FROM CBD NEWS SOURCE
RUSTON, La. – Louisiana Tech Athletics Director Tommy McClelland introduced former Campbell University coach Greg Goff as the seventh head coach of the Bulldog Baseball program in a press conference on Friday morning in the Jarrell Room of the Charles Wyly Athletic Center.
Goff comes to Ruston after spending seven years as the head baseball coach at Campbell University in Buies Creek, N.C., where he amassed an impressive record of 224-174 in his time at the helm of the Camels program, including recording three straight 40-win seasons. This past season, Goff and his team captured the Big South Tournament Championship, which led to Campbell’s first NCAA Regional appearance in 24 years. During last week’s Columbia Regional, Goff and his team defeated Conference USA’s Old Dominion for the program’s first ever win in an NCAA Regional.
“Greg is a proven winner. Everywhere he has been as a coach, he has developed a culture of winning on the field and in the classroom. This represents our philosophy of developing champions,” McClelland said. “We had an incredible pool of candidates, and through the process Greg separated himself as our top choice. We are fortunate to have him lead our baseball program into the future.”
Goff replaces Wade Simoneaux, who put together a 297-370-1 record over the course of his 12-year tenure with the Bulldogs.
The 21-year coaching veteran recently led Campbell to its third straight 40-win season, as the Camels joined LSU, Florida State, Oregon, Oregon State, Louisville, South Carolina and Rice as the only NCAA Division I baseball programs with at least 40 victories in each of the last three years.
In the last three years, Goff led the Camels to their only 40-win seasons in program history, which gives the Jackson, Tenn., native 131 wins in just three years.
“I am extremely excited to get to work and eager to hit the ground running,” Goff said. “I am grateful to have the opportunity to coach at a great university with such wonderful fan support. It is great to have an opportunity to work at a university like Louisiana Tech that is nationally known with a great reputation. I like that Ruston is a baseball community that is going to be very supportive. I am ready to get things started.
“The opportunity to compete in one of the top baseball conferences in the country in Conference USA is exciting. I know the state of Louisiana has a wealth of talent, and it is a great place to start our recruiting base out of because of the amount of talented players in the state and the surrounding areas.”
In 2013 alone, Campbell was crowned the Big South regular season champions, while Goff earned Coach of the Year honors for the league after winning a school record 49 games. His Campbell team was the only squad in Division I baseball ranked in the Top 10 nationally in both team batting average and team earned run average. The Camels also spent the majority of the 2013 season ranked nationally, which led to Goff being named one of Perfect Game’s 10 rising college coaches heading into the 2014 campaign.
Prior to his seven years at Campbell, Goff spent four seasons as the head coach at the University of Montevallo, a Division II program in Alabama, where he led his squad to a 152-84 (.644) mark. In his final two seasons with the Falcons, Goff’s teams set the school record for wins in back-to-back seasons, with 43 victories in 2006 and 47 in 2007. He led Montevallo to its first ever NCAA Division II College World Series in 2006, where his team finished third and claimed the Southeast Region Championship.
Goff was named the ABCA South Central Region Coach of the Year following the 2006 season, as his Montevallo squad was ranked third in the final Collegiate Baseball NCAA Division II poll after reaching the College World Series for the first time in the program’s history. That same season, he was also awarded Coach of the Year for all divisions by the Alabama Baseball Coaches Association.
Before spending 11 years on the head coaching circuit, Goff led the nationally ranked Kentucky Wildcats as the pitching coach for four seasons from 1999 to 2003. He helped guide Kentucky to 38 victories in 2000, which marked a school record for wins in a season at the time.
In all, Goff spent a total of 10 years as an assistant coach, with two of those seasons spent as both the pitching coach and recruiting coordinator for Southeast Missouri State from 1997 to 1999. The Bulldogs’ skipper began his collegiate coaching career in 1993 at his alma mater, Delta State, as a graduate assistant for DSU’s baseball team. Goff was promoted to full-time pitching coach for the Delta State Statesmen heading into the 1997 season. In his time as an assistant, Goff coached 23 professional draft picks, eight All-Americans, 25 all-conference performers and had two players awarded the Dick Howser National Pitcher of the Year.
During his playing days, Goff pitched for Jackson State Community College, where he earned his associate’s degree in 1991. He then spent time on the mound at Delta State, where he earned both his bachelor and master’s degrees in 1994 and 1996, respectively.
Goff is married to the former Tina Newbill of Jackson, Tenn. They have four daughters – Kara (15), Kiley (12), Kolby (8) and Kenzie (4).
His hiring is pending the approval of the Board of Supervisors for the University of Louisiana System.
