STARKVILLE — Whirlwind.
That is how Andy Cannizaro described going from an assistant coach for the LSU baseball team to becoming a head coach for the first time Saturday.
On Monday, Cannizaro earned the opportunity to perform his first official function in that capacity as Mississippi State’s new baseball coach.
Cannizaro, who signed a four-year contract with an average salary of $533,333, talked about the challenges that await him when the 2017 season opens in less than four months.
“We’re going to try to play inter-squad as much as possible just to give myself an opportunity to continue to evaluate the players we have here, continue to see our arms throw, and continue to see our hitters hit,” said Cannizaro, whose team has nine more fall baseball practices. “I want to see us play defense. We had an awesome practice (Sunday) that exemplified all those things.”
Cannizaro was introduced by new MSU Director of Athletics John Cohen, who signed a four-year agreement for $775,000 annually. Cohen was introduced Friday as MSU’s 17th director of athletics.
Cohen, who served the last eight seasons as MSU’s baseball coach, knew he was going to have an opportunity to interview for that position after Scott Stricklin took the same job at Florida in September. Cohen said he knew he needed to identify a strong candidate to succeed him before he went through the interview process to become director of athletics. After looking over his criteria — ability to recruit, knowledge of the game, ability to reach and to teach student-athletes, great background and role models, knowledge of the Southeastern Conference, connections with professional baseball, national reputation, and recognition of the importance of education — he realized Cannizaro was the right fit.
Cohen earned SEC Coach of the Year honors after leading the Bulldogs to the SEC regular-season championship last season. He helped MSU finish as national runner-ups to UCLA at the 2013 College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska.
During his transition, Cannizaro said he is thankful to have a coach like Cohen as his boss.
“He has been one of the very best head coaches in the SEC for the last 15 years,” Cannizaro said. “There’s a lot of questions I’m going to have as a first-time head coach, and I’m very thankful that one of the best in the league is right across the road. I will talk to John a lot.”
Cannizaro’s arrival means MSU will have a new staff for the 2017 season. Pitching coach Wes Johnson took the same job at Arkansas and recruiting coordinator Nick Mingione was hired as the Kentucky coach. Cohen hired former Kentucky coach Gary Henderson as the pitching coach and promoted coordinator of camps Will Coggin to full-time assistant and recruiting coordinator.
Cannizaro called Henderson one of the “very best” pitching coaches in the nation and is thankful to have him to lean on.
“When this opportunity came to fruition, knowing Gary was on the staff was a huge sigh of relief,” Cannizaro said. “I’d spoken to so many people in college baseball and in professional baseball that had done nothing but sing his praises to the highest level. Gary is going to be a phenomenal pitching coach at Mississippi State. He’s going to get our guys ready to pitch, and he’ll have them ready to go before the season starts. There’s no doubt in my mind.”
Cannizaro was a four-year starter at Tulane (1998-01). He played in the minor leagues organizations for the New York Yankees (2001-07), the Tampa Bay Rays (2008), the Cleveland Indians (2008-09), and the Chicago White Sox (2009). He played in the major leagues for the Yankees in 2006 under manager Joe Torre with the likes of Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez, and Mariano Rivera.
After retiring as a player, Cannizaro became a scout for the Yankees from 2009-14. LSU coach Paul Mainieri hired him as the Tigers’ hitting coach and recruiting coordinator in 2014. Cannizaro served in that capacity for the last two seasons.
Cannizaro led Sunday’s scrimmage at Dudy Noble Field. Sophomore Jake Mangum said he noticed subtle differences in MSU’s pre-practice process, but he said it wasn’t anything that threw the team out of whack.
Mangum said the team was excited after it met Cannizaro on Friday, and he expects the transition to be smooth.
“He’s just got such a sense for baseball,” Mangum said. “His track record speaks for itself. The coaches he’s played for, the teammates he’s had, and just where he’s been. He’s just got such a great sense of everything, how things work, and how players are. He’s going to be perfect for us.”
Mangum earned SEC Freshman of the Year honors and was named the C Spire Ferriss Trophy winner, which is given to the top collegiate baseball player in the state of Mississippi, after hitting .408 with 12 doubles, three triples, one home run, 28 RBIs, and 40 runs.
Junior Brent Rooker was drafted in the 38th round (1,143rd overall) by the Minnesota Twins in the Major League Baseball First-Year Player draft in June, but he decided to return to MSU. He is excited about the knowledge he will gain from Cannizaro he hopes will help him get to the next level. Rooker doesn’t expect much to change as fall ball finishes up.
“We’re going to continue to do the same thing we’ve done all fall, play hard and take every day as an opportunity to get better,” Rooker said. “It’s a whole new set of eyes, like he keeps talking about, to impress and try to earn a spot.”
Rooker hit .324 with 15 doubles, two triples, a team-high 11 home runs, a team-high 54 RBIs, and 34 runs last season.
Cannizaro said he informed his LSU players at 7 a.m. Friday he was going to MSU if everything went well. That was the beginning of what he called the “craziest,” but “best” 72 hours of his life. Now, he has to get ready to coach a team that many want to see repeat as SEC champions.
“I know at some point it will slow down, but until then, I’m just going to take it one step at a time and not try to do too many things,” Cannizaro said. “These players are going to get our very best effort every single day.”
Follow Dispatch sports writer Ben Wait on Twitter @bcwait
Ben Wait reports on Mississippi State University sports for The Dispatch.
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