July 19, 2004
KENT, Ohio – Scott Stricklin has been named head baseball coach at Kent State University, his alma mater, after three years as assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Georgia Tech.
Stricklin replaces long-time head coach Rick Rembielak, who accepted the head coaching position at Wake Forest on June 29.
“During this process, we really wanted to continue the outstanding tradition of Kent State baseball coaches in Danny Hall and Rick Rembielak and we have found that in Scott Stricklin,” Kent State Director of Athletics Laing Kennedy said.
“Scott brings character and integrity to our program. He was an outstanding baseball player here at Kent State, was All-MAC, and he is someone with national program experience. Scott and his wife Cheri bring the kind of values and character to continue the tradition of excellence of Kent State baseball.”
Stricklin, 32, arrives at Kent State after serving the last three seasons as assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Georgia Tech under former Kent State head coach Danny Hall. Stricklin was responsible for the Yellow Jackets’ hitters while working with the catchers as well as serving as the team’s first base coach. Stricklin, who also was a volunteer coach at Georgia Tech from 1998-99, rejoined Hall’s staff in July 2001 after spending the previous two years as pitching coach at Vanderbilt in 2000-01.
“I’m very excited about the opportunity to come back to Kent State,” Stricklin said. “It’s an honor to take over a program that has had great tradition under Danny Hall and Rick Rembielak. This is an exciting time for this program because of the generosity of the Schoonover family and the stadium project and under the leadership of Laing Kennedy, I feel this program is ready to take the next step.”
In his role as Georgia Tech’s recruiting coordinator, Stricklin landed a recruiting class that was ranked No. 1 in the nation by both Baseball America and Collegiate Baseball in 2002. That class included a pair of second round draft picks in Micah Owings and Tyler Greene, the highest drafted players ever to enroll at Georgia Tech, in addition to the highly regarded Jason Neighborgall. The Yellow Jackets’ 2003 recruiting class also was ranked among the best in the nation.
As the recruiting coordinator at Vanderbilt, Stricklin attracted a nationally-ranked recruiting class in his final year with the Commodores that was ranked seventh in the nation by Baseball America magazine.
Stricklin’s first year back at Georgia Tech was extremely successful as the Yellow Jackets won a school-record 52 games and advanced to the College World Series in 2002. Under Stricklin’s direction, Yellow Jacket hitters produced one of the most successful seasons ever. The Yellow Jackets hit .330 as a team, including six regulars who batted .340 or higher, and averaged more than eight runs per game. Georgia Tech was the top hitting team in the 2002 College World Series with a .392 team batting average.
In 2003, Stricklin helped lead the Yellow Jackets to the Atlantic Coast Conference championship by sweeping North Carolina, Florida State and North Carolina State on the final day of the tournament in the first triple-header in ACC history.
In 2004, Stricklin helped the Yellow Jackets to a 44-21 record, the ACC regular season championship, and a return trip to the NCAA Super Regional.
A class-A all-star in 1994, Stricklin played five seasons of minor league baseball, retiring in the spring of 1998 after a major league spring training stint with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. Following his selection by the Minnesota Twins in the 23rd round of the June 1993 draft, he played the 1994 and 1995 seasons in the Twins organization, reaching the triple-A level. He signed as a free agent with the Atlanta Braves in 1996, playing double-A ball at Greenville and then with the Tampa Bay organization in 1997.
Stricklin lettered three seasons as a catcher at Kent State for Hall. He earned All-Mid-American Conference honors in 1992 and 1993 and was named to the 1993 NCAA South II Regional All-Tournament team. In those two seasons, he handled pitching staffs ranked No. 1 and No. 2 in the nation in earned-run average.
Stricklin graduated magna cum laude from Kent State in 1995 with a bachelor’s degree in marketing. Stricklin and his wife Cheri have one daughter Sydney, 2, and newborn son, Cale.
THE Scott Stricklin FILE:
Stricklin’s Resume:
1998-99: Georgia Tech, Volunteer Assistant
2000-01: Vanderbilt, Pitching Coach/Recruiting Coordinator
2002-04: Georgia Tech, Assistant Coach/Recruiting Coordinator
Professional Career:
1993: Selected by the Minnesota Twins in the June free agent draft
1994: Catcher for double-A Nashville and triple-A Salt Lake City. Starting catcher in Midwest League all-star game
1996: Signed as a free agent with the Atlanta Braves, played entire season with double-A Greenville
1997: Signed as a free agent with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, played entire season with single-A St. Petersburg
1998: Participated in major league spring training with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays
College Career:
1991-93: Three-year letterwinner at Kent State
1993: Named to the NCAA All-South II Region team in Baton Rouge, La. Named second team All-MAC
1992: Named honorable mention All-MAC
