Incoming Athletic Director Ross Bjork (above, right) shares some thought over the Buckeyes’ coaching vacancy Monday with assistant coach and recruiting coordinator Andrew See. (Press Pros Feature Photos)
On the occasion of a summer NIL fundraiser to benefit Ohio State baseball, incoming athletic director Ross Bjork was on hand to hear concerns over the search for a new coach…along with some suggestions that the man he’s looking for might be right before his very eyes.
Columbus, OH – If they showed up to hear specifics from incoming athletic director Ross Bjork on who the replacement might be for departed baseball coach Bill Mosiello, Bjork was as silent as the ‘J’ in his last name.
A small, but highly interested group of friends and baseball alumni showed up Monday morning at the Double Eagle Country Club outside Columbus to raise money for the Buckeye Impact NIL collective…with Bjork on hand to not only endorse the initiative, but to meet, greet, and hear concerns from the 30 people (give or take) who showed up.
He got an earful, and a hopeful earful at that, from those concerned over the abrupt departure of Bill Mosiello last Friday as the Buckeyes’ head baseball coach.
And, without specifically sharing information over the search for Mosiello’s replacement, Bjork did his diplomatic best to address those concerns without showing his hand.
Editor and publisher Sonny Fulks writes OHSAA sports and Buckeyes baseball for Press Pros Magazine.
“I know Bill wanted to be near his family,” he shared with me. “But now we have to find the right guy [to replace him].”
Hopefully soon.
According to the official press release the search will be a national one, and Bjork shared Monday that there’s no shortage of interest. But some of that interest is in-house, including incumbents from the current staff, Andrew See (recruiting coordinator), and pitching coach/assistant head coach Sean Allen.
Andrew and I interviewed yesterday,” said Allen. “I think it went well.”
And let’s hope it did…that it all goes well!
With Friday night starting pitcher Landon Beidelschies all but officially gone through the transfer portal, the concern from many of the assembled Monday centered around stability with the next hire. See and Allen, in particular, are impressive inside candidates, who like Mosiello, are seeking their first head coaching position at the college level. First base coach Buck Taylor might also be a candidate.
Sean Allen spent a successful tenure as assistant at the University of Texas, where he was touted as the Assistant Coach of The Year in 2021.
Allen has an extensive background as an assistant at Texas (11 seasons with the Longhorns prior to coming to Ohio State), Tulane, Florida International, and Houston, and was named the 2021 Division I Assistant Coach of The Year. And Texas advanced to the College World Series in his final two seasons as the Longhorns’ pitching coach.
See, likewise, has an impressive background as a player (Ohio University) and as pitching coach at Atlantic Coast Conference schools Duke University (2013 through ’15), and Clemson (2016 through 2022).
Moreover, both See and Allen have been instrumental in the Buckeyes’ recruiting efforts the last two years, have solid support from the existing roster, and knowledge of rival rosters around the Big Ten. An outside replacement could signal a mass exodus through the portal, necessitating a total makeover that might set the program back two to five years.
For the sake of stability, upperclassmen like Trey Lipsey and Gavin Bruni would face the prospect of having their third head coach in four years.
“Obviously, the last four days have caught a lot of people by surprise,” said hall of fame Buckeye coach Bob Todd Monday, who won 901 games in 23 seasons, and another 124 as coach at Kent State prior to coming to Columbus. “And I understand Bill’s reason for leaving. You certainly want to be around your family.
“But if I’m the new athletic director this really puts a lot more on his plate, and that plate’s full, I guarantee you.”
However, there’s also optimism as Ross Bjork takes the administrative reins because as recent as last year he was the athletic director at Texas A&M, where the Aggies are making their eighth trip to the College World Series this week, seeking their first-ever NCAA national championship. Simply put, he’s accustomed to high expectations with college baseball. He’s thought to be a ‘baseball’ man.
“Priority for baseball will be important,” a rival coach said over the weekend. “Ohio State is viewed as a leader in the Big Ten, and people follow the lead of the one who sets the standard.”
But first…find the right guy!
“Sometimes you never know who that guy is,” added Todd. “It’s kind of a crapshoot, and obviously he’d like to find someone who’s got some roots…that has ties to Ohio State. But sometimes that’s not the right fit, either.”
Given Mosiello’s abrupt departure, another common concern over the weekend was…what kind of program did he leave behind? What’s the state of the union for Ohio State baseball, going forward?
Again, Bob Todd.
“Sometimes you never know who that guy is. It’s kind of a crapshoot, and obviously he’d like to find someone who’s got some roots…that has ties to Ohio State. But sometimes that’s not the right fit, either.” – Bob Todd
“Most of what I’ve seen has been on TV,” he shared about the current roster. “I only saw two or three games in person this year and sometimes you lose your depth perception when you watch it on TV.
“But I know that Bill worked very hard to bring in new talent, and people who wanted to be a part of the Ohio State culture. Now we’ll see what he did bring in, what he left…and whoever they hire will have to figure that out.”
Again, the $64 thousand dollar question Monday centered around who that new guy might be, and how soon would they know?
How long, and how much NIL money will it take, given the price of talent these days?
Bjork couldn’t give them what they wanted, only that he would be working on it, inside and out.
“We’re committed to finding the right guy,” he assured before the assembled who paid $2,500 per man to golf and hear first-hand.
And hopefully, soon!
Wilson Health proudly sponsors the best in area sports coverage on Press Pros Magazine.com.