Kentucky Losing Assistant Coach, Recruiting Coordinator Will Coggin to Georgia

Coggin is on the move to Athens after having spent most of his coaching career alongside Nick Mingione at Mississippi State and Kentucky.

Kentucky baseball is losing its recruiting coordinator and assistant coach to another SEC school. 

Kendall Rogers of D1Baseball reported on Thursday night that Will Coggin is leaving Lexington after four seasons on UK's staff to become the "top" assistant and recruiting coordinator for Georgia:

SCOOP: @BaseballUGA head coach Wes Johnson will hire Kentucky assistant Will Coggin as his top assistant and recruiting coordinator, and Brock Bennett will stay on staff at #UGA as the third full-time paid assistant, @d1baseball has learned. https://t.co/bFKxdBQ0D3

— Kendall Rogers (@KendallRogers) June 16, 2023

Coggin joined head coach Nick Mingione's staff in 2020 after previously working together at Mississippi State, Coggin's alma mater, from 2009-12, then again from 2015-16. 

After three seasons as a student assistant in Starkville from 09-12, Coggin earned his first assistant gig at St. Johns River State College in Florida, where he stayed for three seasons before returning to Miss State in 2015. He coordinated baseball camps until 2016 and was then named assistant and recruiting coordinator from 2016-17, taking over for Mingione once he left to become UK's head coach. 

Touted for his hitting chops and player development, Coggin has helped the likes of current big-leaguers Nate Lowe and Brent Rooker. The Booneville, Miss. native played for Miss State from 2007-08 as a middle infielder. 

Now, Coggin's leaving to join Georgia and new head coach Wes Johnson, who left his post as LSU's pitching coach to replace Scott Stricklin, who was fired on May 26 after a decade as the Bulldogs' HC. Johnson returned to the college ranks in 2023 after nearly four seasons as an MLB pitching coach for the Minnesota Twins. He was also on the Mississippi State staff in 2016 alongside Coggin.

“He’s a winner. He’s won at every step of his career: he’s been to Omaha as a player, he won multiple conference championships while coaching at St. Johns River State College and the SEC title at Mississippi State," Mingione said of Coggin upon his hiring. "He was an integral part of the success we enjoyed in Starkville and will be an indispensable piece of reaching our goal at Kentucky of reaching Omaha.”

Mingione now looks to replace a coach he's had around a decade of experience with. Coggin wasn't the only loss of the day for the Cats, as a pair of players — OF Kendal Ewell and LHP Reed Gannon — were reported to have entered the transfer portal.

How Division-III roots are pushing Jackson Gray to the finish line in a special season HERE.

Roommates, Kentuckians, Brothers: More on Darren Williams and Mason Moore HERE.

The King of Work: More on catcher Devin Burkes and his MVP honors HERE.

Game recap of Kentucky's Regional-clinching win can be found HERE.

How getting hit in batting practice helps Kentucky HERE.

How hard conversations molded RHP Austin Strickland HERE.

Want the latest on national football and basketball recruiting, including Cats targets? Head over to SI All-American for the latest news, blogs, and updates about the nation's best prospects.

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