Link Jarrett Named Director of Player Development For Auburn Baseball Team

[AUSportTalk 4]

Link Jarrett, who spent the past four seasons as the

hitting instructor and recruiting coordinator at East Carolina, has been

named the Director of Player Development by Auburn head baseball coach

John Pawlowski. Jarrett, who played at Florida State from 1991-94 and

with the Colorado Rockies organization from 1994-98, has also made

coaching stops at Flagler College (2000-02), Florida State (2003) and

Mercer (2004-05) before moving on to ECU beginning in 2006.

“Auburn University has a very rich, proud tradition in baseball. I

have known John Pawlowski and (Assistant Coach) Scott Foxhall for eight

years and they are proven winners and people I respect tremendously,”

Jarrett said. “(Assistant Coach) Jeff Duncan and (Director of Baseball

Operations) Scott Duval were awesome to meet and were so helpful and

open in our conversations about Auburn, the baseball program, and the

community.”

In his role at Auburn, Jarrett will coordinate and implement the

practice plan for the student-athletes on and off the field while

assisting Foxhall with all recruiting efforts. He will also work with

the hitters alongside Duncan while paying special attention to the

catchers defensively.

“We are very fortunate to have Link Jarrett join the Auburn Tiger

baseball family,” Pawlowski said. “He represents the integrity and

characteristics on and off the field that will help us continue to build

a championship program. Our team will benefit from his coaching, and his

playing experiences at Florida State and with the Colorado Rockies

organization and his trips to the College World Series will be

invaluable to us. “

“The vision and plan that JP (Pawlowski) and Fox (Foxhall) shared

with me was an exciting plan and I wanted to be a part of it.  JP

expressed to me the style of baseball he preferred to play, and also the

type of players that he and Fox have been recruiting to Auburn. This

balanced style of play and recruiting plan also excited me, and was a

formula I am very comfortable with. The Auburn administration and

community were very welcoming and accommodating to my family and me, and

I am very excited to help JP, the staff and players fulfill their vision

of getting Auburn back into the national spotlight.”

Jarrett and East Carolina advanced to the NCAA Tournament in each of

the last three seasons, with the team making a Super Regional appearance

this past May and finishing the year 46-20 while winning the Conference

USA regular season championship and NCAA Greenville Regional

Championship. East Carolina was one of the most prolific offenses in the

nation this past year, finishing with a NCAA-best 814 hits, was fourth

in runs scored (565), sixth in doubles (154), seventh in home runs

(108), 12th in slugging percentage (.546) and 15th in batting average

(.339) while also leading Conference USA with a .415 on-base percentage,

523 RBI and 1,310 total bases and a .971 fielding percentage.

As the recruiting coordinator, he has signed and coached the last two

Conference USA Newcomers of the Year, the 2008 Conference USA Player of

the Year, the 2008 Freshman of the Year and 2006 Johnny Bench Award

Winner Jake Smith, who was named the nation’s top catcher after

hitting .344 with 13 home runs and 55 RBI.

“Link has been the recruiting coordinator for the past six years and

has left his mark on both the East Carolina and Mercer programs.  The

type of players and quality of those student-athletes he has recruited,

speaks for itself,” Pawlowski said. “He brings with him energy,

enthusiasm and a very organized and structured approach to coaching.

The success he has had as a player and coach will benefit our program as

we continue to improve and compete on a national level.”

Over the course of his four years at East Carolina, the program went

161-87 (.649) with three straight 40-win seasons. In 2008 ECU lead

Conference USA in batting average (.317), slugging percentage (.499),

on-base percentage (.408), runs (498), hits (702), RBI (464), home runs

(89), total bases (1,105) and walks (307). In 2007, the team led the

league in home runs (68) and was third in batting average (.291),

slugging percentage (.453), on-base percentage (.374) and RBI (364).

Prior to making the move to East Carolina, Jarrett spent two seasons at

Mercer as the recruiting coordinator, helping the team double its win

total in his first season of 2004 and then topping that in 2005 with the

team’s first winning season since 1999 as the team led the Atlantic

Sun Conference in fielding percentage and more than doubled its home run

total (26 to 53) from the previous season.

Jarrett spent the 2003 season at his alma mater, helping Florida State

to a 54-13-1 record and a Super Regional Berth as the team won the ACC

Regular Season Championship.

Jarrett’s coaching career began at Flagler College in St. Augustine,

Fla., in 1999. Over the course of three seasons, Flagler established

school records in batting average, hits, doubles, fielding percentage,

ERA and double plays while going 108-63 (.632) with a 40-win season in

2001 and school-best No. 5 national ranking.

Jarrett was the starting shortstop on three College World Series teams

at Florida State (1991, ’92 and ’94) and was named a NCBWA

All-American in both 1993 and 1994. Still the NCAA record holder for

career assists with 802, he also holds the FSU record for consecutive

games played (235) and at bats (989), leading the team with a .325

batting average as a sophomore in 1992.

At the conclusion of his career, Jarrett was a 22nd-round pick of the

Colorado Rockies. In 1994 he was voted the Most Spectacular Defensive

Player while playing for the Bend (Ore.) Rockies in Single A and then in

1997 he hit .303 for the New Haven Ravens (AA).

Jarrett replaces Matt Heath, who resigned at the end of the 2009

season.

[ausbest14 0]

I was very glad to see this.  Welcome, Coach Jarrett.  Way to go, Coach Paw, and Go Tiger Baseball!!

[Jackson-Sullivan 0]

Seems like a really good hire from all I hear about this guy.