Baseball
- Title:
- Coordinator of Camps
- Email:
- wrc39@msstate.edu
- Phone:
- 325-3597
Coggin returned to Starkville in August 2015 for his second stint at MSU as coordinator of camps, along with having served as the Bulldogs' volunteer assistant coach and coach first base during the 2016 season.
Following the 2016 campaign, Coggin was promoted to assistant coach and recruiting coordinator in addition to coaching first base during the season.
The MSU baseball program saw drastic improvements from 2015 to 2016, including a batting average that improved by 42 points (.271 to .313), 117 more hits, an on-base percentage that jumped from .372 to .407 and a slugging percentage that rose 91 points—from .364 in 2015 to .444.
MSU hitters went from hitting just 22 homers in 2015 to hitting 52 in the following season, while also legging out 60 more extra-base hits and crossing home plate 90 more times in 2016.
The SEC took notice of the improvements and it showed in the All-SEC selections. With Coggin’s help, the number of All-SEC selections went from zero in 2015 to five in 2016.
Before Coggin arrived, MSU had no players drafted in the 2015 MLB Draft. Fast-forward to the 2016 season, in which 11 Diamond Dawgs were drafted, with 10 of those draftees signing pro baseball contracts.
Under the tutelage of Coggin, outfielder Jake Mangum took the league batting title on his way to becoming the first Bulldog to win SEC Freshman of the Year and the first freshman to ever win the C Spire Ferriss Trophy, which is awarded to the best college baseball player in Mississippi.
Coggin returned to Starkville after serving as an assistant coach for three seasons at St. Johns River State College in Palatka, Florida. While there, the Booneville, Mississippi, native helped lead the Vikings to a 122-42 overall record (.744), including a 57-14 mark (.803) in the Mid-Florida Conference. The 122 wins from 2013-15 were the most by a Florida junior college. After being ranked as high as 18th nationally in 2013 and fourth in the country in 2014 by Perfect Game, the Vikings earned a No. 1 ranking for much of this past spring.
Serving as the SJRSC third base coach and recruiting coordinator, Coggin was part of a 2015 squad which won a school-record 47 games (47-10), surpassing the previous mark of 38 set in 2013. The Vikings won their third straight Mid-Florida Conference championship this past spring, accomplishing the feat for the first time since 1966-68. Coggin also helped lead SJRSC to its first Florida State Tournament win in 38 years, finishing the season first in the Florida junior college ranks in wins, runs, home runs, RBIs, walks, on-base percentage and total bases.
Individually, Coggin was instrumental in player development, recruiting & coaching 25 players who went on to sign with Division I programs. A total of 45 players signed NLI's to four-year universities during his tenure at SJRSC. Included in that number is former MSU first baseman Nathaniel Lowe, who earned NJCAA First-Team All-American honors as a first baseman in 2015 after hitting .372 with 59 runs, 53 RBIs and 17 home runs in 56 games. During his three-year stint, Coggin also saw six of his players drafted my major league teams.
Prior to coaching in Florida, Coggin was part of Cohen’s staff at MSU from 2009-12. During that stretch, the Maroon and White won the 2011 NCAA Atlanta Regional, advanced to the 2011 NCAA Gainesville Super Regional and captured the 2012 SEC Tournament championship on their way to appearing in the 2012 NCAA Tallahassee Regional.
Before joining the staff in Starkville, Coggin was a middle infielder for the Bulldogs from 2007-08 after transferring from Northeast Mississippi Community College, where he played from 2005-06. Coggin earned his bachelor’s degree in kinesiology in 2010 from MSU before receiving a master’s degree in sports administration in 2012.
What They're Saying About Coggin:
“Will is a winner. He has been a big part of postseason championships at MSU and then became an integral part of the most successful run in St. Johns River State College history. His work ethic and expertise in offensive baseball is among the best in the country.”
- Mississippi State Athletic Director & former MSU head baseball coach John Cohen
