STARKVILLE — Mississippi State baseball coach John Cohen rounded out his coaching staff Thursday with the announcement of the hiring of New Mexico State assistant Mike Brown as the new coordinator of camps and volunteer assistant coach.
“Michael Brown has one of the great young baseball minds in the country,” Cohen said in a statement released by MSU. “His tremendous success at each stop along the way and his ability to blaze his trail within the collegiate baseball community made him the right fit for Mississippi State.”
Brown takes over for Will Coggin, who was promoted last month to a full-time assistant and recruiting coordinator. Coggin replaced Nick Mingione, who was hired to lead the Kentucky baseball program. Cohen also added former Kentucky coach Gary Henderson as his pitching coach. Former pitching coach Wes Johnson left MSU last month for the same position at Arkansas.
Brown played under Cohen and Henderson at Kentucky from 2006-07.
“I’m honored to be part of this historic program,” Brown said in a statement released by MSU. “Having played and coached in the Southeastern Conference, I have always had a tremendous admiration for Mississippi State baseball. I look forward to this incredible opportunity.”
Brown spent the last two seasons at New Mexico State. This past season, the Aggies led the Western Athletic Conference in batting (.297), slugging percentage (.445), runs (371), RBIs (344), doubles (112), home runs (49), hit by pitches (65), and total bases (887).
Before joining the New Mexico State staff, he spent two seasons as a graduate assistant at Kentucky, his alma mater, under Henderson.
Once his playing career ended, Brown served on the Kentucky staff in 2008 under Cohen and Henderson.
Brown was director of baseball of Koa Sports, a non-profit, youth sports organization in Washington, DC, and Montgomery County, Maryland. He coached the 16- and 18-and-under showcase baseball teams. He also held after-school clinics and served as a mentor to kids.
In the summer of 2014, he was the manager of the Fulton Railroaders in the Ohio Valley League, a summer collegiate baseball league. In the summer of 2013, he was an assistant coach for the Amsterdam Mohawks in the Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League, a summer collegiate baseball league.
The Woodland, California, native played at Cuesta (California) College before transferring to Kentucky. In 2007, he led the Wildcats with a .369 average and 68 runs. He finished that season ranked seventh in single-season runs, ninth in on-base percentage (.486), fourth in sacrifice bunts (12), and ninth in hit by pitches (18).
Follow Dispatch sports writer Ben Wait on Twitter @bcwait
Ben Wait reports on Mississippi State University sports for The Dispatch.
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