|
Entering his third season at the helm, head coach Brian Shoop has the UAB baseball program headed in the right direction. His first two seasons have been marked by significant improvements on the diamond and a high standard of success away from the field. UAB saw immediate changes during Shoop's first season in 2007. The Blazers improved from an eighth-place Conference USA finish the previous year to a three-way tie for fourth place, marking the best finish for the program since 1998. The biggest change for the Blazers came at the plate, where the team raised its batting average from .267 to .296. That rise continued in 2008 as UAB finished second in C-USA with a team batting average of .311. Shoop coached Ryan Keedy to third-team All-American status a season ago. Keedy turned in one of the best statistical seasons in UAB history, leading C-USA with a .423 batting average and setting a school record with 29 doubles. The eventual 16th-round draft pick of the Chicago Cubs also blasted 10 home runs and drove in 69 runs. Keedy earned first-team all-league honors, while teammate Phil Bell earned second-team recognition and Nick Crawford was selected to the all-freshman team. The 2008 season was also highlighted by the Blazers' academic success. UAB earned the C-USA Sport Academic award for baseball after posting a team GPA of 3.06 for the 2007-08 academic year. The team continued its success during the recent fall semester when four players -- Keith DePew, James Oliver, Mikael Saway and Ryan Woolley -- managed perfect 4.0 GPAs, and the team produced an overall GPA of 3.11 Since arriving at UAB, Shoop has tallied 51 wins to put him over 700 victories for his career. The 19-year coaching veteran and member of the Alabama Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame owns a career record of 743-374-1 (.665). Shoop was appointed as the head coach of the UAB baseball program on June 12, 2006 by Interim Director of Athletics Richard Margison. "When we called other head coaches to get input on prospective candidates, almost every person said `you've got the best person right in Birmingham in Brian Shoop,'" said Margison upon Shoop's hiring. "He graduates players, he coaches a very competitive, winning program, and he's involved in the community. We are very excited about the future of our baseball program under his leadership." Shoop came to UAB after serving 17 seasons at the helm of the Birmingham-Southern program, where he compiled a record of 692-307-1 (.692). Last November, the school inducted Shoop into its Sports Hall of Fame. The winningest coach all-time at Birmingham-Southern, Shoop won 40 games or more nine times, including an eight-year run from 1994-2001 that was capped off with a 55-win season. He finished with at least 32 wins in 16 of his 17 years at the school with his only sub-32-win season coming in his first campaign back in 1990. In moving to UAB from Birmingham-Southern, Shoop was granted the opportunity to bring his entire staff with him after sharing an immense amount of success with them. "One of the great things about making the move to UAB was the opportunity and ability to bring my whole coaching staff with me," Shoop said. "We're on the same page, we are heading in the same direction, and there is a unity within the staff. We have the same goals and mission for the program and, to me, that is vital. I'm thankful to have this bunch of coaches. They work so hard, and I appreciate their attitude and how they go about things." With the move to UAB, Shoop and his staff found themselves in one of the toughest conferences in the nation. The conference season has always been a time when his teams have shined in the past, capturing a remarkable 209 victories in league play at Birmingham-Southern. Under Shoop, the Panthers claimed the Big South regular season championship in two of his last three years at Birmingham-Southern (2004 and 2006). His 2004 squad earned a berth in the NCAA Athens Regional following a 47-18 season that made him the recipient of the 2004 Big South Conference Coach of the Year award as well as the ABCA Coach of the Year honor. When speaking of recruiting the finest talent in the country, Shoop believes UAB is a premier institution to attract quality young men and players. "When I took the job here, a lot of people would say that I'd have to lower my standards in what we were looking for in young men, and I kept saying, `why?'" Shoop said. "We have a 14-point plan and we try to stick to that. We graduated 67 straight players at Birmingham-Southern, and I'm fully committed to these kids getting their UAB degree. "We try to be pretty thorough through interviews, and I hope that we're not compromising character for ability. We have a higher expectation of our guys off the field than on the field, and we want the school and community to view the UAB baseball program as a source of pride. My experience is that winning has been a by-product of doing things the right way." Shoop's goal is to instill a winning tradition at UAB that stems from the philosophy of building a well-rounded team. "We're trying to recruit a pitching staff that gives us a chance to win, and we put a very high value on defense," he said. "We'll try and recruit a balanced offense. I don't really want sluggers like the `Bronx Bombers' one through nine. I want a combination offense that has a balance between bunting, running and power. I want to be able to attack the game in multiple ways. We want mentally tough guys who are hard workers, and we also try to recruit good families. What their moms and dads are like is important to us." At Birmingham-Southern, Shoop's teams averaged 41 wins a season and captured nine regular season conference titles and eight leauge tournament championships. He led his squads to 10 regional appearances and finished no worse than third, with three runner-up finishes and four regional titles. The Panthers were ranked in the final NAIA poll in 10 of Shoop's first 12 seasons, including eight top-10 rankings and four top-five finishes. In 2006, his final season with the Panthers marked the 16th straight winning season for Birmingham-Southern as his team finished 33-22. In 2001, Birmingham-Southern's final year of NAIA competition, Shoop led the Panthers to a school record 55 wins on the way to claiming the NAIA National Championship, the program's first-ever national title. Shoop was named the 2001 NAIA National Coach of the Year and Region XI coach of the year from the ABCA. Following the Panthers' run to the 2001 national championship, Shoop was selected to greet President George W. Bush at the Birmingham International Airport during his visit to Alabama and the "Magic City." Shoop has been the recipient of his fair share of accolades from his peers during his time spent as a head coach. Twice he was named TransSouth Conference Coach of the Year, and he has been honored as the ABCA Mid-South Region Coach of the Year on three occasions. Shoop was named either conference or district coach of the year in seven of his last 11 years at Birmingham-Southern, and he served as the NAIA Southeastern Region Baseball Chairman for four years. In his career, he has been the guest speaker at the ABCA National Convention three times, and in 1996, he was inducted into the Malone (Ohio) College Athletic Hall of Fame. Before running the Birmingham-Southern program, Shoop served as an assistant coach at Mississippi State under legendary head coach Ron Polk. Over a seven-year span (1983-89), he helped the Bulldogs win three Southeastern Conference (SEC) championships and earn six regional appearances and a College World Series appearance in 1985. During his tenure in Starkville, Shoop coached Major League Baseball standouts Will Clark, Rafael Palmeiro, Jeff Brantley and Bobby Thigpen and was instrumental in recruiting some of the top players in America. Shoop has also helped to develop some of the game's top NCAA Division I coaches in Matt Bragga (head coach, Tennessee Tech), Bob Keller (assistant coach, Michigan), Daron Schoenrock (head coach, Memphis) and Butch Thompson (assistant coach, Mississippi State) to name a few. "It has been a blessing and privilege to work with coach Shoop," said UAB assistant Perry Roth. "He is, in my opinion, the best coach in all of America. He is incredibly organized and prepared and thinks the game at a different level. What truly separates him is his love for his players and his faith. When you have an opportunity to be around him, you can't help but grow as a coach and grow as a person." An Ohio native, Shoop began his coaching career at his alma mater, Malone (Ohio) College, where he was an all-district performer. Malone was the Ohio NAIA champion in each of Shoop's six years as a player and coach. He earned a double degree in physical education and business/economics from Malone and a master's degree in sports administration from Kent State University. He has also completed his doctoral course work in educational leadership at Mississippi State. Shoop and his wife, Brenda, reside in Birmingham with their five children: Scott (22), Emily (20), Hannah (17), and twins Sarah and Jesse (13). |
|||||||||||||||
 |
