Baylor Baseball Coaching Search: Do Bears Have Their Top Option?
Following a disappointing season for the Baylor Bears, which saw them finish at 26-28 and miss the NCAA Tournament, it felt inevitable that changes would be made in the offseason.
Those changes would come in the form of coach Steve Rodriguez agreeing to step down, ushering in a new era for Bears baseball with a coaching search to take place as a result.
Now, just over two weeks later, there appears to be a name emerging as the leading candidate to be named the next head coach of Baylor baseball. That name is Lane Burroughs, the current head coach of the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs.
Source: Baylor's coaching search is coming to a head, with Louisiana Tech's Lane Burroughs emerging as the top target.
— Teddy Cahill (@tedcahill) June 14, 2022
Under Burroughs, La Tech in 2021 hosted regionals for the first time ever and in 2022 won the Conference USA Tournament.
Burroughs has coached the Bulldogs since 2017 and in his six seasons, he has yet to record a losing record. Louisiana Tech would host its first regional in school history under Burroughs in 2021 and win its first Conference USA tournament title in 2022.
If the Bears can bring Burroughs to Waco, it would be a home run hire for a program that needs a shot of adrenaline to get things going again. As well, bringing in a coach of Burroughs' caliber could go a long way in convincing the players who put their names in the transfer portal to stay at Baylor.
There is no guarantee that if he is hired Burroughs will be the one to turn things around for Baylor baseball, but he is a safe bet to do so.
But, for a program looking to get back to the College World Series for the first time since 2005, hiring the right coach is the best place to start.
You can find Connor Zimmerlee on Twitter @Connorjz98
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Connor Zimmerlee is a writer and reporter for the FanNation network. Zimmerlee received his Bachelor's of Journalism from the University of Texas at Austin and graduated from Northwestern's Medill School of Journalism with a Master's of Science in Journalism with a Specialization in Sports Media.