STARKVILLE — Mississippi State baseball coach John Cohen will be named the new director of athletics today, according to a source familiar with the situation.
MSU sent out a press release Thursday night saying the 17th director of athletics will be introduced 1 p.m. today at a press conference. The press release did not indicate who the new director of athletics is.
“We don’t have any comment at this time,” MSU spokesperson Sid Salter said Thursday night.
Cohen, who led MSU to the Southeastern Conference championship in his eighth year last season, was given a four-year extension through 2020 this summer. He also added the title of associate athletic director.
The Clarion-Ledger reported in October that Cohen had earned the job. Cohen didn’t respond to text messages or phone calls asking for a comment in October.
After Wednesday’s fall baseball practice, Cohen didn’t have much to say about the report.
“I don’t have a comment,” Cohen said. “That’s information I don’t have. It seems likes there’s been a lot of reports on a lot of different things that are varying. I really don’t have a comment on that.”
Cohen, who played at MSU from 1987-90, was the head coach at Northwestern State (1998-01) and Kentucky (2004-08) before returning to MSU. He was named Southland Conference Coach of the Year at Northwestern State in 1998 and 2001. He was named SEC Coach of the Year in 2006 after leading Kentucky to a SEC championship. He earned SEC Coach of the Year last season.
After playing in the Minnesota Twins organization for two years (1990-91), Cohen was hired as a graduate assistant at Missouri (1992-94). He became an assistant coach for three seasons at Missouri (1995-97) before being hired by Northwestern State. Cohen served as an assistant coach for two seasons (2002-03) at Florida under former MSU coach Pat McMahon.
Cohen doesn’t have any administration experience.
MSU is looking for a new director of athletics after Scott Stricklin took the same position at the University of Florida last month. He spent seven years leading his alma mater before moving on.
MSU President Mark Keenum named associate director of athletics for external affairs Scott Wetherbee as interim director of athletics last week. He assumed the role Tuesday after Stricklin’s last day Monday. Wetherbee announced women’s soccer coach Aaron Gordon had been relieved of his duties and reassigned in the athletic department Thursday.
With Cohen making the move, that leaves an opening for the baseball job. Several reports indicate LSU recruiting coordinator and hitting coach Andy Cannizaro will be named MSU’s new baseball coach. A source close to the program didn’t confirm the reports but said Cannizaro was a leading candidate for the opening.
LSU coach Paul Mainieri told local reporters after a Thursday night scrimmage that Cohen called him Thursday morning to ask about Cannizaro. Cannizaro wasn’t at the scrimmage.
“I told him to take the day off and get his life in order a little bit, be with his family, and discuss everything he needed to discuss,” Mainieri told the Advocate. “We’ll see what happens (today).”
Cannizaro was hired at LSU in 2014 after serving as a New York Yankees scout for five years. He was a four-year starter at Tulane (1998-2001) and played in the organizations of the Yankees, the Tampa Bay Rays, the Cleveland Indians, and the Chicago White Sox. He played for the Yankees in September 2006 and for the Rays in 2008.
Follow Dispatch sports writer Ben Wait on Twitter @bcwait
Ben Wait reports on Mississippi State University sports for The Dispatch.
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