With former Liberty Baseball Heach Coach Jim Toman and the school deciding to part ways last week, Liberty is on the hunt for a new skipper.  Athletic Director Jeff Barber will likely have many resumes to sift through for the position due to Liberty’s plethora of on campus resources.

Here are some of the names that we are hearing as possible candidates for the job…

Scott Jackson – Jackson is the current Assistant Coach and Recruiting Coordinator at UNC Chapel Hill.  He was Liberty’s pitching Coach back in 2008 under Toman.   UNC has a record of 311-135 during Jackson’s time in Chapel Hill and have turned in six NCAA tournament appearances, including three College World Series apperances in 2009, 2011 and 2013. Baseball America recognized Jackson as one of the top assistant coaches in the country prior to the 2013 campaign.

Rick Robinson – Robinson is the current Head Coach at UT Martin having just completed his second season at the school.   Utmsports.com had this to say about Robinson:

“Robinson boasts 18 years of head coaching experience, including a 16-year stretch transforming Young Harris College into a junior college and NCAA Division-II powerhouse. Robinson sports a 716-316 career head coaching record (.694 winning percentage) and boasts four 50-win seasons, eight conference championships, five Region XVII championships and one NJCAA World Series appearance.”

Brandon Inge – Inge is one of the more intriguing candidates for the Liberty Job as he has plenty of MLB experience, but lacks in coaching experience.  He went to Brookville High School in Lynchburg and lives in Lynchburg today.   Inge was a super utillity man during his time in the majors Playing for the Tigers, Athletics, and Pirates.  He played college ball in state at VCU as well.

Inge would be a similar hire to Dot Richardson, the current LU softball coach, in that he has plenty of playing experience, but has never been a head coach.  If Jeff Barber wants to make a “flashy” hire this might be one of his better options.

Graham Sikes – Sikes is a current Assistant Coach and Recruiting Coordinator at Michigan State University and a former Liberty Baseball player.  Prior to coaching at  Michigan State Sikes was an assistant at Notre Dame, James Madison, Nicholls State, Independence Community College (KS), and coached under another current LU coaching candidate Rick Robinson at Young Harris College.

Sikes bio on msuspartans.com on his Liberty days: “Sikes was a four-year letterman at Liberty in Lynchburg, Va., helping lead the Flames to a pair of Big South Conference championships and two NCAA Regional appearances. During his career as the Flames’ catcher, Sikes threw out better than 50 percent of attempted base-stealers. He started behind the plate for the team’s win over Seton Hall in the South Atlantic Regional, producing the school’s first NCAA Tournament victory in any sport.  During his senior season, Liberty finished among the nation’s top-10 leaders in nearly every offensive statistic, as the Flames hit .337 with 86 home runs, 30 triples, 151 doubles and 111 stolen bases. Twenty-four of his Liberty teammates went on to careers in professional baseball.”

Dan Heefner – Heefner is the current Head Coach at Dallas Baptist and seems to also be in the mix for the University of Texas job.  According to sources, Heefner has turned down high profile Power 5 schools in the past to stay at DBU, so its not likely he’s interested in moving.   Hefner is a terrific coach and would likely be a great fit at LU if he were to be interested.

Craig Gibson – The current Head Coach at Mercer since the 2004 season where he graduated from in 1986.  Before the 2016 season Gibson’s record at Mercer was 393-290 with 3 NCAA regional appearances.

Tim Teufel –  Teufel is the current New York Mets 3rd Base Coach and played 11 years in the Majors winning a World Series Pennant in 1986 with the Mets.  Teuful’s son, Shawn, was a position player turned pitcher at Liberty from 2006-2010.  Teufel has plenty of coaching experience at the pro level, but no experience as a college coach.

We are also hearing that there is at least one other current head coach of a D1 program that is interested in the open position, though they will have to remain nameless for the time being.  We will keep you posted as the coaching search continues and we gather more information.