Brad Bohannon, Alabama Crimson Tide

Brad Bohannon, the 2015 American Baseball Coaches Association and Baseball America National Assistant Coach of the Year, was named head baseball coach at the University of Alabama on June 1. Bohannon is the 32nd head coach in Crimson Tide baseball history.

A former assistant coach at Auburn University, Bohannon replaced Greg Goff, who was fired after one year as the Crimson Tide’s head baseball coach. Goff became embroiled in a controversy regarding returning players and their scholarships in late May.

Bohannon brings 14 years of Southeastern Conference coaching experience to Alabama after having served as an assistant at Kentucky from 2004-15 and, most recently, Auburn from 2016-17. Regarded as one of the best recruiters in the nation, he was responsible for signing 13 Wildcat student-athletes that went on to play in the Major Leagues, including 2014 Golden Spikes Award winner A.J. Reed, while his first recruiting class at Auburn was ranked No. 9 by Collegiate Baseball and included six 2017 starters.

“This is the opportunity of a lifetime, and I cannot wait to get started,” said Bohannon. “My goal is to make the University of Alabama the best baseball experience in the country. We’re going to recruit at the highest level, coach and develop our student-athletes and create a positive team culture that ultimately will help us to be successful. Every aspect of our program will play an important part, and Alabama has incredible resources to help us reach our goals. I truly believe we can accomplish anything here.”

Bohannon played a pivotal role in turning around both Kentucky and Auburn within three years on the job. The Wildcats became the first team in SEC history to go from worst to first in only one season, winning 44 games and the program’s first league title in 2006, while the Tigers won 12 more games in 2017 than in 2016 and advanced to the NCAA tournament. In addition to improving in the win column, the 2017 squad set the school record for fielding percentage at .975.

While at Kentucky, Bohannon served under two SEC Coach of Year honorees in John Cohen and Gary Henderson. Along with winning the school’s only league title, Bohannon was a part of a trio of record-breaking win seasons, capped off by the 2012 team that won 45 games to set the program mark.

A combined 69 Wildcat student-athletes were chosen in the Major League Baseball draft or signed as a free ag...