Former Bulldog John Cohen Named Head Baseball Coach At Kentucky
"John Cohen has a wonderful blend of competing and coaching in this conference, combined with a successful track record as a head coach at Northwestern State," Barnhart said. "He has a great passion for our job and a vision for Kentucky baseball. His desire to grow our program into an NCAA Tournament team, with an eye on Omaha (the College World Series), is exciting for our staff and our players."
It's the second collegiate head coaching position for Cohen, an All-Southeastern Conference outfielder during his baseball career at Mississippi State University. The Tuscaloosa, Ala., native served as an assistant coach at the University of Missouri (1992-97) prior to beginning a four-year term as head coach at Northwestern (La.) State in 1998). The past two seasons he served as an assistant coach under former MSU assistant and head coach Pat McMahon at the University of Florida. At Kentucky Cohen follows another former Mississippi State staff member, Keith Madison, who retired this year after coaching UK for 25 seasons.
"This is a tremendous honor and opportunity," Cohen said. "The University of Kentucky has one of the premier athletics departments in the nation. Everything I hear about the UK administration is the big 'C' word -- commitment. Under Mitch Barnhart's leadership, we'll work to make UK baseball a consistent winner.
"I have high expectations for our program. It's a privilege to follow Keith Madison -- one of the classiest people I know, one of the real gentlemen of our game, a coach who has tremendous respect throughout college baseball. I know Coach Madison's players are a first-class group of young men who know how to work and give everything they have."
"John Cohen has paid his dues as a college player, a professional player, and as a coach," said MSU head coach Ron Polk. "The University of Kentucky has made a tremendous decision in naming him as its head baseball coach. He will approach the job with great enthusiasm, excitement, and class and I know he is looking forward to it."
Cohen played at State from 1987-90 when current Florida head coach Pat McMahon was an assistant on Ron Polk's Bulldog coaching staff. MSU advanced to NCAA Regional play four times while the 1990 team advanced to the College World Series. Both the 1987 and 1989 teams captured Southeastern Conference championships. Cohen concluded his career ranked in MSU's top 10 in several statistical categories. He earned first-team All-SEC honors as a senior outfielder and was selected by the Minnesota Twins in the 22nd round of the 1990 Major League Baseball Draft. He spent two years in the Twins' minor league system before beginning his collegiate coaching career as an assistant at Missouri in 1992.