coachacola

Background on new LU head coach Sean Allen. USC won the regional so they're still playing and he won't come to LU until after the playoffs. **Sean Allen** is the current pitching coach (assistant coach) for the USC Trojans baseball team. He entered his second season in that role in 2026. ### Personal Background - **Born**: June 27, 1979 (age ~46 as of 2026) - **Hometown**: Carlsbad, New Mexico - **High School**: Carlsbad High School - **College**: University of Houston (played 1998–2001 as a 2B/SS, 5'10", 178 lbs) - Married to Stephanie. ### Playing and Early Coaching Career Allen played infield at Houston before transitioning quickly into coaching. He began as a student assistant with the Houston Cougars in 2002, working with infielders and coaching first base. He stayed at Houston through 2007 in various roles, contributing to strong defensive teams (nationally ranked fielding percentage in multiple seasons) and player development, including helping All-American Brad Lincoln. From 2008–2011, he was an assistant at Florida International University (FIU), serving as recruiting coordinator, pitching coach, and infield coach. He helped transform the program from a 20-36 record to 40-20-1 in his final season. ### Key Coaching Stops - **Sam Houston State, Tulane, and Texas (under David Pierce)**: Allen worked on Pierce’s staff for about a decade across these programs. At Texas (2017–2022), he started as hitting coach/recruiting coordinator (2017–2019) before switching to pitching coach/recruiting coordinator (2020–2022). Texas reached the College World Series three times during his tenure (2018, 2021, 2022). In 2021, the Longhorns led the nation with a 2.93 ERA under his guidance. - **Ohio State (2022–2024)**: Served as associate head coach, pitching coach, and co-recruiting coordinator under Bill Mosiello. Produced All-Big Ten pitchers and MLB draftees. - **USC (2024–present)**: Hired in late June 2024 by head coach Andy Stankiewicz to replace Seth Ethington. In his first season, USC’s pitching staff ranked top-30 nationally in WHIP and top-35 in hits per nine and strikeout-to-walk ratio. They made their first postseason appearance in a decade, with multiple All-Big Ten honorees and a draftee (Caden Hunter, 6th round). ### Accolades and Reputation - **2021 D1Baseball National Assistant Coach of the Year** (while at Texas). - Highly regarded recruiter and developer of pitchers (and previously hitters/infielders). - Teams have made ~15 postseason appearances (including 3 College World Series trips) in his 23+ seasons as an assistant. - Praised for relationship-building, staff management, and understanding the national recruiting landscape. Allen is active on X/Twitter as **@SeanAllen3**. He has a versatile background (hitting coach turned elite pitching coach) and strong ties to Texas baseball, but he has embraced the move to USC’s tradition-rich program. Note: As of June 2026, there were reports of him being hired as head coach at Lamar University after a strong season with USC, but he remains listed as USC’s pitching coach heading into 2026.

I bet a lot of UH fans are seeing that score and not happy with Davis being their next head coach. Was that blowout #3 against a good team?

I like Coach Davis but it did take him 10 years to get LU into the playoffs. Jeff O'Malley seems to be doing a good job of picking the right coaches. The way college sports is setup now it's more about money. I'm pretty confident LU will bring in a competent coach. Does LU have the NIL money to bring in enough portal players to make a difference next year? We shall see.

Of course they will.

Michael "Mike" Collins is a 6-1, 170 lb combo guard (primarily point guard) from Pearland, Texas. He played high school basketball at Shadow Creek High School (class of 2025) and is currently a transfer player heading to Lamar University. Background Hometown/High School: Pearland, TX — Shadow Creek High School. College Path: Signed with the University of Louisiana (Ragin' Cajuns) as a three-star recruit (247Sports) out of high school. He was the first commitment/signee under coach Quannas White. Rated around the No. 40 combo guard nationally and top ~40-44 in Texas. Freshman Season (2025-26): Played at Louisiana-Lafayette. Appeared in 31 games (limited role, ~9-10 MPG average). Entered the transfer portal in April 2026 and committed to Lamar University. He had a strong high school reputation as a scorer, including standout performances like 37 points in a district game and helping lead Shadow Creek to titles (e.g., Cy-Hoops Invitational MVP with 27 points in a key game).

College Career University of Mary (NAIA/DII, 2023–2025) He spent two seasons with the Marauders: Freshman year: Averaged 6.7 PPG and 5.6 RPG, with 64 assists. He also recorded a single-game high of 16 rebounds. 2024–25 (Redshirt Sophomore): Led the team in scoring at 11.9 PPG, added strong rebounding, and recorded 85 steals (team-high, school record territory). He had a single-game high of 8 steals. Washburn University (MIAA DII, 2025–26) In his lone season with the Ichabods, Jones emerged as a defensive standout: Started 32 of 33 games. Averaged 9.2 PPG, 4.5 RPG, ~3.0 APG, and a dominant 3.1–3.2 SPG. Recorded 103 steals — a new Washburn single-season record — and led DII nationally in total steals. Named MIAA Defensive Player of the Year. Set an MIAA tournament single-game steals record with 8 in a semifinal. Career-highs included 20 points and a double-double (14 points + 14 rebounds).

JUCO Career at Trinity Valley CC Wardlow developed significantly over two seasons as a guard known for his IQ, quickness, explosiveness, deep range, playmaking, and ability to make the right reads. 2024–25 (Freshman): Appeared in 37 games (2 starts). Averaged 8.6 points, 3.4 rebounds, 2.1 assists, and 1.1 steals per game. Shot 44.6% FG, 43.3% from three, and 82.6% from the free-throw line (in ~20.4 minutes per game). 2025–26 (Sophomore): Started all 36 games. Averaged 12.0 points, 4.0 rebounds, 3.6 assists, and 1.4 steals per game (in 29.7 minutes). Shot 43.6% FG, 37.8% from three, and 73.3% FT. Scored 432 points total for the season. Career at Trinity Valley (2 seasons): 73 games, averaged 10.3 points per game, shot 44% FG and 39.5% from three. He earned 1st Team All-Region honors as a sophomore.

College Career (JUCO) In 2025–26, Hartfield played as a freshman for Florida SouthWestern State College (FSW Bucs) in the NJCAA. He appeared in 27 games (17 starts), averaging: 12.2 points per game 4.0 rebounds per game 1.5 assists per game Shooting 45.2% FG, 36.1% from three, and 78.6% from the free-throw line. He had strong performances, including a career-high 28 points (10-14 FG, 6-9 from three) in an upset win over a ranked Daytona State team. He earned 2nd Team All-Citrus Conference honors and helped the Bucs win the Citrus Conference championship. He scored in double figures 17 times, with four 20+ point games.

Background Info.... Augustana: A three-year letterwinner … Has played in 86 games making 40 starts during his career … Started all 27 games as a junior where he averaged 15.4 points, 6.4 rebounds 1.3 assists per game to earn First-Team All-Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference honors … Scored 773 points (9.0 ppg), pulled down 409 rebounds (4.8 rpg) and dished out 87 assists (1.0 apg) during his three seasons with the Vikings. High School: A two-time first-team all-state selection … Three-time All-ESD selection … Finished prep career sixth all-time in the state of South Dakota in scoring … Averaged 22.2 points and 9.2 rebounds per game as a senior.

So far it looks like we're going to have a great D2 team!

Another D2 player.