an ACC rival. But the appeal is also clear. Walter has mostly coached at elite private schools (George Washington, Wake) and in bigger cities (Washington D.C., New Orleans; even Winston-Salem isn’t a small college town). Miami fits that profile. Could the Hurricanes take a big swing?

Jon Jay, first base coach, Marlins

Jay is a Miami native and played for the Hurricanes from 2004-06. After 12 years in the big leagues, he retired after the 2021 season. He joined the Marlins’ coaching staff in the offseason, his first foray into coaching. While he doesn’t have as much coaching experience as others, he’s a well-liked former star and Miami native who would bring big league experience to the role.