NOTRE DAME, Ind. — Link Jarrett, a two-time Southern Conference Coach of the Year, has been named the 21st head baseball coach in Notre Dame program history.
“We are thrilled to welcome Coach Jarrett and his family to the Notre Dame family,” Vice President and James E. Rohr Director of Athletics Jack Swarbrick said. “Link brings a remarkable baseball pedigree to the job, as an elite player, an assistant coach with some of the country’s best collegiate programs, a highly successful head coach, and even as a parent of a current college baseball player. But perhaps most importantly, Link’s passion for teaching young men through baseball matches perfectly with the mission of Notre Dame Athletics.”
“I’d like to thank Jack Swarbrick and Jody Sadler for navigating this process and giving me the opportunity to lead this baseball program,” Jarrett said. “It is truly an honor to be the head coach at Notre Dame.”
“I want to build this program into one that will contend for championships in the ACC. We have to work tirelessly to upgrade everything that we do in our program. I want this program to be a model of consistency and excellence in college baseball.”
Jarrett, who met with the members of the Irish team on campus Friday, arrives at Notre Dame after seven years as head coach at UNC Greensboro (UNCG). During his time with the Spartans, he guided the program to new heights, including their first-ever conference tournament championship in 2017 and the second-ever regular season championship in 2018.
“I’ve gone through so much reflection over the last few days and want to offer my sincere thanks to all the players and coaches that have helped me get to this point,” Jarrett said. “They played an instrumental role in today’s announcement. I’ll always hold them close to my heart.”
The Spartans have won 34 or more games each of the last four seasons, the first such streak in program history. Jarrett led the Spartans back to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 20 years in 2017, knocking off 23rd-ranked St. John’s at the NCAA Clemson Regional.
In Jarrett’s tenure, the Spartan offense led the Southern Conference in hitting in five of his seven seasons and led the nation in average during the 2016 season.
Spartan baseball’s success hasn’t been limited to the field as the program has achieved high marks in the classroom as well. In three of the last four years, his programs achieved a cumulative GPA of at least 3.11 and during the 2017-18 year, the team’s 3.22 GPA was the highest of any male sport at UNCG.
Prior to his time in Greensboro, Jarrett spent three years at Auburn as the assistant coach/director of player development alongside head coach John Pawlowski. The Tigers averaged 34 wins per season and advanced to the Southeastern Conference Tournament each year – becoming just one of five SEC schools to accomplish that task.
Jarrett was named SEC Assistant Coach of the Year by SEBaseball.com in 2010, his second conference assistant coach of the year award, as he helped the Tigers post a 43-17 overall record and capture the SEC West Division championship. Auburn advanced to the NCAA Tournament and hosted an NCAA Regional whereas hitting coach the Tigers batted at a .349 clip.
Before moving on to Auburn, Jarrett served as the hitting instructor and recruiting coordinator at East Carolina under then-head coach Billy Godwin. He helped the Pirates advance to the NCAA Tournament in his last three years, averaging over 40 wins per season thanks to a .639 winning percentage. In his final season in Greenville (2009), the Pirates finished with a 46-20 record and a Conference USA championship, culminating in an NCAA Super Regional berth. Jarrett copped his first conference Assistant Coach of the Year award from SEBaseball.com due to the Pirates on-field performance.
Jarrett spent two seasons at Mercer as the recruiting coordinator before moving to Greenville.
In his first season, the Bears doubled their win total from their previous campaign. They went on to eclipse their win mark the following year, marking their first winning season since 1999.
In 2003, Jarrett returned to his Alma Mater, Florida State, assisting on the staff. The Seminoles finished the season with a 54-13-1 record, an ACC regular season championship and an NCAA Super Regional appearance.
Jarrett began his coaching career at NCAA Division II Flagler College in 1999. Over the course of three seasons at the helm, Flagler established school records in batting average, hits, doubles, fielding percentage, ERA and double plays, while posting a 108-63 record (.632). The Saints rose as high as the No. 5 national ranking during his tenure in St. Augustine, Fla.
Jarrett was the starting shortstop on three College World Series teams at Florida State in 1991, 1992 and 1994. He earned NCBWA All-America honors as a junior and senior and still holds the NCAA record for career assists with 802. He also holds the FSU records for consecutive games played (235) and at-bats (989).
Jarrett was the 22nd round pick of the Colorado Rockies in the 1994 MLB Draft. He was voted the Most Spectacular Defensive Player in the organization in his rookie season while playing for the Bend (Ore.) Rockies in Single-A and then hit .303 for the New Haven Ravens (AA) in 1997.
Jarrett earned a bachelor’s degree in communication with a minor in psychology from Florida State in 1994. He and his wife Jennifer, have two children, J.T. and Dawson.
What they are saying about Link Jarrett
Mike Martin, Former Florida State head baseball coach
“Link was a self-made player. He got my attention early with his work ethic, intelligence, and desire. When he became a coach with us, it truly reinforced what I had always thought – that one day he was going to be a Division I head coach. Notre Dame will excel under his leadership.”
