Three potential candidates Wichita State might target for next head baseball coach

For the third time in the last three months, Wichita State athletic director Kevin Saal is in the midst of another national search to hire a head coach.

Saal announced Tuesday morning that the WSU baseball program will be going in a different direction than Loren Hibbs, who served as an interim coach this past season and was voted American Athletic Conference Coach of the Year after guiding the Shockers to a 30-25 record and third-place finish in league.

Saal is the third straight athletic director to try to find the right coach to restore the baseball program to a postseason regular. The Shockers have missed the NCAA Tournament for 10 straight years since the end of Gene Stephenson’s tenure, as the program has turned to leadership outside the program (Todd Butler from 2014-19) and past Shocker greats (Eric Wedge from 2020-22 and Hibbs).

What direction is the Wichita State baseball program headed?

Saal’s first two coaching hires both seem to indicate that a regional tie is preferred. Paul Mills, the men’s basketball hire, had turned Oral Roberts, located in Tulsa, into a mid-major power, while Terry Nooner, the women’s basketball coach, was from Kansas City and an assistant at Kansas. Both searches took between seven and 11 days to complete.

Saal has protected information about potential candidates during his searches from spilling out to the public, but here are three candidates that he might consider right for Wichita State.

Brian Green, Washington State head coach

From one WSU to another WSU? Green doesn’t have any regional ties, which might eliminate him from consideration, but he does have a connection to Saal from their Kentucky days. Green was an assistant coach at Kentucky for six seasons (2009-14) when Saal was also working in the athletic department there. Green had success at New Mexico State, which helped him land the Washington State job. He has fared decently well in Pullman, struggling in Pac-12 play but piecing together a 91-76 record in the last four seasons to earn a contract extension through the 2026 season.

Kevin Hooper, Atlanta Braves director of player development

If Saal is going to keep the job in the WSU baseball family, Hooper is the obvious pick. He’s a former standout player from 1996-99 and had success as the manager of the Wichita Wingnuts from 2009-16, leading the franchise to six division titles and the 2014 American Association championship. Hooper was rumored to be in the mix during the last WSU baseball coaching search and could once again be a candidate with support from WSU baseball alumni.

The obvious drawback is Hooper has no college baseball coaching experience, much like Wedge, but he has worked in the MLB ranks since leaving the Wingnuts. He is currently in his second year as the director of player development for the Atlanta Braves, a well-paying and well-placed gig that might be too good of a situation for him to leave.

Ryan Folmar, Oral Roberts head coach

Saal has already hired one head coach from Oral Roberts, could he make it two? While Mills had to build a mid-major power with the men’s basketball program, Folmar has maintained Oral Roberts baseball as an annual postseason contender for the last decade. The Golden Eagles are currently 46-11, riding the nation’s longest winning streak at 18 games and set to play in the NCAA Tournament once again.

In 11 years, Folmar has a 365-221 record, six NCAA Regional appearances and has been named the Summit League Coach of the Year six times. Convincing Folmar to leave Oral Roberts will be difficult, as it is the only program where he has coached — he was also an assistant from 2003-13 when ORU racked up 10 NCAA postseason bids.