STARKVILLE — A legend has returned.
Mississippi State announced Wednesday afternoon that longtime baseball coach Ron Polk will return to campus as the Special Assistant to the Athletic Director.
“Mississippi State is a special place, and this is home for me,” Polk said in a news release. “After 54 years of coaching college baseball, including the last 12 as a volunteer assistant at UAB, this is a perfect time for me to give back to Mississippi State. I’m very appreciative to this great university and Director of Athletics John Cohen for allowing me to do this.”
Following the retirement of Brian Shoop at UAB, Polk now moves back to the school he spent 29 seasons at as the head coach. In a career that has spanned nearly six decades, he ranks ninth in NCAA Division I history with 1,373 wins. Polk also produced 35 All-Americans and over 75 All-SEC performers.
The former head coach is also one of just three people in college baseball history to take three different programs to the College World Series.
“This is a great day for the Hail State Family to welcome Ron Polk back home,” MSU Athletic Director John Cohen said in a news release. “His experience, institutional knowledge, passion for Mississippi State and the high level of respect he holds around college athletics will be a tremendous resource to our coaches, student-athletes and entire athletics program.”
Ben Portnoy reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @bportnoy15.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 32 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.