Former Terps coach Erik Bakich now leads Michigan.

In the midst of a national search to find former coach Erik Bakich’s replacement, the Terrapins baseball program wasted no time naming an interim replacement. On Thursday, less than 24 hours after athletics department officials announced Bakich was on the move, the department named volunteer assistant Eric Milton interim coach.

Milton, who joined the Terps in September to work with the team’s pitchers and catchers, is a former Terp with no previous coaching experience. He did, however, spend 11 years as a pitcher in the major leagues, compiling an 89-85 record with four teams.

“My goal when I came here was to help develop our players for professional careers and build a winning tradition at my alma mater,” Milton said in a release. “That goal remains the same.”

Milton was unavailable for comment Tuesday.

As an interim coach, Milton enters a difficult situation for a Terps team many thought was on the rise under Bakich. Two of the top pitchers on the team, right-hander Charlie Haslup and left-hander Jimmy Reed, are currently debating their futures after being drafted by the New York Yankees earlier this month.

Additionally, pitching coach Sean Kenny, a native of Ann Arbor, Mich., appears poised to join Bakich at Michigan. Bakich said Monday he offered Kenny a position on his staff and expects him to accept. The Terps’ 3.21 team ERA this season was their lowest in recent history, and the pitching carried a sometimes anemic offense through stretches of the schedule.

There’s also the possibility of any number of recruits choosing to pursue their collegiate careers elsewhere following Bakich’s departure, as well as current Terps who may opt to transfer to another school. Bakich’s recruiting classes, including a No. 25-ranked 2010 class, were instrumental in stocking the program with fresh talent.

Bakich’s ability to sell the university to prospective players was key in making the longtime ACC doormat attractive to top talent, and it remains to be seen how many players were either sold on the school or just sold on Bakich.

Despite the uncertainty surrounding the program, current and former Terps have expressed their approval at the decision to move Milton to interim coach.

“Great news for #terpsbaseball,” outfielder Charlie White posted on his Twitter account shortly after the announcement.

Former right-hander Sander Beck, one of the most publicly outspoken Terps at the time of Bakich’s departure, tweeted, “Absolutely a step in the right direction for #Maryland baseball. Great, great news.”

In an interview with The Diamondback on Monday, Bakich said he supported Milton taking over as coach.

“I think Eric Milton absolutely 100 percent should be the head coach at Maryland,” Bakich said. “He’s a former player. He’s someone who takes a tremendous amount of pride in his alma mater. He knows the struggles. He knows the limitations. And he’s a guy who will absolutely roll up his sleeves and understands that process right now.”

Those limitations, which include dwindling funds, are key for the future of the Terps baseball program. During his three years in College Park, Bakich’s use of his own time and energy to raise money from donors was instrumental in the improvements to the program.

And although he successfully tackled those challenges, the program’s – and department’s – limitations proved to be too much to keep Bakich around.

“Unfortunately, the athletics department is just in a really difficult situation,” Bakich said. “I understand and am sensitive to that, but we did have a lot of dialogue. At the end of the day, it was just a really difficult situation with the current circumstances financially that the athletics department are in, and so we weren’t able to come to an agreement.”

After almost 10 months of working with Bakich, Milton certainly knows what the Terps are facing and what he can do to rectify a situation that may seem bleak.

“I sat in a dugout for over 2,000 Major League baseball games in my career,” Milton said in a release upon his hiring. “You learn a little bit about baseball that way. I think I can add a lot to this program. … I have more knowledge than just pitching; it’s all aspects of the game and I think I can add that to this program.”

Hiring a former major league player back to his alma mater to coach with little experience isn’t something new in college baseball. Last summer, Nebraska hired longtime pro player Darin Erstad to take over its program. In his first year, Erstad led the Huskers to a fourth place finish in the Big Ten.

So while the athletics department continues its national search for a new coach, the right man for the job could already be in College Park.

Bakich sure thinks so.

“[Milton] also has the absolute perfect mentality for head coaching,” Bakich said. “He’s a guy that is a very even keel mindset. I think he’ll be a good consistent role model for these players. One of the reasons I was excited about getting him on board was that he has done what every college player wants to do.

“I think Eric Milton is absolutely the right guy for the job, and I hope he gets that opportunity because I think he’s going to take the program to the next level.”

dgallen@umdbk.com