Head coaches that are reportedly emerging for Arizona Baseball

With Arizona Baseball looking to replace previous head coach Jay Johnson, a few candidates have emerged for the new coaching vacancy. 

Well, it is a day that came sooner than many have wanted or anticipated, but after six successful seasons with Arizona Baseball, Jay Johnson is moving on to become the head coach at LSU.

Already, the search for a new head coach is underway, and there are plenty of names, rumors, and conjecture out there for the Wildcats.

Arizona Wildcats

With many candidates’ names popping up, we take a comprehensive look at some of the early, potential candidates that have emerged according to the Arizona Daily Star and D1Baseball (the site uses a paywall on some content). With that said, here we go…

Andrew Checketts

Age: 45
Position: Head Coach
Current Team: USCB
Record: 330–199–3 (.631)
NCAA: 9-9
Alma Mater: Oregon State

Coaching Resume:

Riverside Community College (Assistant) – 2001
UC Riverside (Assistant) – 2002-07
Oregon (Assistant) – 2008-11
UCSB (Head Coach) –2012-Present

Pros:

One of the best young coaches from a smaller school, he is a name that is emerging as a potential candidate at Arizona, and rightfully so. Andrew was considered back in 2015 before the Wildcats hired Johnson.

He has seen a solid amount of postseason success, making the NCAA Tournament five times in 10 seasons with a College World Series appearance in 2016. He’s also a solid recruiter and developer, having had a few high draft picks from UCSB.

Cons:

Will he actually leave UCSB? He’s been offered other jobs before but has turned them down, so something is keeping him in Santa Barbara. Is it really the weather and climate keeping him there? Perhaps, but maybe he’s comfortable with his success and being the big fish in a small pond.

Chip Hale

Age: 56
Position: Third Base Coach
Current Team: Detroit Tigers
Record: 148–176 (.457)
Alma Mater: Arizona

Resume:

As a Player:

Minnesota Twins – 1989-90, 1993-96
Los Angeles Dodgers –1997

As a Coach:

Tucson Sidewinders (Manager) – 2004-06
Arizona Diamondbacks (Bench Coach) – 2007-09
New York Mets (Third Base Coach)– 2010-11
Oakland Athletics (Bench Coach) – 2012-14, 2017
Arizona Diamondbacks (Manager) – 2015-16
Washington Nationals (Bench Coach) – 2018–20
Detroit Tigers (Third Base Coach) – 2021–Present

Pros:

Some have a soft spot for Chip Hale because of what he means to Arizona Baseball. He was a standout player and has since had a pretty extensive coaching career that has given him plenty of experience. Mostly coaching at the professional level and having some managerial experience, naturally, there is some appeal here.

Cons:

His record isn’t that great and his time spent as the Skipper of the D-Backs indicates that. The guy also has zero college coaching experience and zero recruiting experience. Most of his luster with his potential hire, simply comes from the fact he was a former player with the Wildcats.

Shelley Duncan

Age: 41
Position: Analytics Coordinator
Current Team: Chicago White Sox 
Alma Mater: Arizona

Resume:

As a Player:

Arizona –1999-01
New York Yankees – 2007-09
Cleveland Indians –2010-12
Tampa Bay Rays –2013

As a Coach:

Hillsboro Hops (Manager) – 2015
Visalia Rawhide (Manager) – 2017
Jackson Generals (Manager) – 2018
Toronto Blue Jays (Major League Field Coordinator) – 2019-20
Chicago White Sox (Analytics Coordinator) – 2021-Present

Pros:

A former standout at Arizona, Shelley Duncan was also a legend at the local Canyon Del Oro High School in Tucson. He has great experience as a player and coach and has a lot of draw from Tucson considering his background. He loves Arizona and would bring a local element that could be exciting.

Cons:

Like Hale, he doesn’t have any coaching experience in college. Perhaps it is no big deal, but it is at least a little concerning, and how does he adjust to being a head coach in college that suddenly has to worry about recruiting and getting guys through schools versus coaching a minor league team. Two, completely different animals.

Andy Stankiewicz

Age: 56
Position: Head Coach
Current Team: Grand Canyon
Record: 300–218-2 (.579)
NCAA: 0-2
Alma Mater: Pepperdine

Resume:

As a Player:

Pepperdine – 1983-86
New York Yankees – 1992-93
Houston Astros – 1994-95
Montreal Expos – 1996-97
Arizona Diamondbacks – 1998

As a Coach:

Staten Island Yankees (Manager) – 2004-05
New York Yankees (Scout) – 2006
Arizona State Sun Devils (Assistant Scout) – 2006-09
Grand Canyon Antelopes (Head Coach) – 2012-Present

Pros:

A coach steadily rising the ranks, he is building a solid baseball program at Grand Canyon. Disregard the record, he transitioned the team from Division II baseball to Division I, and from 2014-17, the program was ineligible from the NCAA Tournament because of the transition.

He took the team to the NCAA Tournament for this first time this season before getting swept by Arizona and Oklahoma State. However, he has his program trending in the right direction and with better facilities and resources, the sky could be the limit.

Cons:

As solid as he has been at GCU, he has had some seasons that have been a bit lackluster like finishing 25-28-1 in 2016, 29-25 in 2017, and 33-24 in 2018. Also, he has had limited experience coaching in the NCAA Tournament. How would he able to handle it with higher expectations at Arizona?

Jordan Bischel

Age: 40
Position: Head Coach
School: Central Michigan
Record: 311–159 (.662)
NCAA: 3-4
Alma Mater: St. Norbert College

Coaching Resume:

St. Norbert College (Assistant) – 2004-06
John Carroll (Assistant) – 2007-09
Northwest Missouri State (Assistant) – 2010-12
Midland University (Head Coach) – 2013-14
Northwood University (Head Coach) – 2015-18
Central Michigan (Head Coach) –2019-Present

Pros:

A rising young head coach, he took over at Central Michigan in 2019 and hasn’t looked back. Compiling a 100-38 record, he has been impressive and even almost came away victorious in the 2021 NCAA Regional. With more resources and better facilities at Arizona, there’s no telling what he could do in Tucson.

Cons:

Will he actually leave for Arizona and the West Coast? With him virtually having no ties to Arizona or the West Coast, does this move make sense for him? Sure, Arizona is arguably a Top 10 job in college baseball, but does he have his eyes set for an East Coast or Midwest school?