Mitch Gaspard (born May 26, 1965) is an American

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played by Student athlete, student-athletes at institutions of higher education. In the United States, college baseball is sanctioned mainly by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA); in Japan, ...

coach and former

second baseman In baseball and softball, second baseman, abbreviated 2B, is a fielding position in the Infielder, infield, between Baseball field#Second base, second and Baseball field#First base, first base. The second baseman often possesses quick hands and f ...

. He is the hitting coach and recruiting coordinator at

Louisiana Tech University Louisiana Tech University (Louisiana Tech, La. Tech, or simply Tech) is a public university, public research university in Ruston, Louisiana, United States. It is part of the University of Louisiana System and Carnegie Classification of Institu ...

. Gaspard played college baseball at

Louisiana State University Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as Louisiana State University (LSU), is an American Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louis ...

from 1984 to 1985 before transferring to the

University of Houston The University of Houston (; ) is a Public university, public research university in Houston, Texas, United States. It was established in 1927 as Houston Junior College, a coeducational institution and one of multiple junior colleges formed in ...

where he played from 1986 to 1987. He is the former head coach of the Alabama Crimson Tide baseball team. Gaspard agreed to a 3-year contract on September 1, 2009, starting in 2010. The 2010 season was Gaspard's first season as the head coach of the Crimson Tide. He had been on the Alabama coaching staff for ten years, and was given the head coaching position when Jim Wells retired. He resigned from Alabama on May 30, 2016.

Playing career

An all-state shortstop at Jefferson High School in

Port Arthur, Texas Port Arthur is a city in the state of Texas, United States of America, located east of metro Houston. Part of the Beaumont–Port Arthur metropolitan area, the city lies primarily in Jefferson County, with a small extension in Orange County. ...

, Gaspard led his team to the Texas state title as a senior and then became the starting second baseman in 1985 for the first

Skip Bertman Stanley "Skip" Bertman (born May 23, 1938) is an American former college baseball coach and athletic director at Louisiana State University (LSU). He led the LSU Tigers baseball team to five College World Series championships and seven Southeast ...

-coached

LSU Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as Louisiana State University (LSU), is an American Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louis ...

team to advance to NCAA Regional play. He played his final two collegiate seasons as a starter at second for the

, where he became an assistant coach in 1988.

Coaching career

Gaspard was an assistant coach at Louisiana-Lafayette from 1989–92, helping the "Ragin' Cajuns" reach three NCAA Regionals and win three conference titles. In 2009, Gaspard completed his second season as the Tide's

assistant coach An athletic coach is a person coaching in sport, involved in the direction, instruction, and training of a sports team or athlete. History The original sense of the word ''Coach'' is that of a Coach (carriage), horse-drawn carriage, deriving ul ...

and recruiting coordinator. He returned for his second stint with the Crimson Tide in 2008 after six years as head coach at

Northwestern State Northwestern State University of Louisiana (NSULA) is a public university primarily situated in Natchitoches, Louisiana, with a nursing campus in Shreveport and general campuses in Leesville/Fort Johnson and Alexandria. It is a part of the Un ...

in Natchitoches, Louisiana, where he compiled a 211–128 (.622) record. During those six years, he led the Demons to a pair of Southland Conference championships, one SLC Tournament championship and a place in the 2005 NCAA Baton Rouge Regional. In 20 years of coaching, Gaspard has worked with teams that have won eight conference championships, eight conference tournament championships, played in 16 NCAA Regionals and three College World Series berths. Gaspard was a member of Wells' original staff at Alabama in 1995 and was a pivotal figure as an ace recruiter and a shrewd tactician in the remarkable revival of the program. Alabama had four SEC wins in 1994, but after Wells and Gaspard arrived, the Tide won the SEC Tournament in 1995 and was one win away from the College World Series. By the time Gaspard returned to NSU, Alabama had earned six NCAA Regional appearances and three College World Series places, including a national championship game loss to LSU in 1997. In each of his first seven seasons at Alabama, Gaspard helped mold the Tide into one of America's finest defensive units. As the chief recruiter, he helped achieve five successive Top 20 recruiting classes, including three Top 10 finishes in 1997, 1998 and 1999. Alabama In Gaspard's first season as Alabama's head coach, the team went 42–25, including reaching the SEC tournament championship game, and winning the NCAA tournament Georgia Tech Regional. He started the 2011 season with a new assistant coach in Andy Phillips. In Gaspard's second season at Alabama, his team would go 35–28 (14–16 SEC). His team would go 1–2 in the 2011 SEC Baseball Tournament then they would make the 2011 NCAA Baseball Tournament losing to Florida State 11–1 in the Tallahassee Regional Championship Game. In Gaspard's third season, his team would struggle early and would not get better in Southeastern Conference play. His young team would finish 21–34 (9–21 SEC) and miss the 2012 NCAA Baseball Tournament. In Gaspard's fourth year, his team would finish the season 35–28 (14–15 SEC). His team would have wins against then ranked #2 LSU, #1 Vanderbilt and #9 Arkansas. In the 2013 Southeastern Conference Tournament they would beat Auburn 6–3, lose to LSU 3–0, beat Ole Miss 7–5, and in the quarterfinals they would lose a heartbreaker to LSU 3–2. They would get an invitation to play in the 2013 NCAA Baseball Tournament. They would go 1–2 and lose to Troy 9–8 in the semifinals. On May, 30 Mitch Gaspard resigned as Alabama's baseball coach. Kansas State Gaspard was the assistant coach at

Kansas State Kansas State University (KSU, Kansas State, or K-State) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Manhattan, Kansas, United States. It was opened as the state's land-grant college in 1863 and was the first public inst ...

for two seasons (2017 and 2018). Kansas State missed the postseason in both of Gaspard's two seasons with the team. Georgia In 2018, Gaspard was hired by the

Georgia Bulldogs The Georgia Bulldogs are the College athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Georgia. The Bulldogs compete in NCAA Division I and are members of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). The offic ...

as a volunteer coach.

Head coaching record

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gaspard, Mitch 1965 births Living people Alabama Crimson Tide baseball coaches Georgia Bulldogs baseball coaches Houston Cougars baseball coaches Houston Cougars baseball players Kansas State Wildcats baseball coaches Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns baseball coaches Louisiana Tech Bulldogs baseball coaches LSU Tigers baseball players Northwestern State Demons baseball coaches Sportspeople from Port Arthur, Texas