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Entering his sixth season at the helm of the UAB baseball program, head coach Brian Shoop continues to have the Blazers succeed both on and off the playing field.
His first five seasons have been marked by significant improvements on the diamond and a high standard of success both in the classroom, in competition and giving back to the community. Shoop has guided UAB to three consecutive winning seasons, including a 31-win season in 2009, the program's first season with at least 30 victories since 2005. In 2010, the Blazers finished in a three-way tie for fifth place in the Conference USA standings, just one game out of third place and three games out of second. The Blazers just missed the 30-win plateau during the 2011 campaign, ending the year at 29-28 and advancing to the league tournament for the fourth time in five seasons.
UAB again won four of its eight series in the challenging C-USA, which included series over nationally ranked and NCAA Regional qualifiers East Carolina and Rice. The Blazers also defeated Rice in postseason play at the C-USA Tournament in Pearl, Miss., in 2011, before the Owls rebounded to capture the league tournament crown.
In 2010, Shoop's Blazers won series against then-No. 4 Rice and eventual College World Series participant Southern Miss. The 2010 season was historic for Shoop in terms of milestone victories. The Blazer skipper earned his 100th UAB victory April 6, 2010 at Alabama and picked up his 800th career victory May 14, 2010 against Tulane.
Four Blazers earned all-conference recognition in 2011, led by first-team selection Jamal Austin. Teammates Nick Crawford, Dillon Napoleon and Ryan Woolley earned second-team honors, while John Frost was named to the C-USA All-Tournament Team. Napoleon also earned the conference's Newcomer of the Year award, the first Blazer to ever earn the honor.
Following the conclusion of the 2011 season, both Austin and Woolley were selected in the Major League Baseball Amateur Draft. Both players were selected in the 13th round with Austin going to the Seattle Mariners and Woolley being picked by the Detroit Tigers. The selections marked the second and third highest draft picks in program history, behind only Chris Hammond was drafted in the sixth round by the Cincinnati Reds in 1986. Under the guidance of Shoop, 10 UAB players have gone on to play in the professional ranks.
Since Shoop took over the program in 2007, UAB has racked up 19 all-conference honors. That season, the Blazers immediately improved from an eighth-place Conference USA finish the previous year to a three-way tie for fourth place, marking the best finish for the program since 1998. A year later, Shoop coached Ryan Keedy to third-team All-American status. Keedy turned in one of the best statistical seasons in UAB history in 2008, leading C-USA with a .423 batting average and setting a school record with 29 doubles. The eventual 16th-round draft pick of the Chicago Cubs also blasted 10 home runs and drove in 69 runs.
The 2008 season was also highlighted by the Blazers' academic success. UAB earned the C-USA Sport Academic award for baseball after posting a team GPA of 3.06 for the 2007-08 academic year. The team has continued its success in the classroom with 26 players earning a GPA of 3.0 or better in at least one semester last year. In 2009, UAB pitcher James Oliver was named the C-USA Scholar-Athlete of the Year for baseball.
Through five seasons as the head coach, Shoop has had 88 players named to the C-USA Commissioner's honor roll for compiling a 3.0 GPA or better, while 24 student-athletes have earned the league's academic medial for totaling a 3.75 GPA or better. Shoop's squads have compiled team GPA's of over 3.0 in four of five seasons.
Since arriving at UAB, Shoop has tallied 139 wins to put him over 800 victories for his career. The 22-year coaching veteran and member of the Alabama Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame owns a career record of 831-453-1 (.647).
Shoop was appointed as the head coach of the UAB baseball program on June 12, 2006 by Interim Director of Athletics Richard Margison.
"When we called other head coaches to get input on prospective candidates, almost every person said `you've got the best person right in Birmingham in Brian Shoop,'" said Margison upon Shoop's hiring. "He graduates players, he coaches a very competitive, winning program, and he's involved in the community. We are very excited about the future of our baseball program under his leadership."
Shoop came to UAB after serving 17 seasons at the helm of the Birmingham-Southern program, where he compiled a record of 692-307-1 (.692). In November 2008, the school inducted Shoop into its Sports Hall of Fame. The winningest coach all-time at Birmingham-Southern, Shoop won 40 games or more nine times, including an eight-year run from 1994-2001 that was capped off with a 55-win season. He finished with at least 32 wins in 16 of his 17 years at the school with his only sub-32-win season coming in his first campaign back in 1990.
Whether at Birmingham-Southern or now at UAB, Shoop is quick to recognize the contributions of his assistant coaches and their impact on his programs.
"What a blessing it is every day to come to work with our incredible staff," Shoop said. "Perry, Josh, Ben and Coach Polk are an incredible group possessing so much baseball knowledge they daily pass along to our players. But they are even better people, fun to work beside, and they provide a tremendous example to the young men we have the privilege of coaching. Interacting daily with our staff, our support staff and our players makes working at UAB a true joy."
With the move to UAB, Shoop found himself in one of the toughest conferences in the nation. The conference season has always been a time when his teams have shined in the past, capturing a remarkable 209 victories in league play at Birmingham-Southern.
Under Shoop, the Panthers claimed the Big South regular season championship in two of his last three years at Birmingham-Southern (2004 and 2006). His 2004 squad earned a berth in the NCAA Athens Regional following a 47-18 season that made him the recipient of the 2004 Big South Conference Coach of the Year award as well as the ABCA Coach of the Year honor.
When speaking of recruiting the finest talent in the country, Shoop believes UAB is a premier institution to attract quality young men and players.
"When I took the job here, a lot of people would say that I'd have to lower my standards in what we were looking for in young men, and I kept saying, `why?'" Shoop said. "We have a 14-point plan and we try to stick to that. We graduated 67 straight players at Birmingham-Southern, and I'm fully committed to these kids getting their UAB degree.
"We try to be pretty thorough through interviews, and I hope that we're not compromising character for ability. We have a higher expectation of our guys off the field than on the field, and we want the school and community to view the UAB baseball program as a source of pride. My experience is that winning has been a by-product of doing things the right way."
Shoop's goal is to instill a winning tradition at UAB that stems from the philosophy of building a well-rounded team.
"We're trying to recruit a pitching staff that gives us a chance to win, and we put a very high value on defense," he said. "We'll try and recruit a balanced offense. I don't really want sluggers like the `Bronx Bombers' one through nine. I want a combination offense that has a balance between bunting, running and power. I want to be able to attack the game in multiple ways. We want mentally tough guys who are hard workers, and we also try to recruit good families. What their moms and dads are like is important to us."
At Birmingham-Southern, Shoop's teams averaged 41 wins a season and captured nine regular season conference titles and eight league tournament championships. He led his squads to 10 regional appearances and finished no worse than third, with three runner-up finishes and four regional titles. The Panthers were ranked in the final NAIA poll in 10 of Shoop's first 12 seasons, including eight top-10 rankings and four top-five finishes. In 2006, his final season with the Panthers marked the 16th straight winning season for Birmingham-Southern as his team finished 33-22.
In 2001, Birmingham-Southern's final year of NAIA competition, Shoop led the Panthers to a school-record 55 wins on the way to claiming the NAIA National Championship, the program's first-ever national title. Shoop was named the 2001 NAIA National Coach of the Year and Region XI coach of the year from the ABCA. Following the Panthers' run to the 2001 national championship, Shoop was selected to greet President George W. Bush at the Birmingham International Airport during his visit to Alabama and the "Magic City."
Shoop has been the recipient of his fair share of accolades from his peers during his time spent as a head coach. Twice he was named TransSouth Conference Coach of the Year, and he has been honored as the ABCA Mid-South Region Coach of the Year on three occasions. Shoop was named either conference or district coach of the year in seven of his last 11 years at Birmingham-Southern, and he served as the NAIA Southeastern Region Baseball Chairman for four years. In his career, he has been the guest speaker at the ABCA National Convention three times, and in 1996, he was inducted into the Malone (Ohio) College Athletic Hall of Fame.
Before running the Birmingham-Southern program, Shoop served as an assistant coach at Mississippi State under legendary head coach Ron Polk. Over a seven-year span (1983-89), he helped the Bulldogs win three Southeastern Conference (SEC) championships and earn six regional appearances with a College World Series appearance in 1985. During his tenure in Starkville, Shoop coached Major League Baseball standouts Will Clark, Rafael Palmeiro, Jeff Brantley and Bobby Thigpen and was instrumental in recruiting some of the top players in America.
Shoop has also helped to develop some of the game's top NCAA Division I coaches in Matt Bragga (head coach, Tennessee Tech), Bob Keller (assistant coach, South Alabama), Daron Schoenrock (head coach, Memphis) and Butch Thompson (assistant coach, Mississippi State) to name a few.
"It has been a blessing and privilege to work with coach Shoop," said UAB assistant Perry Roth. "He is, in my opinion, the best coach in all of America. He is incredibly organized and prepared and thinks the game at a different level. What truly separates him is his love for his players and his faith. When you have an opportunity to be around him, you can't help but grow as a coach and grow as a person."
An Ohio native, Shoop began his coaching career at his alma mater, Malone (Ohio) College, where he was an all-district performer. Malone was the Ohio NAIA champion in each of Shoop's six years as a player and coach.
He earned a double degree in physical education and business/economics from Malone and a master's degree in sports administration from Kent State University. He has also completed his doctoral course work in educational leadership at Mississippi State. 3
Shoop and his wife, Brenda, reside in Birmingham and have five children: Scott, Emily, Hannah, and twins Sarah and Jesse. Emily was married to Joshua Aldy this past fall.
