Arizona Baseball hangs on to Key Piece with Daniel Susac’s return

With the departure of head coach Jay Johnson and a dozen or so players in the transfer portal, Daniel Susac sent a loud message showing his unwavering support of Arizona Baseball even without a coach.

It has been a whirlwind of events for Arizona Baseball the past week or so as first came the news of a head coach Jay Johnson departing for purple and yellow pastures anew. Then it was pitching coach Nate Yeskie who is leaving for the Lonestar State.

Well, the news hasn’t stopped there as about a dozen current players put their name in the all too famous transfer portal.

As the list of names grew larger and larger, we awaited word from one of the star freshmen of the Wildcats, and at 5:02 PM we got the word via Twitter that catcher Daniel Susac is fully committed to remaining an Arizona Wildcat.

Just like that, what felt like a day that could only get worse for Arizona Baseball, suddenly saw its fortunes turn around a bit.

Arizona Wildcats

Now of course losing others that appear to be heading east to Baton Rouge may sting, however, when you get a loud and convincing statement from one of the cornerstones of your program that he is staying around, that’s a huge deal.

Coaching search starting to gain momentum, with Daniel Susac returning for Arizona Baseball.

As the Arizona Baseball coaching search heats up, Shelley Duncan among the most intriguing.

As shared previously, names are starting to emerge for the head coach position, and with today’s news that one of the key cogs will be hanging around Tucson a bit longer, the job will still likely attract some of the best coaching talent to be interested.

It will be very interesting to see the path that Arizona Athletic Director Dave Heeke and President Dr. Robert Robbins decide to take with the opening.

Already the two have tapped into the pro ranks twice to fill the coaching vacancies with Jedd Fisch (Football) and Becca Moros (Soccer). Of course with the hiring of Caitlin Lowe (Softball) and Tommy Lloyd (Men’s Basketball), Heeke has not shied away from established assistant coaches either, so the field could still be wide open.

Of the coaches that have been rumored so far, and from previous experience up close watching him relate and develop players, Shelley Duncan is my very early leader in the clubhouse. His Arizona ties cannot be overstated, and the work he has done in the lower minor leagues is what draws me most to him.

After Arizona Baseball has been metaphorically burned and then had gasoline thrown over it in the past week, Duncan’s skill development, as well as his Arizona ties can not be overstated. He knows the new age MLB, and he also knows what it is going to take to get guys there in the analytics era of baseball. To me, that’s going to be a huge draw for recruits.

We can have the conversation about his lack of recruiting acumen sure, but if he can relate and develop players as he did in the minors, he just needs to find a strong recruiting skilled assistant or two, and the Cats are back in business. Bear Down, Arizona!