FROM CBB NEWS SOURCE
Returning to his alma mater, Todd Whitting rejoined the University of Houston baseball program as its head coach on Friday, Director of Athletics Mack Rhoades announced.
Whitting becomes the eighth coach in program history and brings a solid resume as a coach and as a recruiter, roles he held for seven seasons at TCU and as an assistant at Houston from 1995 to 2003.
During his career, he has been a part of programs that won 16 conference regular-season and tournament championships, competed in 13 NCAA Regionals, five NCAA Super Regionals and one NCAA College World Series.
He also worked closely with 57 players that were drafted by major league organizations.
Whitting quickly developed a reputation as one of the nation’s top recruiters at both TCU and Houston. He was instrumental in bringing three signing classes to TCU that ranked among the nation’s top 10 by Baseball America magazine, including the No. 3 class in 2010.
As a Cougar, he assembled Houston’s 2000 signing class that was ranked No. 13 by Collegiate Baseball magazine.
With an award-winning background and strong recruiting ties in Houston, the state and across the country, Whitting was the best choice to lead the Cougars into the future, Rhoades said.
"We are thrilled Todd is returning to the Cougar family," Rhoades said. "He is a program builder who played a key role in all facets of the program at TCU and its run to the College World Series this year and its previous success. Todd likewise was a vital component of our baseball program’s success in the early 2000s.
"When speaking with numerous baseball people across the great state of Texas, everyone spoke very highly about Coach Whitting the person and baseball coach. He is committed to the development of student-athletes both on and off the field and will work tirelessly to elevate Houston Baseball to the next level in all areas. We welcome home Coach Whitting and his son Matthew."
AT TCU
In seven seasons at TCU, Whitting helped the Horned Frogs compile a 305-134 record, including six-straight conference championships. The Horned Frogs competed in the NCAA postseason each year during his tenure with an NCAA Super Regional berth in 2009 and the program’s first NCAA College World Series appearance in 2010.
Whitting’s deep ties to the Houston area played an important part of the Frogs’ postseason success. More than 40 percent of TCU’s roster (14 of 32 players) came from the Greater Houston area.
Whitting also helped lead the program to three straight seasons among the top 11 teams in the final polls.
As the recruiting coordinator for the Horned Frogs, he was instrumental in bringing three recruiting classes to TCU that ranked among Baseball America’s top 10. 2010 National Freshman of the Year Matt Purke, who was the 14th overall selection in the 2009 MLB Draft and finished the season with a perfect 16-0 mark, was a part of his 2009 signing class.
As the hitting and infield coach, Whitting oversaw a potent offense that set school records for team batting average, home runs and runs per game in 2010.
His accomplishments were not just limited to the offense, The Horned Frogs set a school record with a .976 fielding percentage in 2008 and ranked among the nation’s top 10 leaders in that category for two straight years.
AT HOUSTON
Prior to his time at TCU, Whitting served as an assistant coach at Houston, helping the Cougars to three NCAA Super Regional appearances during a four-year stretch. He guided the Cougars to four 40-win seasons, including the 2000 and 2002 squads that set school records with 48 victories.
In 2000, the Cougars established themselves as one of the nation’s elite programs, hosting an NCAA Regional and NCAA Super Regional. Behind the No. 13 recruiting class in the nation, the Cougars finished first nationally with a .977 fielding percentage, a record that continues to stand today, and earned a No. 11 ranking in the final polls.
Two years later, the Cougars equaled that victory total with a 48-17 record, defeated Arizona State to win the NCAA Mesa Regional and finished ninth in the final polls.
In 2003, the Cougars used a strong surge at the end of the season to assemble one of the most memorable campaigns in school history. After losing the first game at the NCAA College Station Regional, UH won its next five games, including a 7-6 thriller in 10 innings against host Texas A&M during the championship game, to advance to the NCAA Super Regionals.
Whitting replaces Rayner Noble, who resigned in June after 16 seasons as head coach.
PERSONAL
A three-year letterman with the Cougars, Whitting graduated from UH in 1995 with a bachelor’s degree in kinesiology. He has a 6-year-old son, Matthew.
WHAT THEY ARE SAYING ABOUT Todd Whitting
"We are thrilled Todd is returning to the Cougar family. He is a program builder who played a key role in all facets of the program at TCU and its run to the College World Series this year and its previous success. Todd likewise was a vital component of our baseball program’s success in the early 2000s. "When speaking with numerous baseball people across the great state of Texas, everyone spoke very highly about Coach Whitting the person and baseball coach. He is committed to the development of student-athletes both on and off the field and will work tirelessly to elevate Houston Baseball to the next level in all areas. We welcome home Coach Whitting and his son Matthew." University of Houston Director of Athletics Mack Rhoades
"Coach Whitting is a great players’ coach who relates well to all his players. He was the main reason that I came to Houston when he recruited me. He is one of the top recruiters in the country and is going to bring outstanding players to UH." 2006 National Player of the Year and current Pittsburgh Pirate pitcher Brad Lincoln
"Coach Whitting has an outstanding ability to associate with the players on and off the field. This is a great opportunity for him, and it’s a great opportunity for the program to have him back. Coach Whitting will do a great job. He is going back to somewhere he is familiar. He did a great job at Houston when he was there and took that to TCU and helped lead them to postseason play year after year." 2002 Johnny Bench Catcher of the Year Finalist and current Arizona Diamondbacks catcher Chris Snyder
"First, I would like to congratulate Todd. He is a wonderful recruiter, terrific baseball person and a guy who knows the ends and outs of the college game as well as anyone. Having a Cougar return to the University with the coaching pedigree that he has is a tremendous opportunity for Houston baseball to return to the top of the college game." Reid Ryan, CEO and President of Ryan-Sanders Baseball, Inc.
"I associate Todd with the greatest period in Houston baseball history, so obviously it made sense that UH went after him. He did a great job building TCU to what it is today with the constraints that it had being a private school. "By putting Todd at UH where he doesn’t have those constraints, where he is working at a public school in an urban area with a lot of recruiting possibilities, I believe that Houston can succeed like a Texas or a Cal State Fullerton. "Todd’s work in recruiting over the years speaks for itself. It’s an excellent hire for Houston, and it’s the best hire that they could have made." Kendall Rogers, Rivals.com
Todd Whitting AT A GLANCE Full name: Todd Ross Whitting Hometown: Dalhart, Texas Birthdate: June 13, 1972EDUCATION • Houston • bachelor's degree in kinesiology • 1995 • Dalhart High School • 1990
FAMILY Children: Son Matthew
COACHING CAREER 2010 - • Houston • head coach 2005-10 • TCU • associate head coach 2004-05 • TCU • assistant coach 1995-03 • Houston • assistant coach
NCAA POSTSEASON EXPERIENCE • 2010 NCAA College World Series • 2010 NCAA Austin Super Regional Champions • 2010 NCAA Fort Worth Regional Champions • 2009 NCAA Austin Super Regional • 2009 NCAA Forth Worth Regional Champions • 2008 NCAA Stillwater Regional • 2007 NCAA Houston Regional • 2006 NCAA Norman Regional • 2005 NCAA Waco Regional • 2004 NCAA Austin Regional • 2003 NCAA Houston Super Regional • 2003 NCAA College Station Regional Champions • 2002 NCAA Austin Super Regional • 2002 NCAA Mesa Regional Champions • 2001 NCAA Houston Regional • 2000 NCAA Houston Super Regional • 2000 NCAA Houston Regional Champions • 1999 NCAA Houston Regional • 1997 NCAA South I Regional
CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIPS • 2010 Mountain West Champions • 2010 Mountain West Tournament Champions • 2009 Mountain West Champions • 2008 Mountain West Champions • 2008 Mountain West Tournament Champions • 2007 Mountain West Champions • 2007 Mountain West Tournament Champions • 2006 Mountain West Champions • 2006 Mountain West Tournament Champions • 2005 Conference USA Tournament Champions • 2004 Conference USA Tournament Champions • 2002 Conference USA Champions • 2000 Conference USA Champions • 2000 Conference USA Tournament Champions • 1999 Conference USA Champions • 1997 Conference USA Tournament Champions
PLAYING EXPERIENCE 1994-95 Houston 1993 Navarro JC 1991-92 Houston
2 comments
This is a great move by Houston in bringing in Whitting as the head coach. Whitting as added to his staff Trip Couch who will be the recruiting coordinator for the ball club.
Agreed, Donald…and it really hurts TCU, who have relied almost exclusively in recent years on Whitting’s contacts/talent to recruit the rich Houston-area talent pool (oftentimes, beating out University of Houston, Sam Houston State and several others for top talent).
This should bolster the incoming talent on UH’s roster. Fortunately, for Rice, though the Cougars will likely regain their Top 25 – 35 prominence from earlier in the decade, for the most part the two schools recruit a different type of student-athlete; only infrequently (e.g., Lance Berkman) competing for the same talent.
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