On a Thursday in mid-April, Sean Kenny sat in his office in a brief respite from his daily duties as the Terrapins baseball pitching coach.
In front of him sat two computer monitors, one with a tape of Clemson, the Terps’ upcoming opponent that weekend, and the other open to his ever-updating email account.
Kenny talked about his past in college baseball, from playing at Eastern Michigan to coaching at San Diego and Pepperdine, before detailing how he’d turned around a moribund Terps pitching staff.
But as he talked, it was clear his mind was focused on the present, on stealing a series from the highly favored Tigers.
“I guess I really only think about getting to the ACC Tournament, getting to the NCAA Tournament and if we’re throwing it over the plate,” said Kenny, who accepted the pitching coach position at Michigan last Thursday. “That’s as far as my mind can focus.”
Kenny will team that focus with former Terps coach Erik Bakich again next year to help try to turn a Wolverines team around and make the NCAA Tournament.
Just a week after Bakich became the head coach at Michigan, Kenny decided he couldn’t resist returning to his hometown. An Ann Arbor, Mich., native, Kenny honed his strike across the street from Michigan Stadium at Pioneer High School.
Kenny’s impact on the pitching staff and, in turn, the success of the Terps was obvious throughout his tenure. In 2010, his first year on the job, the Terps posted an astronomical team ERA of 7.19. Right-hander Brett Harman, the team’s most consistent pitcher in 2012, led the staff with a 4.50 mark.
Two years later, the Terps finished the season with a mark of 3.21. Left-hander Jimmy Reed, who had a 13.75 ERA in Kenny’s first year, led the team at 2.70.
“He’s a great pitching coach,” Reed said in April. “He helps everybody. He’s a huge part of the success we’ve had this year, I think, and he’s a tireless worker. He’s always trying to make us better.”
While the Terps’ offense was occasionally erratic in 2012, Kenny and the pitching staff helped keep the team afloat. The pitching staff threw a school-record 10 shutouts last season, and the Terps posted a 24-0 record when holding opponents to two or fewer runs.
Kenny garnered high praise from the pitchers he worked with, some of whom he helped recruit to the Terps as well. While Bakich’s recruiting prowess at Vanderbilt was recognized at the national level, Kenny helped construct highly touted classes during his time at Pepperdine in the mid-2000s.
“He’s the best pitching coach I’ve ever worked with,” right-hander Brady Kirkpatrick said. “Just the mindset he brings each and every day and the energy. He just comes out here wanting to teach us.”
Kenny’s departure from the program could possibly signal even more change since Bakich exited two weeks ago.
The deadline for players selected in the MLB Draft to sign with pro teams is tomorrow at 5 p.m., and five current and future Terps – Reed, right-hander Charlie Haslup, left-hander Jake Drossner, right-hander Jared Price and shortstop Jose Cuas – must make that decision.
All signs point toward the return of Reed and Haslup, and the addition of Drossner, Price and Cuas. But nothing is official until the deadline.
After losing Kenny, the Terps pitching staff could take an even bigger hit.
dgallen@umdbk.com
