Dec. 3, 2013

Murphy Replaces Pinzino at W&M

Tribe’s head coach joins staff at Oklahoma

By Sean Ryan

CollegeBaseballInsider.com Co-Founder

sean@collegebaseballinsider.com @collbaseball

Brian Murphy, an assistant coach in his second year at William & Mary, today will be named head baseball coach of the Tribe after head coach Jamie Pinzino joined the staff at Oklahoma as pitching coach.

Pinzino guided the Tribe to its first NCAA Regional since 2001 – and the first at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament in school history – in his only season as the Tribe’s head coach. He takes over at Oklahoma for Jack Giese, who resigned last month, as reported first by Perfect Game.

“It was obviously a tough decision for me,” Pinzino said Tuesday morning. “The time I spent here at William & Mary, it was a great two-and-a-half years for me…you couldn’t have asked for more.”

But the appeal of coaching with new Sooners coach Pete Hughes, a coach he’s known for years from their time in the Northeast, and at a program like Oklahoma was too difficult to pass up for Pinzino and his family. He and his wife Cheryl Mulligan – whom Pinzino said has no plans to stop as the head softball coach at Tufts University, which went 46-3 and won the Division III softball national championship last year – welcomed a baby boy named Henry in August.

“You never know if you’re going to get the opportunity again to coach at a place like Oklahoma,” Pinzino said.

Murphy, who was the recruiting coordinator on Pinzino’s staff at Bryant University, came to William & Mary before last season after three years as the recruiting coordinator and hitting coach at Brown. In his first season with the Tribe, Murphy guided the hitters on a team that went 39-24 and beat Ole Miss twice at the Raleigh Regional (the first NCAA wins in program history).

“Obviously, it’s definitely exciting; we’re thrilled to keep working with the guys,” Murphy said of taking over for Pinzino. “I’ve learned a lot from him and owe a lot to him. Part of the appeal of this is to continue the momentum he’s started.”

Pinzino added, “Brian’s been a huge part of our success at William & Mary. I have all the faith that he’s going to do a great job. The program’s in great shape here.”

(photos courtesy of W&M Media Relations Office)