Jim Wells
Jim Wells (born March 21, 1955) was the head baseball coach at Alabama from 1994 until 2009 and is currently an assistant at East Mississippi Community College.
Wells graduated from Northwestern State University in Louisiana in 1980. He coached high school teams, and then became a graduate-assistant coach at LSU while working on his master's degree. He then went back to his alma-mater as head coach in 1990, and coached the Demons for five seasons, taking them to the NCAA tournament twice.
On June 4, 1994, Wells accepted the coaching position for the Crimson Tide. He is the winningest coach in school history, having compiled a 522-246(.680) record in 12 seasons as the school's head coach. Overall, in 18 seasons as a Division I head coach, he has compiled a 714-335 record. In 18 seasons, he has won five regular season conference titles, eight post-season conference championships, as well as 13 of 17 tournament appearances. Three of his teams have advanced to the College world series.
His 2006 squad went 44-21, won the 2006 SEC championship, and made it to the College World Series. He has guided the Crimson Tide to NCAA tournament appearances in 10 out of his 12 seasons there. His teams have also won the SEC tournament six times. In 1996 and 2002 he won the SEC Coach of the Year awards.
After the 2007 season, Wells announced his retirement. However, six days later, he returned to the squad and stayed through the 2009 season. He retired after 2009, and was replaced by Mitch Gaspard.
Awards and honors
- Three college world series appearances
- Two SEC championships
- Three SEC West Division Titles
- Six SEC Tournament Championships
- Four 50 win seasons, including 12 40 win seasons
- Two time SEC coach of the year
- 1997 Baseball America Coach of the Year
References
- "Jim Wells (coach) (September 26, 2007) Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia - accessed September 26, 2007
- Rapoport, Ian R. (May 21, 2008) "Jim Wells doesn't second-guess decision to return; Alabama baseball coach says he plans to return next year." The Birmingham News
- Estes, Gentry (September 1, 2009) "Jim Wells steps down as Alabama's baseball coach after 15 seasons." Press-Register
- Solomon, Jon (May 21, 2012) "Ex-Crimson Tide coach Jim Wells finds baseball again in junior college." The Birmingham News
External links
- Jim Wells at rolltide.com