Alright iloveuab.com readers UAB Baseball’s Head Coach Brian Shoop was kind enough to sit down with us this week and talk a little about himself, the team and the direction the team is headed.
First off I want to thank Coach Shoop and strongly, strongly encourage everyone to attend the final games of the semester and support the team. Coach Shoop and the players are all class act guys and deserve our support!

Hey Coach. So how long have you been coach at UAB?

I’m in my third season now.

Is this your first head coaching job?

No. I served as the Head Coach of Birmingham-Southern for 17 years and a National Championship in 2001 and was assistant coach at MSU (Mississippi State) for 7 years.

Talk a little about the transition from Birmingham-Southern to here. Was it difficult?

Actually it was very difficult. I believed I would coach Birmingham-Southern until I retired. But, things changed quickly when the president took the school down from D-1 to D-3. I just trusted God and believed it would all work out.

What improvements are you looking for from your team for the rest of the season?

We’ve got to be more than a one team team. We can’t just play to our potential against top ranked opponents and drop off the map for the others. There’s a mountain to climb mentally, especially. The pressure of never having won a conference championship really weighs on us and we’ve got to get over that mental slump and get better. The teams we’re playing have longer traditions and a bigger following and we just want to keep getting better week after week.

Your team has consistently been at the top of C-USA in overall GPA. Talk a little about the pride the team takes in academics.

Well first you’re a student-athlete, the student comes first. We want all of our guys to succeed on the playing field and in the classroom. A lot of programs out there focus solely on the athlete. But, we want a program that will impact their lives after college as well as during.

Who has been the biggest surprise to you this year in terms of performance?

Well we all knew that Digger Towe was going to get his hits and we knew Brent Hardy was going to do really well. So I would have to say (Pitcher) Beau Pender. Beau is a great kid, great student so it’s been really nice to see him do well on the field.

If you could say one thing to the students about coming out to games and such what would it be?

Well I understand its crunch time for finals and that things are really busy for everyone. But, we would love for Young Field to be a place of release for everyone; a place to relax and have a good time watching some great baseball. We’ve also got some special promos and giveaways we’re running for each game. And I believe if everyone really knew our guys and knew what we’re aiming for they would really get behind the team. I would love students to really enjoy the experience of what we’re trying to do right now and say “they were there when…”

Any last thoughts on where you’re looking for your team to go in the upcoming weeks?

Just keep getting in all area of life. I want to see them continue to improve on and off the field.

Again my thanks to Coach Shoop and the entire team for representing the Blazer name well and succeeding on and off the field.
The Blazers just finished their 3 games series against C-USA and personal rival Southern Miss.
The Blazers lost the first game of the series but, came back and on day two and swept the last two games winning the series, 2-1.Link to Article on Games on uabsports.com
The Blazers are now 22-17 overall and 5-7 in conference. The Blazers return to action this week as they finish the month by taking on the following teams-

~Tuesday April 21st @ Troy
Wednesday April 22nd vs. Troy @ 6:30pm.
Friday April 24th vs. UCF @ 7:00pm
Saturday April 25th vs. UCF @ 2:00pm
Sunday April 26th vs. UCF @ Noon

CJ OUT-

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