Texas Tech assistant coach and recruiting coordinator J-Bob Thomas has been named the ABCA/
Baseball America Assistant Coach of the Year. He will be presented the award during the ABCA/Diamond Kinetics Honors Luncheon at the ABCA Convention in Indianapolis on Jan. 6, 2018.
See Also:
Baseball America Feature Article
Thomas was hired by Tim Tadlock at Texas Tech shortly after Tadlock was named head coach of the Red Raiders in the summer of 2012. Since then, Texas Tech baseball has gone 195-112 (.634) including a 71-49 (.592) record in Big 12 play. Texas Tech qualified for the NCAA Tournament three times in the past four seasons and advanced to the College World Series in 2014 and 2016.
In 2014, Texas Tech completed the biggest turnaround in school history and the second biggest turnaround in Big 12 history, going from 26 wins in 2013 to 45 wins in 2014. In 2016, the Red Raiders recorded the first CWS victory in Tech history after defeating No. 1 Florida, 3-2, in an elimination game. The team posted 47 wins in 2016 and 45 wins each in 2014 and 2017.
The Red Raiders’ recruiting classes, led by Thomas, have consistently been ranked in the top 25 in the nation by several publications, including
Baseball America. On the field, Thomas works primarily with the Red Raider catchers and assists with the team’s hitters.
Thomas recently completed his 12th season as a collegiate assistant, after coaching at Howard College in Texas from 2006-12. He helped the team to a 321-88 overall record in seven seasons, including the 2009 NJCAA national championship. In 2009, the team went 63-1 with a college baseball record 57-game winning streak.
Coaching expertise, recruiting, loyalty to the program and respect for the players and the game are some of the many criteria examined when reviewing the candidates for ABCA/Baseball America Assistant Coach of the Year.
Past ABCA/Baseball America
Assistant Coaches of the Year
2016 - Rob Walton, Oklahoma State
2015 - Brad Bohannon, Kentucky
2014 - Butch Thompson, Mississippi State
2013 - Chris Lemonis & Roger Williams, Louisville
2012 - Mike Birkbeck, Kent State
2011 - Chad Holbrook, South Carolina
2010 - Derek Johnson, Vanderbilt
2009 - Kevin McMullen, Virginia
2008 - Rob Fornasiere, Minnesota
2007 - Fritz Hamburg, Army
2006 - Mitch Thompson, Baylor
2005 - Bob Wojick, Eastern Connecticut State
2004 - Dave Serrano, Cal State Fullerton
2003 - Jim Lawler, Texas A&M
2002 - Jim Toman, South Carolina
2001 - Brian O'Connor, Notre Dame
2000 - Tim Corbin, Clemson
1999 - Dean Stotz, Stanford