5 best college baseball coaches in 2024 ft. Jim Schlossnagle
With the College World Series concluding, it's time to assess the leaders of college baseball. Once upon a time, the college game was dominated by veteran coaches who stuck around forever. But most of those guys are gone. In their place, many of today's top coaches are young, dynamic leaders, winning titles and gaining control of the sport.
Here are the five best college baseball coaches in 2024.
5 best college baseball coaches in 2024
5. Tim Corbin, Vanderbilt
At age 62, Corbin has become one of college baseball's elder statesmen. And while Vanderbilt's credentials are getting a bit dated, nobody can argue with Corbin's overall body of work.
Corbin is 921-443-1 in his head coaching career. He started at NAIA/NCAA Division II Presbyterian and then was an assistant at Clemson. He's been at Vandy since 2003. He's led the Commodores to five College World Series appearances and a pair of titles in 2014 and 2019.
He's won four SEC regular-season titles and three SEC Tournament titles.
4. Jay Johnson, LSU
The highest-paid coach in the sport (at least until Texas gets sorted out), Johnson is a bona fide star. Brought over from Arizona, where he had made two College World Series appearances, the 47-year-old Johnson has already won a title for the Tigers in the 2023 College World Series.
Johnson is 454-234 overall and is 137-62 in his three years at LSU. He's only 47 years old and has a bright future in the sport. Johnson was a great hire by the Tigers and figures to fill the LSU trophy cases in the years to come.
3. Dave Van Horn, Arkansas
Van Horn, who is 63 years old, has done everything the sport has to offer except win a national title. Despite that, he's a coaching legend. He can claim nine College World Series appearances and came within a dropped pop-up in 2018 of a title.
Van Horn has won 883 games at Arkansas. He also took Nebraska to Omaha twice before taking the Arkansas job before the 2003 season. Van Horn is a three-time SEC Coach of the Year and was Baseball America's National Coach of the Year in 2001. Again, he's done it all... except for winning it all.
2. Tony Vitello, Tennessee
At 45, Vitello, who is rumored to be considering the Texas job, is one of the top young coaches in the sport. Tennesee is his first head coaching job and he took the position in 2018 after serving as an assistant under Dave Van Horn at Arkansas.
In Vitello's first season, Tennessee was 29-27. Now, he's taken them to three College World Series appearances in the last four years and is playing for a title on Monday night.
1. Jim Schlossnagle, Texas A&M
Schlossnagle was the longtime coach at TCU, where he took the Horned Frogs to five College World Series appearances. He took the A&M job before the 2022 season and has now added two more appearances in three seasons with the Aggies. Of course, A&M is also playing for the national title tonight.
Schlossnagle is just 53 years old and has already won 945 Division I games. He's 134-61 at A&M and seems certain to continue to improve on his already sterling record. Having taken two straight teams to the top of the sport, he'll be a name to watch as coaching vacancies pop up in future months.
Which coaches do you think are the best in college baseball? Share your thoughts below in our comments section!