Brian Shoop
Brian Shoop (born March 8, 1958 in Columbus, Ohio) is a former head baseball coach for the Birmingham-Southern College Panthers and UAB Blazers men's baseball teams.
Shoop is a native of Columbus, Ohio. A 1980 graduate of Malone College (Ohio), he received his Master's in Sports Administration at Kent State in 1982. He was inducted to the Malone Hall of Fame in 1986. He was twice named TransSouth Conference Coach of the Year and was honored as the ABCA Mid-South Region Coach of the Year three times. Before coming to BSC in 1989, Shoop was an assistant at Mississippi State University under Ron Polk. Over a seven-year span, he helped the Bulldogs win three SEC championships and earn six regional appearances, including a trip to Omaha, Nebraska and the College World Series in 1985.
Shoop led the Panthers for 17 years and his team secured an NAIA national championship in 2001, then led the team into Division I, immediately claimiing back-to-back Big South Conference championships. After the 2006 season, when BSC president David Pollick announced that the Panthers would be moving from NCAA Division I to non-scholarship Division III play, Shoop left Birmingham-Southern with a 699–300–1 record.
Shoop was announced the Blazers' coach on June 12, 2006. His 2007 team went 25-33 and 12-12 in conference play. The 2008 squad went 26-34 but dropped to 7-17 in conference play. After two disappointing seasons, the Blazers brought in Shoop's former mentor, Polk, who had retired from MSU. Polk joined the Blazers after the 2008 season as a volunteer assistant coach.
After 14 seasons with the Blazers, Shoop retired from UAB in May 2020 with a career record of 1,058–683–1. His final season was canceled after 16 games due to the 2020 Coronavirus pandemic. Perry Roth succeeded him as interim head coach.
Shoop and his wife Brenda have five children.
References
- Goodman, Joseph (May 13, 2020) "A Birmingham baseball legend deserved better." The Birmingham News
External links
- Brian Shoop profile at UABSports website