TexGator

2018 - last tournament appearance 2017 - host a Regional 2014 - last SuperRegional (only one since 2003) - this is the year they and Texas were both 2-seeds (they knocked out LSU... Texas knocked out Rice and part of the reason the SR was in Austin was that Disch-Falk is bigger (Houston should have contacted the Astros about having it at Minute Maid Park)

That's 100% understandable- Tampa's a very nice city and I'm sure he's being supported. The counter to that is the fact he's won a LOT at Tampa and there's little else to prove so the chance to build something elsewhere might be appetizing since the donors obviously will support the program. But I want to focus on this game. O'Malley knows what he's doing.

OK- I looked at the D2 and D3 ranks. I feel like the first call needs to be Joe Urso at Tampa. - 13 College World Series appearances. - 7 CWS titles - 1110-302-1 in 26 seasons (43-12 average... record even with only a combined 51 games between the two COVID seasons) Interesting that he never got tapped by a college to take over their program in spite of his insanely good record.

Okay... who should coach then? Hatten and Hutchins are also going to UH.

Just saw that he's bringing Hutchins and Hatten with him. Guess that means we're starting from scratch. And this after the high of the last 3-1/2 days. Do we go after his old player and try to convince Nolan Cain to leave being an assistant at Texas to take the gig? Do we go after Chris Lemonis? (Dude won a title at Mississippi State and got Indiana to the tournament 3 of his 4 years there before getting the job in Starkville- though I'd have questions about what caused the wheels to fall off after that year) Do we try to convince Hatten to stick around? Do we steal Barbier from Southeastern with the thought being that he got Southeastern a pair of RS titles with fewer resources (it would be his 3rd different SLC school)? Any thoughts on what O'Malley has up his sleeve?

The signees are definitely the sort of two-way players that Fee seems to like. Let's hope they gel as a team and there are couple more guys in the pipeline to join them.

Tied for the conference lead with a series against Southeastern Louisiana coming up. This is a big opportunity for the team to show their mettle. We've stunk in mid-week games but have a matchup with Rice in front of us. A 3-1 or 4-0 week would be HUGE for us.

For those watching the D2 title game- Gannon is the school that Fee turned around. Their current HC was an assistant working with Fee that season before Fee moved back down to Florida to be an assistant at FAU.

Jeff Goodman has a tweet about it. Coach Fee has a breakdown on what each brings to the table. All it's missing is him saying "We're going to put the dang ball in the hoop. I only met Coach Tubbs a few times, but I want us to run the court in a way that will make him proud to have his name on the court.

How would it go awry before it started? He's posting about it on the socials. I respect him for not pushing to move his wife while she's "late with child"- means that when he puts down roots in Beaumont he's going to want to build something and won't just jump to another mid-major job just because it pays 20% more. He'll give O'Malley the chance to keep him happy in on MLK.

https://lamarcardinals.com/news/2026/3/14/mens-basketball-jordan-fee-tabbed-to-lead-cardinals-basketball-program.aspx (For those who need the link) The things I noticed: - he's young (about 36YO) - his guys put the ball in the hoop (100.4 PPG in his year as a HC) - I was looking at Nova Southeastern's resume but their HC is ~70... so we stole a former NSU assistant (and I'd bet that O'Malley talked with Crutchfield about Fee If he can turn around a D2 program that fast a good NIL budget should be helpful in turning the Cardinals into a must-watch program.

I'm actually intrigued that we haven't heard anything. This makes me think O'Malley is working this like the operator he is. He had a coach already lined up before he'd officially let Brooks go because he knew he was making the move.

The real way we know they're trying to look down on the SLC is that they didn't find a way to keep their chief rival on the schedule. They could have kept the "Battle of the Piney Woods" going but they turned their back on it in favor of the paychecks for being an "FBS School" Given that they were last in FBS attendance last year from playing their games at Shell Energy their boosters are probably strapped.

They still have to get their 24 credits annually. Regardless of what they're doing, they're still likely taking 3 classes a semester (and 2 online summer classes- most of their classes are probably online). Getting back to the "hired gun" thing- it makes the need for a coach who can connect with the players where they feel like "he's MY coach"

I'd like that as well. It'd take a special situation for me to vary from the first two. The rest are non-negotiables. I'm fine with you being a cerebral coach where we don't see you going to town on the dry erase board during the breaks. But you have to work them in practice like Pop worked the Spurs where you can say two sentences on a break (or even send in the word with a sub) and the team makes an adjustment that leads to a 17-3 run.

You are correct. Since (cheating) Tom Abatemarco left for Drake the program has been middling at best.

Among the "Power Program Assistant" options the two most obvious names are: - Brandon Chappell (Ozen and Lamar alum; former assistant) - Mikhail McLean (former Lamar assistant- played and assisted under Sampson)

I'm start the ball rolling. I'm looking at the success that smaller college coaches have when making the jump and sort of wanting the next Ben McCollum- successful on the D2 (or even D3) level and uses Lamar as a steppingstone to a bigger job. The thing is that I can't really find that consistent success on the D2 level other than the guy at Nova Southeastern (who is about 70YO). Margenthaler at Minnesota State is a consistent 20-win coach with a recent title... but that's his only playoff appearance since before COVID. Ballard at Washburn has a good pedigree- played under Roy Williams and coached under Bill Self (I could easily be sold on him). Looks like Flickner at Dallas Baptist is also a former player under Roy Williams and has some success as well (Final Four in 2025).

Since it's been confirmed that Alvin Brooks won't be returning, it's time to talk about what we see as the new direction. If the rumors are true the new coach will have a good NIL budget to pull from. Do you see them going after an assistant from a power conference school? Up and coming coach from a smaller program? You tell me.

If the NIL budget is growing that much it tells me that Brooks wasn't schmoozing like he needed- the money was there and Brooks wasn't shaking the right hands. Honest question- is there any reason David Green hasn't been tapped in the past? The man is 1 win away from his 5th State Semifinal in 6 years (since the "State Tournament" is now just the SCG I can't say the "State Tournament"... that's 2 wins away for him and his T-wolves)

Looks like a lot of talent. Now to see them learn to play together so we can keep the progress going. 2023: a loss against Nicholls away from a conference title 2024: a loss to SE Louisiana away from a likely playoff spot 2025: a 1st Round FCS Playoff spot (and a loss to McNeese from probably HOSTING their playoff game) Time to get some playoff wins.

Talked with one of his coaches. He was a DT through his Junior year... then the coaches saw something and switched him to the O-Line and he exploded. Great kid. Coachable. Great family. (all the things you hear in coachspeak but to the next level with him) Oh, and remember that, since he was a DT at Katy, his position coach is a guy who has sent a dozen guys to FBS programs and multiple to the NFL (like the Bills' Ed Oliver). He's going to be a leader on the field in the in the locker room. Don't be surprised if he's a captain his sophomore year.

Great signees. Hate losing the guys we did but the new talent (both on NSD and from the portal) are going to be really good. A few more "big nasties" in the trenches and I'm down for season tickets in the chairbacks. Few things more beautiful in sports than a football team that can just impose their will and eat up the clock to keep the defense rested. A "1-play, 96-yard bomb" is nice... but it puts the Defense back on the field so quickly. Give me an offense that can convert four 3rd Downs on a drive to destroy the opponent's will. 3rd and 2? Get 3. 3rd and 14? Get 15. Regardless of the circumstances... just win. The Southland is proving itself to be a 3-bid league. If we'd beaten UIW or McNeese- we'd have played at home against ACU. Do that and beat SFA- we'd have gotten a bye. We're already elite. Now is the time to take the next step.

While we're the official underdog, what do y'all think about how the game will go? I think we have a decent shot. ACU is a strong team but the 1st Round is always a toss-up, since it's usually the week of Thanksgiving and those in the know are keenly aware that Thanksgiving Week for HS and College is a unique animal.