The search for Tennessee's new head baseball coach picked up in earnest this week, and a hire is expected in the next few days.
UT athletic director Mike Hamilton met with multiple candidates recently in Atlanta. Among those he reportedly interviewed were Michigan coach Rich Maloney, Troy coach Bobby Pierce and former UT assistant and minor league manager Bill Mosiello.
Other plausible candidates include three coaches -- Louisville's Dan McDonnell, UC Irvine's Dave Serrano and Rice assistant David Pierce -— still involved in the College World Series as of Tuesday afternoon.
Candidates in Atlanta were told to expect a decision by Friday.
Maloney, 42, just finished his fifth season in charge of the Wolverines. They went 42-19, reached a third consecutive NCAA tournament and eliminated top-ranked Vanderbilt in regional play. A former shortstop in the Atlanta Braves organization, Maloney coached Ball State from 1996 to 2002 before being taking over at Michigan.
The Detroit Free Press first reported Maloney's interview with Tennessee in Tuesday's editions.
Bobby Pierce, 48, led Troy to a 34-27 record and second straight NCAA appearance this past season. The Trojans' RPI was high enough for them to be selected as an at-large NCAA team. He attended Alabama and is a former Crimson Tide assistant coach.
Mosiello, 42, coached Vols legend Todd Helton in college and remains close friends with the Colorado Rockies All-Star. Mosiello spent the past season as an assistant at Southern Cal, where he landed after four years in the New York Yankees organization. He went 129-98 in nearly two seasons as manager of the Single-A Charleston (S.C.) RiverDogs.
College of Charleston coach John Pawlowski, another reported candidate, said Tuesday afternoon he has not interviewed.
"I've not talked to them this week," Pawlowski said. "I've not heard too much on it, so I'm not sure what direction they're going."
Former Vols assistant Serrano has been considered a front-runner for the job, but he may be hurt by questions about his academic past. UC Irvine's Web site says Serrano earned his bachelor's degree from "Trinity College and University," which is the name of a former institution in South Dakota and a current one in Spain. Neither is accredited. Both are known to have offered degrees for purchase with no classes.
Serrano has declined comment on the Tennessee opening during his squad's postseason run, which continued into Tuesday night's CWS elimination game against Arizona State.
McDonnell's Louisville team, the first in school history to reach the CWS, was eliminated 3-1 by North Carolina on Tuesday. The 36-year-old is in his first year with the Cardinals after six seasons as an assistant at Ole Miss.
David Pierce, 44, has spent his entire 20-year coaching career in his home state of Texas. He has been named one of four finalists for the head coaching job at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.
Hamilton has been tight-lipped about the search but remains interested in more than one CWS participant, according to comments from another prospective coach.
"Some of the people who are in consideration for that position, they're still in the College World Series. That's at least what I'm hearing and being told," Coastal Carolina's Gary Gilmore told the Myrtle Beach Sun News last week. "Schools like that, they're great institutions, they're looking for a big-name guy, an Omaha guy. They might get that coup. If not, it might filter down to someone like me."
