FROM CBB NEWS SOURCE
LITTLE ROCK – UALR head baseball coach Scott Norwood announced changes to his staff on Friday, adding University of Pittsburgh assistant coach Brandon Rowan while promoting Jeremy Haworth to a full-time assistant position.
Rowan comes to UALR after two seasons as Pittsburgh’s pitching coach, where he helped the Panthers to a 38-18 record and a No. 3 seed in the Big East Tournament in 2010. He will serve as UALR’s pitching coach and recruiting coordinator, inheriting a staff which will look to replace 2010 MLB Draft pick and All-Sun Belt performer Adam Champion.
"It is exciting to get a pitching coach in here with Division I experience. He worked with a pitching staff this past year on a team that was one of the last three left out of the NCAA Tournament. They didn’t have two of their top arms available, which really speaks to his knowledge and understanding of college pitching," said Norwood. "I’m looking forward to having someone on board who really wants to teach mechanics and develop pitchers. Having been a head coach, he’ll bring added experience and perspective to our staff."
Haworth spent the past two seasons at UALR as a student assistant coach and was instrumental in the Trojans posting the program’s highest win total since 2003 this past year. His duties at UALR include working with the Trojan hitters and team defense. In his second year at UALR, the team’s batting average improved by 14 points over the previous season, with leading-hitter Landis Wilson raising his average by 61 points.
"Jeremy is a tireless worker who is going to continue to help make our program better. He understands the mentality our hitters need to take to get to the next level, and I look forward to watching him do that," said Norwood. "He’s got a great work ethic every day and that is something that will carry over to our team on a daily basis."
A 2004 graduate of the University of Memphis, Rowan spent two seasons as the head coach at Crichton College in Memphis, Tenn. before moving on to Pittsburgh. While at Crichton, Rowan led the Comets to the program’s first-ever berth in an NAIA Regional. His 2007 Crichton squad led the Transouth Conference in batting average (.353) and three of his Comet players went on to play professional baseball.
A three-year letterman at Memphis, Rowan led the Tigers with a 3.63 ERA in his first season with the club and ranked second in innings pitched and strikeouts. He played two seasons at Northwest Mississippi Community College prior to Memphis, where he was an MACJC All-State honoree as a pitcher and outfielder. In his final season with the Rangers, he finished seventh in the country with a 2.20 ERA while sporting a 7-1 record and was an NJCAA Distinguished Academic All-American.
Haworth brings unique experience to the coaching staff having played under Norwood at Ouachita Baptist. A former NCAA Division II All-American, Haworth accumulated numerous awards during his playing career at OBU. In 2006 he earned Second Team All-GSC honors as a pitcher, and in 2007 was named First Team All-GSC as a third baseman. The 2007 season also saw Haworth named GSC West Division Player of the Year and Rawlings/ABCA NCAA Division II All-America.
A four-time GSC Player of the Week selection, he became the first player in GSC history to be named pitcher of the week and player of the week in the same week. He was also named OBU’s most outstanding athlete each of his two seasons with the Tigers.
A product of Edmond Santa Fe High School, he began his collegiate career at Connors State where he led the Cowboys to a regional championship and an appearance in the NJCAA College World Series. In 2005, he moved on to Ouachita Baptist to finish out his college career and helped the Tigers to a 2007 GSC West Division Championship and a berth in the NCAA Division II Regionals.
