LEXINGTON
, Ky. — Brian Green, who has spent the previous four years as the hitting coach and recruiting coordinator at UCLA, has been named the new assistant coach at Kentucky, UK head coach Gary Henderson announced on Wednesday.
Green, a four-year assistant coach at UCLA, comes to UK as one of the top hitting instructors and offensive minds in college baseball. A tenacious recruiter, Green has had tremendous success while on the West Coast with traditional power UCLA.
?I am real excited to have the opportunity to coach at a place like Kentucky and in a conference like the SEC,? Green said. ?I am glad to have a chance to work with coach Henderson and coach Bohannon again and to have an opportunity to work with Mitch Barnhart, Rob Mullens and the entire UK Athletics Department. We are really looking forward to continuing the tradition of success at UK and are eager to get to work.?
When Henderson served as the head coach of Chapman College ( Calif. ) in 1993, Green was a player. After finishing out his playing career at New Mexico State, Green embarked on a coaching career at his alma matter, serving as a student assistant. Green and Henderson reconnected in 2001, as Green served as the volunteer assistant at Oregon State when Henderson was the pitching coach and recruiting coordinator.
?We are extremely happy to announce the addition of Brian Green to our coaching staff in addition to Brad Bohannon and Keith Vorhoff,? Henderson announced. ?Brian is an outstanding coach, with a proven track record of success. With the addition of Brian, we have one of the best coaching staff’s in college baseball.?
Green helped lead the Bruins to 99 wins in the last three years, posting 33 wins each season. Green had a huge impact in recruiting to bulk of the Bruins roster, in addition to coordinating the UCLA infield defense and overseeing the Bruins offensive attack.
Green’s instruction as the infield coach the past three seasons had tangible results, as Bruins cornerstone infielders Jermaine Curtis (third base) and Brandon Crawford (shortstop) earned All-Pac-10 recognition all three years. Likewise, second baseman Alden Carrithers gained All-Pac-10 honorable mention accolades in 2007 before earning All-Pac-10 honors in 2008.
The Bruins turned a Pac-10-leading 65 double plays in 2008, as Crawford and Carrithers helped steady UCLA’s defense up the middle.
In 2007, Green guided UCLA’s hitters to a .296 batting average and 51 home runs, the fourth-highest total in the Pac-10 Conference. That spring, Gabe Cohen compiled a .345 batting average, belting 10 home runs and totaling 36 RBI to earned Pac-10 Co-Newcomer of the Year honors with USC shortstop Grant Green.
In his two seasons as the UCLA recruiting coordinator, Green helped secure the No. 13 and No. 7 best recruiting classes in the nation in the fall of 2006 and fall of 2007, respectively, as ranked by Baseball America. Green also played a large role in assisting UCLA land the No. 5 ranked recruiting class in 2005, as rated by Baseball America.
In his 15 seasons as an assistant coach, Green has compiled a 426-326-2 record (.566).
In 2006, Green’s infielders contributed to UCLA’s .977 fielding percentage, tops in the Pac-10 and sixth in the nation. Crawford earned freshman All-America honors that season before playing for the USA National Team in the summer of 2006. Curtis gained All-Pac-10 honorable mention honors after leading all Bruin starters with a .325 batting average.
While serving as an assistant at the University of Hawaii in 2003 and 2004, Green doubled as the team’s hitting instructor, infield coach and baserunning coach. He also assisted with recruiting efforts. In 2004, Green helped Hawaii head coach Mike Trapasso earn 2004 Western Athletic Conference Coach of the Year honors, and in 2003 he coached two Warriors who earned Freshman All-America accolades.
Prior to his time at Hawaii, Green was an assistant at the University of San Diego for the 2002 season. Green helped the Toreros capture their first West Coast Conference title in school history, as USD led the conference in batting average, runs scored, walks and fewest strikeouts. Head coach Rich Hill gained WCC Coach of the Year honors that season.
In the summers of 2001 and 2002, Green served as head coach of the Kenai Peninsula Oilers of the Alaskan Summer Baseball League. In 2001, Green’s Oilers became the only Alaskan League team to defeat the U.S. National Team, winning 4-1.
Green also spent time as a volunteer assistant in 2001 at Oregon State as well as serving stints at Chapman University, Cal Poly Pomona and Riverside Community College. At Chapman in 2000, Green helped lead the school to a third-place finish at the Division III World Series. In 1999, he helped lead Chapman to a 39-5 overall finish. That season, Green guided the Panthers’ infield corps, which led the nation in double plays turned.
In 1994, Green began his coaching career, serving as a student assistant at his alma mater, New Mexico State. He played two years of Division I baseball ? one at Chapman (1993) and one at New Mexico State (1994). Green spent his first two collegiate seasons playing at Riverside Community College (1991-92).
Green, 36, graduated from New Mexico State with a degree in Business Management in 1995 and earned his Master’s Degree in Education from National University in 1997.
He is married to the former Becki Francis. The couple reside with their daughter, Emily Rae (born February 2004), in Belmont Shore, Calif.
UK Baseball Press Conference Quotes
Kentucky Head Coach Gary Henderson
Opening statement ?
?I want to thank everybody for coming today, I know it was short notice, we appreciate you coming here. It?s been a busy 12 days since I was last up here. At that time I said I was appreciative of Mitch [Barnhart] and Rob?s [Mullens] efforts and their support of the program to give me the resources to get whoever I wanted to across the country. And that was exactly what I was able to do.
“I?ve know Brian Green for 16 years, he played for me at Chapman, I coached with him at Oregon State, he has moved up quickly through the ranks of assistant coaches and success has followed him everywhere. He brings a passion for teaching and recruiting and has tremendous knowledge of the game. He has the ability to communicate along the entire spectrum of player personalities which was very important to me that we got somebody that could do that and he is that person and he will work extremely well with our kids. Brian will be primarily responsible for our offense, all facets, I will obviously have input, but we will work closely together and he will be the person that works with that on a daily, hourly, minute-by-minute basis. He will also work with our infielders as well as our entire defense. I am really pleased to have him, his wife Becki and his daughter Emily with us. We?re very fortunate that he?s now a part of the Wildcat family. At this time I?d like to introduce you to Brian Green.?
Kentucky Assistant Coach Brian Green
Opening statement ?
?I?d at first like to do some thank you?s. This is an unbelievable moment for me and my family. I?m an emotional guy, I speak from the heart, it?s what I do, it?s who I am so if I get emotional please bear with me. I?d like to thank Mitch Barnhart and Rob Mullens for assisting in making this happen for me and my family. Coach Henderson who I will speak on in a little bit, Brad Bohannon and Keith Vorhoff, I?m looking forward to working with you guys along with Jeremy Sheetinger. And most importantly I?d like to thank my wife Becki, she has gone through it with me like no other. Beck, thank you for everything, this is a special day for us and I?m happy that we?re going to have our family here in Lexington.
?Why am I here? I thought I would come up here and talk about what made me choose Kentucky and this is an easy thing to say. There are a lot of reasons why, but to the things I?d like to talk about and this opportunity is No. 1 Coach Henderson. Gary Henderson is one of the biggest and most pivotal people in my life, I owe him as much about being a coach and a person as anyone, aside from my wife and my parents. He was extremely hard on me as a player and I found out that I liked that. And I liked having someone constantly be one you. Gary impacted me in so many ways and then I had the opportunity to coach with him at Oregon State as a young coach moving from Chapman University to Oregon State. And the things that I learned at Oregon State with Gary side-by-side and communicating with him were things for me that made me want to work with him again. And when this opportunity came about, from my end as an individual and a coach, it was a no brainer. So that?s the number one reason for me why I wanted to come here and take this opportunity. Obviously the Southeastern Conference is the pinnacle of coaching and it?s where you want to be and it?s everything that we strive to do as coaches in this profession. Being up here in this conference at this university is a very humbling experience for me today. Emily, my wife, and I have been here 48 hours and it?s been short, and we?ve been around a lot, but it has been very clear that this is a place you want to raise your family. And it?s going to be a tough decision for us as to where to settle down, but it is very clear that this is going to be a place that is special for our family. And the family part on and off the field, I have had an opportunity in a very short amount of time, I?ve spoke about Coach Henderson, Brad Bohannon was a guy that I got to know last summer but of course he?s not here, he?s out doing what he does. At every event that I went to he was there and in a short amount of time had the opportunity to meet Keith, and Sheets [Jeremy Sheetinger], and this is a family I want to be a part of and I?m excited to a part of. Those are the factors and those became very clear factors as to why I want to be here.
“This is different for me, I?ve moved quite a bit as an assistant coach, I?ve always had opportunities presented to me and my family that seemed pretty clear that it was a move I wanted to make, an easy elevation move. Well this is a different move in the sense that Kentucky is a program that everything is in place. This is a successful program offensively, as an offensive coach and an infield coach, I am coming in with an opportunity where there has been an extreme amount of success already established. And I know that I need to come in and allow that to keep happening and build upon it, I?m very clear on that. I know what?s happened here so from that regard this opportunity was as exciting and challenging as you could get. But I am aware of what has gone on here and I am thrilled to be a part of it because I know I can be a part of something special that it?s a program that is doing this in this type of community with these types of people that are a part of it. I am absolutely honored, I?d like to thank in advance the department and the community for the opportunity that has been afforded to me and my family and I can?t wait to get started and come back here.?
Did you know right away you wanted to come to UK ?
?I?m glad that question was asked. From that part emotionally when I heard the question and the opportunity I thought ?boy that was what I wanted to do, now lets go to the real boss which is my wife?. We?re entrenched in Long Beach, Calif., which is a great opportunity but combined with the SEC, Gary Henderson, the success of Kentucky and the direction of the program, moves are always tough, but when it comes down to it and you put everything on paper, everything said you have to and yes, lets do it.?
When you heard Henderson got the job, did you think there was an opportunity there ?
?Everything happened to fast. You obviously hear the rumors of what could possibly go on. And when Gary got the job I was out recruiting and I heard it had happened, yeah my wheels were spinning a little bit. As soon as it did happen I thought if this does come about, I?m going to know the challenges that I?m going to have working for Gary and I?d be honored to do it. But at the same time this has been a program that has had a lot of success and I need to come in and build upon that success.?
On saying ?SEC is the pinnacle of coaching? vs. Pac-10 ?
?I?m real clear on that and my wife and I drove in today and we looked at the football stadium and I said ?Becky would you look at that?. We understand that part is different. Honestly, even a press conference for a hitting coach just shows how important UK is to the community. I was in Corvallis, Ore., in kind of smaller town, so I got a little bit of a taste, this is obviously a lot bigger and grander than that. But you grow up and when you turn on ESPN it?s always about the SEC whether it?s football, baseball or basketball. I say that being on the West Coast in the Pac-10 is obviously a great conference but I?m real clear on what the Southeastern conference is.?
On his style of hitting and how he plans to approach the team ?
?I think the easiest way to say that would be balance and pressure. Again I have said this many times today but if you look at the homerun numbers, the batting average numbers, the high percentage of walks that this program has done – those are key components to having a great offense. What I hope to do as a guy coming from the West Coast is to add a little more balance and pressure if you will. I know what I?m thinking of in terms of what I want to bring to the program and that?s a continued style of aggressiveness and pressure and power and balance and I hope to add in short game, base-running pressure, executional offense. In terms of my style I don?t think you?re going to see, based on the numbers that I?ve seen with this offense, much of a change. I think what you are going to see is more emphasis on pressure, balance and short game. When I say balance, I mean your three, four and five-hole hitters. For example on the West Coast there are teams that will just bunch you to death 1-9. I am away of the facility, I?m aware of the power that?s gone on here, that needs to stay the same. And this is a park where you can hit homeruns, it needs to stay that way but I also know that one, two, seven, eight, nine in the line-up can create some havoc and help those three, four, five hitters really get the ball to the ballpark when you bring the corners in and getting on base through bunt.?
On the recruiting region ?
?For me fortunately being at UCLA I?ve had the opportunity to go to the East Cobbs and the Jupiters and to Cincinnati last year at the Perfect Game Showcases. I?m clear of the talent that not only is coming into this program right now but of the talent in the region. And you know there is talent everywhere but when you look at the recruiting class that is coming in to Kentucky in a very short period of time these are the top players in the country and for me to get a chance to be a part of what Brad and Gary have done is just phenomenal.?
On his experience and knowledge keeping the recruits coming to the program ?
?Well I hope so. I know there is not going to be a shortage of work ethic, commitment and honesty. I think those are the key components of recruiting, to look a family in the eyes and say this is what you?re going to get and this is what we are planning on getting and that is one of the things that I learned from Gary at an early age is that honestly and integrity are the biggest pieces of anything.?
