Coaching Change

[GoJacks2011]

Krista Wood hired by Creighton. Tough to see her leave but she gets to return to her home area and I’m sure it’s quite a bump in pay. Tremendous job done with our program. Hopefully the recruits/players stay and the winning culture continues.

[salemjack]

Wonder how big of a raise that is… thanks for Everything Coach Wood. She revived SDSU softball.

[73alum]

Tremendous seasons softball had. Coach Wood surely made a huge mark. Once again….what players and recruits stay. She was a Wayne State softball coach and the Jacks have a ‘certain pitcher’ from Wayne!!!

[jackdaniel]

Hope our replacement continues to build on what she has built. A head coach who shows promise as a winner/recruiter, who the players like and respect, like she did at WSU before moving up. Always a challenge to follow a successful coach though, but some people thrive on such challenges. We will give the new coach an ample opportunity to succeed I'm sure of that. Thanks coach Wood, hope you do well and thanks for doing well here since you were hired.Great coach.

[bigticket1]

The one thing working in the Jacks favor in keeping the current roster is that Creighton looks to be a major rebuilding job. 5-17 conference record. Basically tied for last in the Big East with 7 teams above them in the standings. If our juniors and seniors-to-be want to continue to play in NCAA tournaments, it appears that doing so at Creighton in at least the next couple of seasons is a long shot. A lot different than Baylor S. going there as the missing piece that makes their BB team a national contender.

[LetsGoRabbits]

WOW i used to really love omaha!! but i might possibly be starting to hate that school))

Congratulations and BIG BIG thank you to coach wood!!

Couple of thoughts

can we get coach stokes to come back from upper iowa? i would think she helped recruit many of these players. she is obviously very highly thought of. so maybe that would be an incentive for the girls to stay. but i cannot say i know for sure, maybe she is not seen as quite ready to be a D1 head coach. maybe that is why she left. is one year at D2 enough experience? and we also have 2 current assistants both with more experience as head coaches in the same D2 conference that coach stokes is currently in


2nd of the girls who did most of the playing last year we have 3 who hail from nebraska, although i DO NOT think that playing for Creighton really has the same HOME SCHOOL pride that playing for a state school has

the two freshman are FROM omaha. Brooke Dumont was half of the catching tandem and would seem to continue that next year. possibly also with more at bats from the DP position with Lenox gone

Mia Jarecki was Dumont HS teammate and would think she is the leading candidate to take a lot of the at bats left behind by one or both of Lenox and Daugherty

and of course The 1000lb guerilla in the room what does Tori Kneische do??

I DO NOT DO NO DO NOT know any of these girls anywhere near well enough to make an educated guess!!!! so i SO SO SO HOPE i am wrong because my gut feeling is that it is a solid bet some combination of these 3 wants to follow their coach home to nebraska

the rest of the group is from SD and IA and Cal. maybe the next most important especially if you assume they are a package is what do the Carillo girls do. they have said that they REALLY like the small town atmosphere of brookings and that since they are so far from home that they really like the small town and family feeling of SDSU and brookings. so hopefully that means they stay)))!!!! i guess that depends when they say FAMILY FEELING how important is mom in that equation? and was coach wood mom??

obviously i hope i am wrong about Tori!! hopefully she feels connected to her teammates and they all want to stay together!

seems obvioius that the coach replacement will be very important. i think if i was J Sell i would try to get it done FAST, like he did with hendo!! get someone in there and let them talk to the girls BEFORE they decide to put their names in the portal and checkout their options!! and BEFORE coach wood can begin to Re recruit them, because now that her move is public she cannot really have conversation with them about leaving the jacks

the new coach needs to get a big commit or two and get momentum moving toward the GROUP STAYING TOGETHER before momentum goes the other way toward the group leaving together or just leaving

as for the group coming in?? WOW it is tough to think they do not want to follow the coach that they committed to play for!! the juco pitcher and 1or 2 of the hitters seemed like the BIG JEWELS of the class. some of that group were definitely from NE but i cannot remember if it was any of those 3. one of the incoming freshman hitters hit a bunch of career HR including 22 last year. she seemed like maybe the best of the group

possibly the juco pitcher might try to decide based on what Tori and Grace do. if they both stay at SDSU maybe she much more likely to follow coach wood. but i would think maybe if TK particularly goes with coach wood maybe the juco girl sees a bigger opportunity with the jacks

anyway, i think there could be pretty much endless speculation here. i will leave it at that. whatever happens, it is going to be interesting but hopefully that ends up interesting and fairly good!!! instead of interesting and TOTALLY CRAPPY!!!

[LetsGoRabbits]

even i am smart enough to know that ended up to be more than a couple thoughts) haha

when i began the 2 thoughts were can they get coach stokes and do they think she is ready

and do the girls want to stay together and would they rather do that in brookings or omaha

[LetsGoRabbits]

The one thing working in the Jacks favor in keeping the current roster is that Creighton looks to be a major rebuilding job. 5-17 conference record. Basically tied for last in the Big East with 7 teams above them in the standings. If our juniors and seniors-to-be want to continue to play in NCAA tournaments, it appears that doing so at Creighton in at least the next couple of seasons is a long shot. A lot different than Baylor S. going there as the missing piece that makes their BB team a national contender.

definitely see your point ticket!! OR considering that the jacks swept a double header with the bluejays last year and outscored them twenty freaking six to freaking nothing, do the jacks figure their entire team could just go along with coach wood and all of them continue to start??

i have NO IDEA what their current roster looks like, but would the jays have even ONE player who could crack the previously supposed starting lineup for next years lady rabbits SB squad??

[LetsGoRabbits]

did go and check, i still believe what i said the juco pitcher and two of the position players "appear" to be the stars of the incoming class

unfortunately BOTH position players are nebraska native. one from a small town semi close to grand island. one from lincoln. the girl from juaniata is the all time all level state HR leader and hit over .500 with 22 HR last year. the other hit over .400 for the combination of her final 3 years and had 16 HR last year.

maybe the small town gal was attracted to continuing to play in a smaller community. hope so!! she sounds like a stud!!

the pitcher is from des moines area and was 5 times on all state team in high school. also sounds like a savage!! hopefully the jacks keep at least 2 out of 3 between this gal, TK, and Grace. if they keep 2 of them they should continue to be EXELLENT in the circle!!!

and ya know??? who the heck knows??? evaluating high school talent and predicting who will be a stud in college is VERY FAR from an exact science!!! maybe all 3 will struggle and one of the lesser looking gals will be 4 year starter

[LetsGoRabbits]

I know i am the one who brought up the idea of hiring coach stokes back from upper iowa

after having a little more time to digest things, i think i would prefer they hire one of the two current assistants.

i initially said coach stokes, because i think she is a bit like TJ when he came to the MBB program. he had a national reputation and was expected to get a head job soon and to be a good recruiter and to be a good coach and to eventually move up to a P5

i could definitely be wrong!! but i think coach stokes has the bigger name, reputation, and spotlight. although i do believe much of that is due to things that are more tangential as opposed to directly coaching related. and PLEASE PLEASE DO NOT think i am saying that she was not a very good coach for the jacks and that she will not be a very good coach!!!

that is not my point!!! but i think i would prefer one of the others because,i think another similarity that Kiki would have with TJ is that she would probably be looking at the jacks as merely a stepping stone and NOT a place she would envison a good chance of staying for 10 or 20 years

the jacks VERY possibly will not hire ANY of those 3!! no doubt they will hire the best person and do it as quickly as possible

i just think i prefer one of the current assistants because that would be the fastest and they have relationships with the players. coach villar came 4 years ago. the same time as coach stokes, so she would have very similar relationships with them as Kiki would

coach gomez olson has only been here one year but no doubt she does have relationships with the players! both Villar and Gomez Olson have been head coaches for longer than Kiki has!

coach Villar does not appear to be married, but i am guessing her family is from the area as she played at Augie and coached in Lennox, Marshall, and Aberdeen

coach Gomes Olson seems a solid bet to stick around as her husband is coach olson from the football staff


also BTW in case you wonder why would coach wood leave the rabbits to coach a team who the rabbits absolutely demolished this year? maybe i am wrong, but i guess she is confident in her ability to turn a program around
wayne was very bad before she arrived and she quickly had them playing in the D2 playoffs. i do not know the record for the jacks before she arrived, but she definitely turned around and raised the rabbits program also

beyond that seems safe bet Omaha has a very home feeling for her

she is from Missouri Valley. she played 4 years at UNO and won a national championship. she coached high school two years in omaha before going to wayne

One other thing! whoever the jacks get to coach, it seems they will have to get somebody on staff who is good at coaching pitchers!! coach wood was a pitcher at UNO. she started the national championship game and won. NO DOUBT she is the coach responsible for the pitchers.

coach villar, coach gomez olson, and coach stokes were all position players in college. that also PROBABLY gives you an idea which coach spent the most time with TK and Grace, as well as which coach is most heavily involved in the recruiting of pitchers, such as the juco stud from des moines

maybe that is not true? maybe i am wrong? it has happened twice before)))) haha these are merely educated guesses

ONE LAST one other thing (for this post anyway)
Coach Stokes may have the bigger national reputation, but if you are doing the whole former player, player cred, relating to the players thing, Coach Gomez Olson was the better player

I think the two played at UNL and Iowa ST at the exact same time and began their non grad assistant coaching careers at the exact same time. i think Gomez Olson went to bemidji as an assistant in 2018, the same year Stokes came to the jacks. Gomez Olson became head coach at bemidji after one year, while Stokes left the jacks to become a head coach after 3 years

but as players they were both excellent!! Gomez Olson was, however, better! UNL did go to the CWS and get 7th when Stokes was a junior i believe. but individually Gomez was a 4 time all conference. 3 as an outfielder and first team as a senior infielder. i believe Kiki was 3 time all conference. they both hit well over .300 for career, but Kiki was career .350 and Brittany was barely short of career .400 and brittany had more career hits 290 something to 230 something. she was 3rd all time in the Big 12 in hits

so ya know good players are not necessarily good coaches but as far as the whole player rep, player cred, player respect for having done it yourself coach Gomez Olson has the edge. and all 4 of these coaches were excellent and accomplished college players

[jackdaniel]

Anyone know anything about Auggies coach? They had an excellent season their last season, one game away from winning the super regional.Can we poach another D-2 head coach away from a successful D-2 team. Does she even have any interest in moving up or moving away from Augie . Maybe, maybe not, who knows except someone close to her probably. The main question is, would she excel at the move from Div -2 to Div -1 like coach Wood did, should she be interested? It would be a short move, from Sioux Falls to Brookings.Not to knock Upper Ia or their coach , but Auggie swept them last season. Don't know if that means anything or not. I know we hate it when a P-5 poaches our coaches and players, but don't mid-majors do the same to Div-2 schools ? It's the bigger fish in the pond eating the smaller fish syndrome. How long should we look for a new coach I wonder also . I'm sure the players on the team don't want to wait too long, but it's important for the school to find the best qualified coach too.

[jakejc795]

I know i am the one who brought up the idea of hiring coach stokes back from upper iowa

after having a little more time to digest things, i think i would prefer they hire one of the two current assistants.

i initially said coach stokes, because i think she is a bit like TJ when he came to the MBB program. he had a national reputation and was expected to get a head job soon and to be a good recruiter and to be a good coach and to eventually move up to a P5

i could definitely be wrong!! but i think coach stokes has the bigger name, reputation, and spotlight. although i do believe much of that is due to things that are more tangential as opposed to directly coaching related. and PLEASE PLEASE DO NOT think i am saying that she was not a very good coach for the jacks and that she will not be a very good coach!!!

that is not my point!!! but i think i would prefer one of the others because,i think another similarity that Kiki would have with TJ is that she would probably be looking at the jacks as merely a stepping stone and NOT a place she would envison a good chance of staying for 10 or 20 years

the jacks VERY possibly will not hire ANY of those 3!! no doubt they will hire the best person and do it as quickly as possible

i just think i prefer one of the current assistants because that would be the fastest and they have relationships with the players. coach villar came 4 years ago. the same time as coach stokes, so she would have very similar relationships with them as Kiki would

coach gomez olson has only been here one year but no doubt she does have relationships with the players! both Villar and Gomez Olson have been head coaches for longer than Kiki has!

coach Villar does not appear to be married, but i am guessing her family is from the area as she played at Augie and coached in Lennox, Marshall, and Aberdeen

coach Gomes Olson seems a solid bet to stick around as her husband is coach olson from the football staff


also BTW in case you wonder why would coach wood leave the rabbits to coach a team who the rabbits absolutely demolished this year? maybe i am wrong, but i guess she is confident in her ability to turn a program around
wayne was very bad before she arrived and she quickly had them playing in the D2 playoffs. i do not know the record for the jacks before she arrived, but she definitely turned around and raised the rabbits program also

beyond that seems safe bet Omaha has a very home feeling for her

she is from Missouri Valley. she played 4 years at UNO and won a national championship. she coached high school two years in omaha before going to wayne

One other thing! whoever the jacks get to coach, it seems they will have to get somebody on staff who is good at coaching pitchers!! coach wood was a pitcher at UNO. she started the national championship game and won. NO DOUBT she is the coach responsible for the pitchers.

coach villar, coach gomez olson, and coach stokes were all position players in college. that also PROBABLY gives you an idea which coach spent the most time with TK and Grace, as well as which coach is most heavily involved in the recruiting of pitchers, such as the juco stud from des moines

maybe that is not true? maybe i am wrong? it has happened twice before)))) haha these are merely educated guesses

ONE LAST one other thing (for this post anyway)
Coach Stokes may have the bigger national reputation, but if you are doing the whole former player, player cred, relating to the players thing, Coach Gomez Olson was the better player

I think the two played at UNL and Iowa ST at the exact same time and began their non grad assistant coaching careers at the exact same time. i think Gomez Olson went to bemidji as an assistant in 2018, the same year Stokes came to the jacks. Gomez Olson became head coach at bemidji after one year, while Stokes left the jacks to become a head coach after 3 years

but as players they were both excellent!! Gomez Olson was, however, better! UNL did go to the CWS and get 7th when Stokes was a junior i believe. but individually Gomez was a 4 time all conference. 3 as an outfielder and first team as a senior infielder. i believe Kiki was 3 time all conference. they both hit well over .300 for career, but Kiki was career .350 and Brittany was barely short of career .400 and brittany had more career hits 290 something to 230 something. she was 3rd all time in the Big 12 in hits

so ya know good players are not necessarily good coaches but as far as the whole player rep, player cred, player respect for having done it yourself coach Gomez Olson has the edge. and all 4 of these coaches were excellent and accomplished college players

Looks like Coach Villar's from Oakdale, MN, a St. Paul suburb.

Tangentially-related question re. "savage" pitcher -- what might your thoughts be on a "Macho Mixer" from the Dairy Bar consisting of diced Slim Jims, strawberries, and banana? Oh yeaaahhhh??

[jakejc795]

Anyone know anything about Auggies coach? They had an excellent season their last season, one game away from winning the super regional.Can we poach another D-2 head coach away from a successful D-2 team. Does she even have any interest in moving up or moving away from Augie . Maybe, maybe not, who knows except someone close to her probably. The main question is, would she excel at the move from Div -2 to Div -1 like coach Wood did, should she be interested? It would be a short move, from Sioux Falls to Brookings.Not to knock Upper Ia or their coach , but Auggie swept them last season. Don't know if that means anything or not. I know we hate it when a P-5 poaches our coaches and players, but don't mid-majors do the same to Div-2 schools ? It's the bigger fish in the pond eating the smaller fish syndrome. How long should we look for a new coach I wonder also . I'm sure the players on the team don't want to wait too long, but it's important for the school to find the best qualified coach too.

Might depend on ages of her sons, although I suppose if they're close to graduating (and she's interested), they could delay a move to Brookings (or even remain in Sioux Falls).

[jackdaniel]

Looks like Coach Villar's from Oakdale, MN, a St. Paul suburb.

Tangentially-related question re. "savage" pitcher -- what might your thoughts be on a "Macho Mixer" from the Dairy Bar consisting of diced Slim Jims, strawberries, and banana? Oh yeaaahhhh??

Maybe it,s a stretch to get Augustanas highly successful coach away from them, and maybe it's time for one of our two assistants to get their chance at a head coaching gig as you have pointed out and who would be warranted as both are great coaches in their own right. Justin Sell is pretty savvy in picking replacements.

[LetsGoRabbits]

Good thought on coach Melsted!! seems very tough call whether it happens?? but you have to think she would take the interview, if for no other reason, just to keep augie on their toes and potentially get a raise.

she has been there a long time. she took a program that was already excellent and kept it that way. if she had any desire to build a program of her own, well that is obviously NOT happening with the jacks either, but there is definitely potential to take the program to higher heights than they have ever been to

with they BIG BIG BIG KEY that we need the big majority of the current roster and at least a few key recruits to STAY