Will Bolt hired to be the next head baseball coach

[TheNewNU]

If Bolt had played at Washington State or Oregon and not NU people would be blasting this hire. This is not a splash hire, this isnt even a good one. It's a complete shot in the dark. Something I thought we were done with since Moos is driving the car. Very little head coaching experience never done particularly well even as an assistant. Head scratcher. But looks like baseball tickets in Lincoln will remain easy to come by.

 

[JohnRossEwing]

Not for a sport that loses 750,000-million a year.

Yeah I get that...but for years they operated like that and it was no big deal...now they are making more money than ever from the BTN and face it, one Husker home football game covers baseball for the year (I would imagine)

 

[JohnRossEwing]

Unfortunately, most small town kids have so much football and basketball stuff going on in the summer that baseball has kind of taken a back seat. Sad, but true.

Shoot a lot of HS programs in the state of NE don't even compete anymore.

 

[TheNewNU]

Shoot a lot of HS programs in the state of NE don't even compete anymore.

They're are maybe 50 schools that have Spring baseball programs. Maybe. 20 guys a team you only have 1000 kids to choose from maybe 10 are good enough to play d1 3 to 5 are good enough to play Power 5. It's a real struggle.

 

[donahues17]

Only time will tell, but to be fair many football HCs also gave Mike Riley rave reviews.

Riley wasnt hired to necessarily come here and win as everyone he knew, knew he wouldnt. Riley was hired for PR purposes only. He was hired to repair what Bipolarini broke in terms of Nebraska football reputation in the way if being the respectful nice people we are

Bolt will be a good hire in my opinion. He is that up and coming assistant that has learned under some great coaches. How many times has a team he has been a coach at went to a regional at least? I like this hire a ton better than Oregon states hire and they have baseball tradition.

 

[JohnRossEwing]

They're are maybe 50 schools that have Spring baseball programs. Maybe. 20 guys a team you only have 1000 kids to choose from maybe 10 are good enough to play d1 3 to 5 are good enough to play Power 5. It's a real struggle.

Shoot there are Class A schools in Omaha that don't have baseball teams anymore, it is unreal. Benson combines with North now.

 

[saluno22]

They're are maybe 50 schools that have Spring baseball programs. Maybe. 20 guys a team you only have 1000 kids to choose from maybe 10 are good enough to play d1 3 to 5 are good enough to play Power 5. It's a real struggle.

Looks like 62 total teams registered with the NSAA last school year for baseball. (But there are some really small schools, and one is JV only.)

 

[DonlugoQ]

Shoot a lot of HS programs in the state of NE don't even compete anymore.

I guess I was referring more to the towns that have legion baseball; not necessarily high school programs.

 

[oldjar07]

Both Riley and Bolt had no real accomplishments when hired. Bolt has no D1 experience as an HC. Getting a proven D1 coach is not a guarantee of success, but it leads to more confidence that it can be done again. LIke I said I never said Bolt can't be or won't be a great coach here. All Im saying is a wait and see approach is not being unrealistic. Going bat shit crazy for a guy before even stepping foot in the state is bit premature.

The comparison to Riley is just stupid. Riley proved throughout his entire career he was nothing more than an average coach at best. Bolt has worked under a great coach at a very good program and knows what it takes to get to that level. He also has head coaching experience. I'd much rather take a chance on an up and comer with potential than with a washed up old guy who hasn't accomplished anything in his entire career.

 

[Solana Beach Husker]

I love the posters who act as if this is a home run hire. I hope he is successful, but Moos did not do it again. Frost and Hoiberg were his first and only choices and he got them. Even the D1 baseball article announcing we hired Bolt said they reached out to Childress and Pat Casey first. So at best he was the third option and there may have been others before Moos settled on Will.

This isn’t to say I’m disappointed with Moos, don’t think he had much choice. I think he found out this isn’t as desirable of a job as some think. I thought it was laughable that some thought that if we just backed up the Brinks truck we could have whoever we wanted. I’ve said for a long time, that we need to get lucky and hire a low level up and comer like DVH.

As for the staff hires, I hope that’s wrong. Jeff Christy was a catcher. Do catchers make good pitching coaches?

Stop acting like the huskers have a baseball program...moving NU to the big 10 was akin to taking a fence post and slamming it through a guys frontal cortex and still thinking they are the same person. The big 10 not only castrated us from any decent recruiting but it placed us in a league with no historical success which no D1 coach would think was an upgrade. Erstad was a our best hope, was a good coach, but couldn't convince any sort of talent to come to a northern school with terrible weather, in a terrible conference. Baseball is only playable for about 2 months out of the entire year...most of our kids will return to their homes in June, July, and August to play in some other leagues to hone their skills. Big 10 was a bad move, but especially bad for baseball.

 

[saluno22]

Stop acting like the huskers have a baseball program...moving NU to the big 10 was akin to taking a fence post and slamming it through a guys frontal cortex and still thinking they are the same person. The big 10 not only castrated us from any decent recruiting but it placed us in a league with no historical success which no D1 coach would think was an upgrade. Erstad was a our best hope, was a good coach, but couldn't convince any sort of talent to come to a northern school with terrible weather, in a terrible conference. Baseball is only playable for about 2 months out of the entire year...most of our kids will return to their homes in June, July, and August to play in some other leagues to hone their skills. Big 10 was a bad move, but especially bad for baseball.

Regarding the bold part, a lot of players migrate to summer leagues away from their university teams. Other than that and "Erstad was our best hope", I agree with you that the Big Ten lowered our competitive ceiling considerably.

 

[Husker.Wed.]

Stop acting like the huskers have a baseball program...moving NU to the big 10 was akin to taking a fence post and slamming it through a guys frontal cortex and still thinking they are the same person. The big 10 not only castrated us from any decent recruiting but it placed us in a league with no historical success which no D1 coach would think was an upgrade. Erstad was a our best hope, was a good coach, but couldn't convince any sort of talent to come to a northern school with terrible weather, in a terrible conference. Baseball is only playable for about 2 months out of the entire year...most of our kids will return to their homes in June, July, and August to play in some other leagues to hone their skills. Big 10 was a bad move, but especially bad for baseball.

I can think of 51.1 million reasons the move to the B1G was not a bad deal.

 

[scarletred]

I can think of 51.1 million reasons the move to the B1G was not a bad deal.

No kidding... Nebraska sure didn’t move to the B1G for the sake of Baseball.

 

[planored]

Mich just beat TT today. Bolt has years of connections in TX as a coach which is huge. A Juco HC in baseball is completely diff than football because of scholarships. D1 teams place kids in a Juco for them to play and bringing them in after yr 1 or 2. I bet he is an upgrade over Erstad in recruiting and coaching. We shall see

 

[Solana Beach Husker]

I can think of 51.1 million reasons the move to the B1G was not a bad deal.

Who is getting the money?

1. Are you richer personally because of the move?
2. We haven't won anything and we are like 63rd in overall sports.
3. Since moving to the big 10 we have no championships, and have paid over 10 million to force hired coaches to leave our state and never come back.
4. Despite sinking millions into facilities we have see a regression in basketball, baseball, and football. Yeah, a 4-7 season is still bad even with Frost at the helm.

You have no evidence other than some rich guys have gotten richer...the money isn't making NU athletics better and we know the university as a whole is in big trouble.

 

[Baxter48]

I’ll wait before I say a good hire, great hire or poor hire. At least he has head coaching experience that more than DE had. It is good for the stand point of he has Texas connections for recruits. One thing that is a concern is that his wife doesn’t like living in Nebraska or so I heard.

 

[F5Tornado]

Stop acting like the huskers have a baseball program...moving NU to the big 10 was akin to taking a fence post and slamming it through a guys frontal cortex and still thinking they are the same person. The big 10 not only castrated us from any decent recruiting but it placed us in a league with no historical success which no D1 coach would think was an upgrade. Erstad was a our best hope, was a good coach, but couldn't convince any sort of talent to come to a northern school with terrible weather, in a terrible conference. Baseball is only playable for about 2 months out of the entire year...most of our kids will return to their homes in June, July, and August to play in some other leagues to hone their skills. Big 10 was a bad move, but especially bad for baseball.

You know, we just don't see those frontal cortex references here like we used to!

 

[schuele]

I’ll wait before I say a good hire, great hire or poor hire. At least he has head coaching experience that more than DE had. It is good for the stand point of he has Texas connections for recruits. One thing that is a concern is that his wife doesn’t like living in Nebraska or so I heard.

She might like living in Lincoln a lot more when he's getting paid a head coach's salary. $300K to $400K goes pretty far there.

I wish Moos would have cast a wider net, but I like this hire a lot more than the one made 8 years ago.

 

[HuskerHusaria]

I'll be honest here. I've made it a habit perennially, since DVH, to follow NU baseball this time of year.

I haven't really followed the team under Erstad. I'm aware of the results though...

Am I wrong to give pause, about getting behind yet another NU alumni; instead of getting a coach, in general, with great promise?

 

[Crazyhole]

They're are maybe 50 schools that have Spring baseball programs. Maybe. 20 guys a team you only have 1000 kids to choose from maybe 10 are good enough to play d1 3 to 5 are good enough to play Power 5. It's a real struggle.

When I was in high school we had 2 pro scouts living in my town (8000 people), one for the Braves and one for the Padres. I was talking to one of them about it and he said that Nebraska has a ton of baseball talent here but there isn't a good enough system in place to develop it. 2 of my classmates ended up playing AAA ball so I have to think he was somewhat correct. It's just weird that baseball doesn't get much attention here.

 

[schuele]

I'll be honest here. I've made it a habit perennially, since DVH, to follow NU baseball this time of year.

I haven't really followed the team under Erstad. I'm aware of the results though...

Am I wrong to give pause, about getting behind yet another NU alumni; instead of getting a coach, in general, with great promise?

You're not wrong, but Bolt could check both of those boxes. While his ties to NU certainly got him this job, he's built a pretty strong resume and had a good chance of becoming a major conference coach elsewhere at some point.

 

[HuskerHusaria]

You're not wrong, but Bolt could check both of those boxes. While his ties to NU certainly got him this job, he's built a pretty strong resume and had a good chance of becoming a major conference coach elsewhere at some point.

Thanks

 

[Lincoln100]

Do people really care that much about baseball? It was fun as hell when we were making super-regionals and making the world series, but as far as I'm concerned, baseball's importance is just a hair above rassling when it comes to the perception of the size of a university's ballsack. Moos is a business man, and when it comes to "business," baseball doesn't do a bunch. Football and Basketball matter, and Moos curb-stomped it with those hires. He got a guy who is, seemingly, pretty well connected, smart, and going to work his ass off to field a great team, and some pansies are having a conniption over it.

 

[Baxter48]

Do people really care that much about baseball? It was fun as hell when we were making super-regionals and making the world series, but as far as I'm concerned, baseball's importance is just a hair above rassling when it comes to the perception of the size of a university's ballsack. Moos is a business man, and when it comes to "business," baseball doesn't do a bunch. Football and Basketball matter, and Moos curb-stomped it with those hires. He got a guy who is, seemingly, pretty well connected, smart, and going to work his ass off to field a great team, and some pansies are having a conniption over it.

I think people still care, my guess is that a good percentage didn’t really buy into DE including myself. I wanted him to be very successful but something didn’t click like one of those old hit and miss engines

 

[kaz36]

I’ve never understood people that feel the need to post in threads about sports they don’t care about or know about. I don’t know or care much about track and field or bowling or soccer, but don’t feel the need to crap in threads if they are posted.

 

[JohnRossEwing]

Do people really care that much about baseball? It was fun as hell when we were making super-regionals and making the world series, but as far as I'm concerned, baseball's importance is just a hair above rassling when it comes to the perception of the size of a university's ballsack. Moos is a business man, and when it comes to "business," baseball doesn't do a bunch. Football and Basketball matter, and Moos curb-stomped it with those hires. He got a guy who is, seemingly, pretty well connected, smart, and going to work his ass off to field a great team, and some pansies are having a conniption over it.

Thank you!

No, they don't "really" care about it, they sort of fake care about it and that is okay. I would guess that the number of "die hard" Husker baseball fans sits around 750-1000. By that I mean, fans that are like the die hard football fans, they don't miss a game, they skip weddings and funerals (even their own), it is all about Husker baseball.

The rest of us, we "care" because while we are at work it gives us something to bitch/cheer about on message boards.

 

[Baxter48]

I’ve never understood people that feel the need to post in threads about sports they don’t care about or know about. I don’t know or care much about track and field or bowling or soccer, but don’t feel the need to crap in threads if they are posted.

IMO some of them just want to start a pissing match

 

[Charlie Marlow]

When the BiG TeN ADs band together to curb stomp the 3rd-paid baseball assistant, it must send a message that they really aren't THAT serious about baseball either. No wonder some more experienced HCs may not have come running and screaming here.

 

[big red22]

Not backing his statements but he joined like 15 years before likes were introduced.

I was going to say the same thing. I had 6000 posts all during the Callahan Regime and there was no upvotes back then.

 

[RedArmageddon]

I’ll wait before I say a good hire, great hire or poor hire. At least he has head coaching experience that more than DE had. It is good for the stand point of he has Texas connections for recruits. One thing that is a concern is that his wife doesn’t like living in Nebraska or so I heard.

I live in Texas, and I would much be happier in Omaha. I will retire in Nebraska. I work for the State, 3 more years, and I'm going back home.

 

[F5Tornado]

What Nebraska Baseball has been since 1950:

1950 Tony Sharpe 16–8 11–3 1st –
1951 Tony Sharpe 10–5 5–4 3rd –
1952 Tony Sharpe 13–7 8–5 7th –
1953 Tony Sharpe 12–5–2 10–3 2nd –
1954 Tony Sharpe 10–10 4–8 6th –
1955 Tony Sharpe 15–5 10–4 3rd –
1956 Tony Sharpe 12–8 8–4 2nd –
1957 Tony Sharpe 12–10 8–9 5th –
Big Eight Conference (1958–1995)
1958 Tony Sharpe 17–10 12–9 5th –
1959 Tony Sharpe 11–11 11–4 2nd –
1960 Tony Sharpe 9–12 6–11 7th –
1961 Tony Sharpe 9–14 7–11 6th –
1962 Tony Sharpe 15–11 10–10 5th –
1963 Tony Sharpe 10–16 5–15 6th –
1964 Tony Sharpe 9–18 7–14 6th –
1965 Tony Sharpe 12–8 12–6 2nd –
1966 Tony Sharpe 16–9 12–8 3rd –
1967 Tony Sharpe 8–16 7–11 6th –
1968 Tony Sharpe 10–15–1 7–13 7th –
1969 Tony Sharpe 9–15 4–12 8th –
1970 Tony Sharpe 14–12 11–8 3rd –
1971 Tony Sharpe 10–20 7–13 7th –
1972 Tony Sharpe 12–17 8–11 7th –
1973 Tony Sharpe 15–14–1 7–11 6th –
1974 Tony Sharpe 13–27 4–16 8th –
1975 Tony Sharpe 13–20 7–8 5th –
1976 Tony Sharpe 21–24–1 0–2 7th –
1977 Tony Sharpe 29–13 5–7 3rd (East) –
1978 John Sanders 36–20 7–7 3rd (East) –
1979 John Sanders 49–15 14–6 2nd (East) – Regional
1980 John Sanders 49–15 16–4 1st (East) 14 Regional
1981 John Sanders 42–22 11–11 4th
1982 John Sanders 44–13 15–5 2nd 10
1983 John Sanders 44–15 8–10 5th
1984 John Sanders 46–20 15–6 3rd 29
1985 John Sanders 45–24 16–6 3rd 16 Regional
1986 John Sanders 35–25 14–9 3rd
1987 John Sanders 36–21 12–8 3rd
1988 John Sanders 48–23 12–12 4th
1989 John Sanders 27–31 8–16 7th
1990 John Sanders 42–26 12–12 3rd
1991 John Sanders 37–22 10–14 6th
1992 John Sanders 31–25 11–13 5th
1993 John Sanders 35–23 16–12 4th
1994 John Sanders 32–28 14–16 5th
1995 John Sanders 35–23 13–14 4th
1996 John Sanders 27–27–1 8–17 7th
Big 12 Conference (1997–2011)
1997 John Sanders 27–35 7–23 10th
1998 Dave Van Horn 24–20 10–13 7th
1999 Dave Van Horn 42–18 16–9 5th 25 Regional
2000 Dave Van Horn 51–17 21–9 2nd 11 Super Regional
2001 Dave Van Horn 50–16 20–8 1st 6 College World Series
2002 Dave Van Horn 47–21 16–11 2nd 8 College World Series
2003 Mike Anderson 47–18 20–7 1st 13 Regional
2004 Mike Anderson 36–23 11–16 8th 12
2005 Mike Anderson 57–15 19–8 1st 5 College World Series
2006 Mike Anderson 42–17 17–10 3rd 15 Regional
2007 Mike Anderson 32–27 14–13 4th Regional
2008 Mike Anderson 41–16–1 17–9–1 3rd 20 Regional
2009 Mike Anderson 25–28–1 8–19 10th
2010 Mike Anderson 27–27 10–17 9th
2011 Mike Anderson 30–25 9–17 9th
Big Ten Conference (2012–present)
2012 Darin Erstad 35–23 14–10 4th
2013 Darin Erstad 29–30 15–9 2nd
2014 Darin Erstad 41–21 18–6 2nd Regional
2015 Darin Erstad 34–23 9–14 8th
2016 Darin Erstad 37–22 16–8 2nd Regional
2017 Darin Erstad 35–22–1 16–7–1 1st Regional
2018 Darin Erstad 24–28 8–14
2019 Darin Erstad 32–24 15–9 3rd Regional
Overall record (1889–2019): 2,222–1,625–19 (.577), Conference: 853–814–2 (.512)

1979 3 1–2 Regional
1980 2 2–2 Regional
1985 2 1–2 Regional
1999 2 1–2 Regional
2000 1 4–2 Super Regional
2001 1 5–2 College World Series
2002 1 5–3 College World Series
2003 1 3–2 Regional
2005 1 6–2 College World Series
2006 1 0–2 Regional
2007 3 2–2 Regional Final
2008 1 1–2 Regional
2014 2 1–2 Regional
2016 3 0–2 Regional
2017 2 0–2 Regional
2019 3 1–2 Regional
Total 33–33 16 Appearances

 

[F5Tornado]

What Nebraska Baseball has been since 1950:

1950 Tony Sharpe 16–8 11–3 1st –
1951 Tony Sharpe 10–5 5–4 3rd –
1952 Tony Sharpe 13–7 8–5 7th –
1953 Tony Sharpe 12–5–2 10–3 2nd –
1954 Tony Sharpe 10–10 4–8 6th –
1955 Tony Sharpe 15–5 10–4 3rd –
1956 Tony Sharpe 12–8 8–4 2nd –
1957 Tony Sharpe 12–10 8–9 5th –
Big Eight Conference (1958–1995)
1958 Tony Sharpe 17–10 12–9 5th –
1959 Tony Sharpe 11–11 11–4 2nd –
1960 Tony Sharpe 9–12 6–11 7th –
1961 Tony Sharpe 9–14 7–11 6th –
1962 Tony Sharpe 15–11 10–10 5th –
1963 Tony Sharpe 10–16 5–15 6th –
1964 Tony Sharpe 9–18 7–14 6th –
1965 Tony Sharpe 12–8 12–6 2nd –
1966 Tony Sharpe 16–9 12–8 3rd –
1967 Tony Sharpe 8–16 7–11 6th –
1968 Tony Sharpe 10–15–1 7–13 7th –
1969 Tony Sharpe 9–15 4–12 8th –
1970 Tony Sharpe 14–12 11–8 3rd –
1971 Tony Sharpe 10–20 7–13 7th –
1972 Tony Sharpe 12–17 8–11 7th –
1973 Tony Sharpe 15–14–1 7–11 6th –
1974 Tony Sharpe 13–27 4–16 8th –
1975 Tony Sharpe 13–20 7–8 5th –
1976 Tony Sharpe 21–24–1 0–2 7th –
1977 Tony Sharpe 29–13 5–7 3rd (East) –
1978 John Sanders 36–20 7–7 3rd (East) –
1979 John Sanders 49–15 14–6 2nd (East) – Regional
1980 John Sanders 49–15 16–4 1st (East) 14 Regional
1981 John Sanders 42–22 11–11 4th
1982 John Sanders 44–13 15–5 2nd 10
1983 John Sanders 44–15 8–10 5th
1984 John Sanders 46–20 15–6 3rd 29
1985 John Sanders 45–24 16–6 3rd 16 Regional
1986 John Sanders 35–25 14–9 3rd
1987 John Sanders 36–21 12–8 3rd
1988 John Sanders 48–23 12–12 4th
1989 John Sanders 27–31 8–16 7th
1990 John Sanders 42–26 12–12 3rd
1991 John Sanders 37–22 10–14 6th
1992 John Sanders 31–25 11–13 5th
1993 John Sanders 35–23 16–12 4th
1994 John Sanders 32–28 14–16 5th
1995 John Sanders 35–23 13–14 4th
1996 John Sanders 27–27–1 8–17 7th
Big 12 Conference (1997–2011)
1997 John Sanders 27–35 7–23 10th
1998 Dave Van Horn 24–20 10–13 7th
1999 Dave Van Horn 42–18 16–9 5th 25 Regional
2000 Dave Van Horn 51–17 21–9 2nd 11 Super Regional
2001 Dave Van Horn 50–16 20–8 1st 6 College World Series
2002 Dave Van Horn 47–21 16–11 2nd 8 College World Series
2003 Mike Anderson 47–18 20–7 1st 13 Regional
2004 Mike Anderson 36–23 11–16 8th 12
2005 Mike Anderson 57–15 19–8 1st 5 College World Series
2006 Mike Anderson 42–17 17–10 3rd 15 Regional
2007 Mike Anderson 32–27 14–13 4th Regional
2008 Mike Anderson 41–16–1 17–9–1 3rd 20 Regional
2009 Mike Anderson 25–28–1 8–19 10th
2010 Mike Anderson 27–27 10–17 9th
2011 Mike Anderson 30–25 9–17 9th
Big Ten Conference (2012–present)
2012 Darin Erstad 35–23 14–10 4th
2013 Darin Erstad 29–30 15–9 2nd
2014 Darin Erstad 41–21 18–6 2nd Regional
2015 Darin Erstad 34–23 9–14 8th
2016 Darin Erstad 37–22 16–8 2nd Regional
2017 Darin Erstad 35–22–1 16–7–1 1st Regional
2018 Darin Erstad 24–28 8–14
2019 Darin Erstad 32–24 15–9 3rd Regional
Overall record (1889–2019): 2,222–1,625–19 (.577), Conference: 853–814–2 (.512)

1979 3 1–2 Regional
1980 2 2–2 Regional
1985 2 1–2 Regional
1999 2 1–2 Regional
2000 1 4–2 Super Regional
2001 1 5–2 College World Series
2002 1 5–3 College World Series
2003 1 3–2 Regional
2005 1 6–2 College World Series
2006 1 0–2 Regional
2007 3 2–2 Regional Final
2008 1 1–2 Regional
2014 2 1–2 Regional
2016 3 0–2 Regional
2017 2 0–2 Regional
2019 3 1–2 Regional
Total 33–33 16 Appearances

As we can see here, DVH ushered in the greatest era of Nebraska Baseball, let's hope Bolt can reach that level, or close to it.

That would be a neat trick!

 

[JohnRossEwing]

I live in Texas, and I would much be happier in Omaha. I will retire in Nebraska. I work for the State, 3 more years, and I'm going back home.

55?

 

[RedArmageddon]

55?

Good guess.56