Coach Whitting

I have been a staunch supporter of Todd Whitting for years. He earned his raises along the way. He has lead the baseball team to get unparalleled facilities for our school. All this being said, I am kind of reaching the point where I am wondering if change is warranted, am I the only one? As much as I love Todd, I think we should be expecting more at this point. Wanted to hear what others say.

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Thank you.

Haven’t been excited about UH Baseball in years now. It has a feeling of perpetual mediocrity.

Coach Whitting is 338-240-1 as UH’s head coach since 2011. If my math is correct that is a .584 winning percentage in 11 seasons. Whitting is 114-99-1 in Conference, a 0.533 winning percentage. He has won conference 3 times and been to 4 regionals and 1 super regional.

Rayner Noble was the head coach before Whitting from 1995-2010. He compiled a record of 526-388. An overall winning percentage of .575. Noble was 245-160 in conference play a 0.641 winning percentage. Noble in 16 seasons won conference 3 times and went to 8 regionals and 3 super regionals.

In Whitting’s last regional in 2018 They were the 3 seed and beat Purdue 9-1, lost to North Carolina 4-3, beat Purdue 8-4 and lost to North Carolina 19-11 in the Championship Game.

So after looking at this data of what Whitting results are on the field and what he has done for the program’s facility off the field, I believe he is doing a good job and deserves more time. What does getting rid of Whitting accomplish and who is going to takeover? I doubt there is a candidate that will immediately start brining in top tier recruits. Just look at Rice. Im not ready for a rebuild and 3-4 more years of trying to figure it out. Let Whitting and his staff continue what they are building and get back on track.

I am not related to anyone on the staff or roster and just a fan’s honest take.

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No worries and I apologize if I sounded like an ass and am not on a fire Whitting campaign at all; however, I’m hoping to see better results soon.

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Todd’s contract expires after next season. I believe he’s earned the right to work through the length of his contract to see if he can right the ship.

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I hope he does.

Just win baby…there are no excuses for Coogs not being a national powerhouse in baseball

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He has to axe Rooney and get a competent pitching coach.

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We have to recruit better.

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Hope they are right…I can already hear the aggies howling!

https://twitter.com/ncaahardball/status/1377410729129566208?s=21

Whitting needs to replace his assistant coaches. If you look back on Nobles downfall and now with Whitting, both had great assistants when they were on their runs into the Regionals and Super Regionals. When those assistants left, the programs faltered.

Noble had Sean Allen, Bragg Stockton, and Travis Couch

Whitting had Travis Couch, Anderson, and there was another assistant I cannot remember his name but think he and Anderson got cross wise and he left.

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Whitting needs to replace his assistant coaches. If you look back on Nobles downfall and now with Whitting, both had great assistants when they were on their runs into the Regionals and Super Regionals. When those assistants left, the programs faltered.

Noble had Sean Allen, Bragg Stockton, and Travis Couch

Whitting had Travis Couch, Anderson, and there was another assistant I can

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You can’t compare Noble & Whitting by their winning %. Noble’s non-conference strength of schedule was typically one one the best in D1 baseball, for a few years competing with USC for #1. Currently, Whitting’s non-conf sos is around 190 out of 290. Look at it this way; what’s better, .575 playing MLB teams, or .584 vs single-A MiLB teams.
RPI’s are more important, and going 1-2 vs ut austin hurt less than going 3-0 vs tsu. In 2001, UH got an at-large bid despite a 29-28 record after going 0-2 in the C-USA tournament. Whitting was an assistant coach at UH then, so he should understand the benefits of playing a tough schedule. Playing a weak schedule may pad the winning %, but it can put you in the position of having to win your conference tournament to get to a regional.
As for Rice, I believe they made the same mistake UH made when UH passed on David Pierce. In Pierce’s 1st seasons at Sam, Tulane, & ut-austin, those teams improved their RPI’s significantly over the previous seasons. Rice passed on Patrick Hallmark, and while at Incarnate Word, IWU finished ahead of Rice in the RPI’s. Now Hallmark is at UTSA, which won their series vs Rice this season 3-1. I’m not so sure Rice is rebuilding, they may just have reverted to the pre-Graham era.

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In 2002 Nobles first 15 game were against Baylor, Longhorns, Aggies, Rice, Tech, Texas State, Baylor, LSU x3, Rice, Cal State Fullerton, USC, Miami and UL Lafayette. Noble went 10-4 in those games (one Rice game wasn’t played).

In 2021 Whitting’s first 15 games were against: Texas Southern x3, A&M Corpus Christi x4, Lamar, Texas x3, Incarnate Word, Texas State x3. Whitting went 10-5 in those 15 games.

You have a point!

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Can we get Pierce after the end of Whitting’s contract?
Obviously, we have to pay him really well but given that he is a UH alumnus, maybe we have a chance if the money is right???

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Pierce was first on my wish list then & now, but in his 1st year at ut-austin, he was making more than 2X as much as Whitting. I doubt he could be lured home, but Sean Allen would be a really good choice. Like Noble and Hallmark, Pierce was an assistant to Wayne Graham for several years, so there was a lot of knowledge and connections passed down. Allen has been Pierce’s assistant at all 3 stops, so he’s probably more than ready for a HC job. I’d like to see UH get him before someone else does.

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I expected big things from Whitting. And, frankly, I thought Noble did a good job. Good assistants in college baseball must be hard to find. Prior to Anderson, UH’s pitching wasn’t special. How tough can it be to impress on strong arms that throwing hard strikes is the best way to win?

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I’m not quitting on CTW yet, but he does have a tough row to hoe… I think he has to fire Rooney this post-season.