Baseball
- Title:
- Assistant Coach
Pitching coach Russ McNickle, who launched his coaching career as a graduate assistant coach at Mississippi State in 1989, is in his seventh year on the Baseball Bulldogs’ staff and his fourth in charge of MSU pitchers.
McNickle, 43, has coached successfully on a variety of levels of collegiate baseball over the past 18 seasons. He assumed his current role as Bulldog pitching coach in 2004-05 after having served his first three seasons on the MSU staff as coordinator of Mississippi State’s highly-successful summer and winter youth baseball camps.
In three seasons under McNickle’s direction MSU pitchers have compiled a 4.18 earned average, helping lead the Bulldogs to an SEC Tournament championship, three NCAA regional tournament appearances and last season’s Super Regional title and advancement to the College World Series.
The Mobile, Ala., native began his coaching career as a graduate assistant coach on Ron Polk’s staff at Mississippi State University in 1989 and 1990. The Bulldogs advanced to NCAA tournament competition both seasons, winning a share of the 1990 SEC Tournament championship in Hoover, Ala., before advancing to the prestigious NCAA College World Series in Omaha.
McNickle coached the next 10 seasons in the Sunshine State. He coached pitchers and catchers during a two-year stint (1991-92) as an assistant to Dr. Roger Martinsen at Central Florida Community College in Ocala, Fla. In 1993 he joined the staff of ABCA Hall of Famer Chuck Anderson as an assistant coach at Florida Southern College. During a six-year term (1993-1998) at the NCAA Division II school in Lakeland, Fla., McNickle helped direct the Moccasins to a 265-84 mark, five NCAA postseason appearances, three Sunshine State Conference titles and a pair of berths in the NCAA Division II College World Series. Florida Southern won the national title at the 1995 CWS in Montgomery, Ala., after claiming runner-up honors in 1994. Fifteen FSC players earned All-American status, two earned ABCA National Player of the Year honors, and 28 players were selected in the Major League Baseball draft.
His coaching career continued at the University of South Florida in Tampa, Fla., the next two seasons (1999-2000), where he served as pitching coach and top assistant under coach Eddie Cardieri. McNickle and the Bulls visited Dudy Noble Field for a three-game series in 1999, his first season in a two-year stint at South Florida, now in the Big East Conference.
Following the 2000 campaign, McNickle returned to Mississippi, this time as head coach at Meridian Community College. His 2001 MCC Eagles club posted a 38-16 record and claimed the Miss-Lou Conference championship.
McNickle tutored Bulldog catchers his first three seasons at State, including Craig Tatum. Tatum became the highest-drafted Bulldog catcher when he was selected in the third-round of the 2004 MLB draft by the Cincinnati Reds. Among McNickle’s other former pupils who continued their careers in professional baseball are former Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Bronson Heflin and pitcher Brett Tomko, currently pitching for the Kansas City Royals.
In his first season as MSU pitching coach, McNickle directed an impressive turnaround among MSU hurlers. The 2005 state pitching staff posted a 3.51 ERA, climbing from 10th to second in the highly-competitive SEC.
The Bulldog pitching staff set a school record in 2006 when MSU issued but 162 walks in 60 games.
In helping guide the Bulldogs to the 2007 College World Series, the MSU moundsmen registered a six-year high of 496 strikeouts and averaged 8.3 strikeouts per nine inning game, the NCAA’s 11th-highest strikeouts per game average.
McNickle’s resume also includes past summer collegiate baseball league coaching stints in both the Cape Cod League and the Valley Baseball League. He’s also made numerous appearances at clinics and summer baseball camps.
A catcher by trade, McNickle earned all-state honors during his prep baseball career at Mobile Christian High School. He continued his playing career at Patrick Henry State Junior College in Monroeville, Ala., in 1984 and 1985 before earning his bachelor’s degree at the University of South Alabama in 1988.
McNickle, who directs the Baseball Bulldogs’ weekly devotional, was honored prior to the 2005 SEC Baseball Tournament in Hoover, Ala., as the Fellowship of Christian Athletes’ Coach of the Year.
He is married to the former Robin Elliott of Houma, La., a teacher in the Starkville public school system, and they have a son, Trey, 15, and a daughter Jordan, 11.
Coaching Career
- Graduate Assistant Coach: Mississippi State (1989-90)
- Assistant Coach: Central Florida Comm. College (1991-92)
- Assistant Coach: Florida Southern College (1993-98)
- Assistant Coach: University of South Florida (1999-2000)
- Head Coach: Meridian (Miss.) Comm. College (2001)
- Coordinator of Camps: Mississippi State University (2002-03)
- Assistant Coach: Mississippi State University (2004-present)
