University of Cincinnati baseball coach Scott Googins resigns
After another losing season and the dismissal of two assistant coaches due to a potential violation of NCAA rules, Scott Googins has resigned as the University of Cincinnati's baseball coach after six seasons.
University of Cincinnati Director of Athletics John Cunningham announced on Wednesday the resignation of Googins whose squad finished 24-33 this past season.
“I want to thank Coach Googins for his time and commitment to the Bearcats,” said Cunningham. “We have begun a national search for a new head coach, and we are excited about the future of Cincinnati baseball.”
The season was marred in late May by the dismissal of director of baseball operations Andy Nagel and hitting coach Kyle Sprague for "potential NCAA violations". Those moves were announced after the Bearcats had been eliminated in the American Athletic Conference tournament. An internal review began May 8 and the pair were let go May 17, a week prior to UC's season coming to an end. Nagel, the team's ESPN+ color analyst did his last broadcast on May 16.
The potential violations centered around the parent of a player, Bert Neff. Neff was the bettor who triggered an investigation into Alabama baseball, which led to its head coach, Brad Bohannon, being fired. Sports Illustrated's Pat Forde was the first to report about Neff's connection. The allegations are Neff was in communication with Bohannon who placed money on LSU on April 28 when Alabama's ace Luke Holman was scratched.
The potential violations with the UC coaches involve having knowledge of Neff's activity. Neither Nagel nor Sprague are accused of betting on UC baseball. Minus two coaches, UC defeated Houston May 18, then dropped a trio of one-run games (two to Houston) then one to UCF in the AAC tournament. In their finale May 24, against No. 15 East Carolina the Bearcats held a 6-5 lead going into a four-hour rain delay but eventually lost 9-6 to end the year.
Bert Neff as part of the Indiana Elite amateur baseball organization had numerous connections with college coaches as his group had sent several to Division I programs. His son, Andrew Neff of Martinsville, Indiana was on the roster but did not pitch this season for the Bearcats.
Googins compiled an overall record of 143-156 with the Bearcats from 2018 to 2023. He led UC to an American Athletic Conference Tournament Championship and an NCAA Regional Tournament appearance in 2019. The Bearcats finished 31-31 that season and it was Cincinnati's first NCAA postseason berth in 45 years.
In 2021, Googins and the Bearcats finished 29-26, his only winning season of the six. It was the first winning season since then-coach Brian Cleary went 30-27 in 2011.
In 2022, Griffin Merritt collected AAC Player of the Year honors and CoSIDA First Team Academic All-America accolades for the Bearcats. The former La Salle star transferred to Tennessee for this past season hitting .293 with 17 home runs and 43 runs batted in.
Prior to UC, Googins was the skipper at Xavier for 12 seasons and is the school's all-time winningest baseball coach with a record of 341-357.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: UC Bearcat baseball coach Scott Googins resigns after 6 seasons
