Report: Notre Dame baseball to round out new coaching staff with ODU’s Logan Robbins
Notre Dame head baseball coach Shawn Stiffler has all but completed his staff, per Kendall Rogers of D1 Baseball. On Wednesday, Rogers tweeted that Old Dominion assistant coach and recruiting coordinator Logan Robbins will join the Irish to man the offense.
Robbins just concluded his seventh season at Old Dominion and his fifth in his current role. The Monarchs finished 2022 with a 41-17 record (19-11 C-USA), but they did not make the NCAA Tournament. The team boasted a .295 batting average and knocked 128 home runs, a program record and tied for the third-best mark in the country. They played just 58 games, and the average of 2.21 home runs per contest was tied for second nationally.
First baseman Matt Coutney was named the C-USA Player of the Year after posting a .376 batting average with 86 hits, 27 home runs and 70 RBI. Outfielder Andy Garriola had 80 runs batted in, which ranked seventh nationally. He also broke the career home run record for ODU with 49. Both players earned numerous national postseason honors as a result of their performances and Robbins’ coaching.
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Individually, Robbins played two years of college baseball for Western Kentucky and was drafted by the Atlanta Braves in the 10th round of the 2011 MLB Draft. Robbins turned down the head coaching job at his alma mater earlier this year and is a native of Owensboro, Ky.
Robbins will replace hitting coach Rich Wallace, who arrived three years ago with former head coach Link Jarrett. Both coaches headed to Florida State. While Notre Dame’s strengths have been pitching and defense in recent seasons, the offense has obviously put them in positions to win. The Irish had a .291 team batting average in 2022 en route to their first College World Series appearance since 2002. The lineup hit a total of 79 home runs. Just three players — Jack Zyska, Jack Brannigan and Brooks Coetzee — hit the double-digit mark.
The news comes just over a week after a report from Rogers that Stiffler would bring on VCU’s Seth Cutler-Voltz to manage the Irish pitching staff. Last season was Cutler-Voltz’s first as the pitching coach for the Rams, and he led his pitching staff to a 3.91 team ERA, which ranked No. 9 nationally. Ironically, Notre Dame had the same team ERA. The VCU pitchers posted a 1.29 WHIP, struck out 518 batters and walked 191. Opponents hit .244 against them.
