Baseball
- Title:
- Head Coach
University of Alabama Director of Athletics Bill Battle announced Greg Goff as head baseball coach at The University of Alabama on Friday, June 17, 2016. Goff became the 31st head coach in Alabama baseball history and arrived in Tuscaloosa with a resume flooded with success. Over his 13 years as a head coach, Goff’s teams have posted 40-plus wins six times, including four such seasons in his last five years, and those teams have appeared in an NCAA Regional in two of the last three seasons.
Last season, Goff was named he America Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA)/Diamond South Central Region Coach of the Year for Division I. The award was not new to the Tide’s newest head coach, as he was also tabbed with the same honor in 2006 when he led Division II Montevallo to the program’s first ever College World Series appearance.
“Greg is a proven winner as a head coach, with an impressive record of developing programs into championship-caliber teams,” said Battle of his hire. “I was impressed with his knowledge of the game and the SEC, his organization and control of games and practices, and his passion to coach at The University of Alabama.”
The Jackson, Tenn., native has had success at every stop he’s had as a head coach, including two seasons at Louisiana Tech (2015-16), seven seasons at Campbell University (2008-14) and four seasons at Montevallo (2004-07). He has won over 400 games and sports a near .600 career winning percentage. Goff has only suffered four losing seasons out of his 13 years as a head coach, with three of those four campaigns coming in his first year at the respective school.
Prior to his time as a head coach, Goff spent 10 years as an assistant coach, including time at the University of Kentucky from 1999-2003.
LOUISIANA TECH (2015-16)
Goff led an incredible resurgence in Ruston in just two seasons at the helm of the Louisiana Tech program. He inherited a team that won only 15 games in 2014 and improved each year over his two seasons, eventually reaching a 42-20 mark in 2016, which included an at-large berth in the NCAA Starkville Regional. It was the Bulldogs’ first NCAA Regional appearance in 29 years, dating back to 1987, and the program’s first ever at-large selection into postseason play.
During that 2016 campaign, Goff helped the Bulldogs reach the 40-win plateau for the sixth time ever and first since time since 1988. The 42 victories tied for the third-most wins all-time at Louisiana Tech. His squad never lost more than two games in a row and only lost back-to-back games four times over the 62-game stretch.
The 2016 Bulldogs made it to the finals of the Starkville Regional with wins over Southeast Missouri State and Cal State Fullerton before falling to fourth-ranked Mississippi State, the Regional’s host team, in the championship game.
The Bulldogs’ first ever at-large Regional bid was boosted by an impressive 10 victories over teams ranked in the top-25 nationally, and 11 victories over opponents that were seeded in the RPI top 50 throughout the campaign. Tech put together a 24-8 stretch to close out the season to further strengthen its postseason hopes in 2016.
Louisiana Tech sported a 23-9 non-conference mark in 2016, a record that was tops in Conference USA against non-conference opponents. That Tech team also set program records with seven series wins and 19 victories in Conference USA play, a league that was rated as the fifth-best league based on RPI in 2016.
His 2016 squad set school records for strikeouts (496), innings pitched (548.2) and fielding percentage (.972), while tying for the program record with 19 triples. The hitters contributed the third-most doubles (112) and at-bats (2,052) in program history while swiping 90 bases, a total that finished as the fourth-most in Louisiana Tech annals.
In his first season at the helm of the Tech baseball team, Goff led the Bulldogs to 25 wins, a total that eclipsed the previous season by 10 games, and finished 25-27 (.480) overall. That .480 winning percentage was the second-highest of any first-year head coach in Louisiana Tech history. The 10-win upgrade was the seventh-highest in program history and the Bulldogs’ 12-game, non-conference winning streak to end the season tied a program-long mark. The 2015 team showed marked improvement in nearly every statistical category and provided a springboard for 2016’s magical run.
CAMPBELL (2008-14)
Goff’s time at Campbell proved a success, as he finished with a record of 224-174 during his time in charge of the Fighting Camels, including three consecutive 40-win seasons – the only 40-win campaigns in program history – during his final three years in Buies Creek. He was named Big South Coach of the Year and one of Perfect Game USA’s top-10 rising college coaches thanks to his efforts in 2013.
The 2014 squad finished with a 41-21 overall record, the program’s third straight 40-win season, a program first at Campbell. The Fighting Camels would finish as the Big South Tournament Champions on their way to the program’s first NCAA Regional appearance. Campbell had three players tabbed to the All-Big South teams, highlighted by Ryan Thompson, who was a First Team selection. Thompson would go on to earn numerous postseason accolades including third team All-America honors from the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) and Baseball America. The reliever was also chosen as a Senior CLASS Award Second Team All-American and placed on the ABCA Second Team Atlantic All-Region Team.
Campbell put together what would be the most successful season in program history up to that point in 2013. The 2013 squad finished with a school-record 49 wins and went 49-10 overall that season. The 49 wins and 41 wins from 2012 were the first pair of consecutive 40-win seasons in program history. The 2013 Fighting Camels won the Big South’s North Division title and finished as the runner-up in the conference’s postseason tournament.
Nine Camels were named All-Big South after 2013, including Thompson, who earned the conference’s Pitcher of the Year honors. Goff was chosen as a unanimous Coach of the Year for the Big South, as well. He also was named as one of Perfect Game’s top 10 rising college coaches following the season.
The 2013 squad featured two players who would go on to lead the NCAA nationally, with Ben McQuown leading the nation in stolen bases at 54 and Thompson leading all pitchers with a lowly 0.88 ERA. As a team, Campbell finished sixth nationally in stolen bases (130), eighth in batting (.314) and 11th in on-base percentage (.404). The Camel pitcher maintained a 2.63 ERA, a total that ranked seventh in the nation, while allowing 7.95 hits per nine innings to finish 22nd in the NCAA.
Numerous Campbell records were tied or broken during the 2013 campaign, including games played (59), stolen bases, ERA, shutouts (6), innings pitched (531.0) and fewest walks per nine innings (3.23). The team’s 2.63 ERA was a Big South record as well as the all-time low at Campbell.
His 2013 team featured three First Team All-Big South selections, one second-teamer and a third-team honoree. Michael Felton, who earned first-team honors from the conference, was also chosen as an NCBWA Second Team All-American, marking Campbell’s first All-American at the Division I level.
The Camels went 41-18 (.695) in 2012, 49-10 (.831) in 2013 and followed that with a 41-21 (.661) mark in 2014. His 2013 squad captured the Big South regular season championship, while his 2014 team improved upon that by winning the Big South Tournament and advancing to an NCAA Regional.
Goff’s 2011 and 2012 rosters posted victories over numerous nationally ranked and recognized teams, including a home win over then-No. 18 N.C. State in 2012 to mark the fifth consecutive year the Fighting Camels took down a top-25 team in the regular season. His 2012 team finished 41-18 to record the first of three consecutive winning seasons for Goff at Campbell.
The 2010 Fighting Camels set 19 school records, including hits (696), doubles (159) and stolen bases (119) on the offensive side, and fewest walks issued per game (3.73/game) from the pitching staff. The 28-27 record helped the 2010 squad post consecutive winning seasons for the first time since 2001, and the 28 victories were the most wins at Campbell in nine years.
His second season at Campbell saw marked improvement, leading the Fighting Camels to their first winning season since 2001 with a record of 27-24. The 27 wins was the most victories since the 2001 squad that posted 33 wins, and tied for seventh all-time in the CU record books for the most single-season victories. The 2009 team led the A-Sun in in five offensive categories and was in the top 50 overall in 10 separate offensive categories as a collective. Individually, his hitters ranked as the first, second and third-best batting averages in the league, while 15 players ranked in the nation’s top 50 in nine separate offensive categories.
In his first year at Campbell, Goff led the team to its most wins since 2005, finishing at 21-37, an improvement of 10 wins from the season before his arrival. His inaugural squad also finished with 14 wins against Atlantic Sun competition, the most against conference opposition since 2001. The 2008 Fighting Camels set five team or individual records, while ranking in the top 50 nationally in five different offensive categories.
MONTEVALLO (2004-07)
Prior to his tenure at Campbell, Goff directed Montevallo to a 152-84 (.644) mark across his four seasons. In his final two years at UM, the Falcons set program records for wins in back-to-back seasons, with 43 wins in 2006 and 47 in 2007. Goff led Montevallo to its first NCAA Division II College World Series in 2006, where his team finished third, and claimed the Southeast Region Championship. That same year, Goff was named the ABCA South Central Region Coach of the Year, as well as the Coach of the Year for all divisions by the Alabama Baseball Coaches Association.
ASSISTANT COACHING CAREER
Goff brings a wealth of coaching experience to the Capstone, including 10 combined seasons as an assistant coach prior to his time at Montevallo. His final stint as an assistant coach came at the University of Kentucky where he spent four seasons as the Wildcats’ pitching coach from 1999-2003. During his time in Lexington, he helped guide UK to 38 victories in the 2000 season, a total that was a program record at the time. Goff was also an assistant at Southeast Missouri State from 1997-99 and his alma mater, Delta State, from 1994-97.
ABOUT GOFF
Goff played collegiately at Jackson State Community College, where he earned his associate’s degree in 1991. He then spent time on the mound at Delta State, where he would eventually earn his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in 1994 and 1996, respectively.
He is married to the former Tina Newbill of Jackson, Tenn. They have four daughters: Kara, Kiley, Kolby and Kenzie.
