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Included in Scott Brosius’ resume is a stint as Team USA’s U18 coach
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Scott Brosius is a name that did not immediately surface after Andy Lopez’s retirement Monday after 14 years as the Arizona Wildcats’ head baseball coach, but he is possibly in the mix to fill the vacancy.
Brosius, an 11-year major-league veteran with Oakland and the New York Yankees, shares an Oregon past with Arizona Wildcats athletics director Greg Byrne. Brosius, 48, is from Hillsboro, Ore. Byrne, 43, grew up in the Pacific Northwest and attended high school in Eugene.
Brosius, 48, coached at Division III Linfield College (his alma mater) in McMinnville, Ore., from 2007 to this season. He coached Linfield to its first national championship at the Division III level in 2013.
Four days ago, two days before Lopez retired, Brosius announced he was leaving Linfield for a new coaching challenge.
“It is with very mixed emotions that I step down, as I have a deep love for this school and the baseball program,” Brosius said. “I’ve come to realize there is never a good time to step away, but only what I feel is the right time. With our three children now graduated, my wife Jennifer and I felt the timing is right to begin our next adventure.”
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During Monday’s press conference in which announced Lopez’s retirement with the Arizona Wildcats, Byrne mentioned that a candidate could have a mixed background of professional and college baseball.
“At the end of the day, we have to get the right college baseball coach, (and) that may be someone tied to the pros,” Byrne said. “We need people in college athletics who understand college athletics.”
Brosius can bring to the Arizona job his many connections in professional baseball with his major-league background, a significant advantage when it comes to recruiting. His hire would attract national attention, especially being a three-time World Series champion with the Yankees from 1998 to 2000.
He coached on a smaller scale at Linfield, but he obviously knows how to coach. Brosius was named Northwest Conference coach of the year five times (2008, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014) in seven seasons as head coach and led the team into the NCAA Division III national championship tournament three times.
Brosius also has coached Team USA’s Under 18 team. He led the club to a gold medal at the 2011 COPABE Pan American AAA/18U Championships and guided the team to the 2012 IBAF 18U Baseball World Championship.
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Scott Brosius is a good name for Washington State. But have to imagine Travis Jewett is the front-runner. https://t.co/BwjlmRKR3u
— Aaron Fitt (@aaronfitt) May 26, 2015
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Also with his connections, Brosius can bring with him assistants who have experience recruiting major prospects on the West coast.
Moreover, with his first coaching job being the assistant coach at Linfield in 2002 instead of taking a job with the pros, it shows that Brosius is committed to college baseball. He is not enamored with a future of managing in professional baseball. He would concentrate fully on continuing the winning tradition at Arizona.
Brosius’ name has also been mentioned for the Washington State and Portland vacancies.
Other candidates mentioned for the Arizona baseball coaching vacancy include Oregon assistant Mark Wasikowski, Pepperdine coach Steve Rodriguez, Cal Santa Barbara coach Andrew Checketts, Cleveland Indians bench coach Brad Mills (a former Wildcat), former ASU coach Pat Murphy (Triple-A manager at El Paso), New Mexico coach Ray Birmingham and Vanderbilt assistant Travis Jewett.
ALLSPORTSTUCSON.com publisher, writer and editor Javier Morales is a former Arizona Press Club award winner. He has also written articles for Bleacher Report and Lindy’s College Sports.
