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8/2/2022 3:05:00 PM | Baseball, General
Mitch Thompson Didn’t Have to Travel Far for His ‘Dream Job’
(Editor's Note: This is a sneak preview of a feature in the 2022 fall edition of the Insider magazine, which is the official publication of the Baylor Bear Foundation. All donors at the $400 level and higher receive 3-4 magazines per year, including a bowl preview issue.)
By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
Mitch Thompson may have left Baylor 10 years ago, but he never got too far away – 6.9 miles to be exact. That's the distance from Baylor Ballpark to Bosque River Ballpark, where he spent the last nine years as MCC's head baseball coach.
"Thompy" has 23 years' experience as a Division I assistant coach, including an 18-year stint at Baylor (1995-2012). But even during his nine years across town at McLennan Community College, where he led the Highlanders to four Junior College World Series appearances and the 2021 national championship, he never lost sight of the one job he's always wanted.
"This was my dream," said Thompson, who compiled a record of 372-138-1 and made nine-straight postseasons at MCC. "Twenty-three years as a Division I assistant coach, I thought I was ready to be a Division I head coach. And I think I was. But, I can promise you, I'm more ready now than I was before. My years at McLennan were so valuable."
Thompson was actually in the mix and seemed to have the inside track for the Baylor job seven years ago, after leading MCC to the NJCAA national championship game in his second year with the Highlanders. This time, he was the obvious pick in a "really deep pool of candidates."
"Mitch wasn't given this job, he earned it," said Baylor Vice President and Director of Athletics Mack B. Rhoades IV. "He was the best of the best when we think about a really, really deep and talented pool. I'll say this, because of Mitch's history here and because he was the favorite externally, probably made it harder for him. Because we weren't going to hire him just because of those things. He had to be the right person, and he is the right person."
Two weeks after Steve Rodriguez announced his resignation, Thompson was named as the 20th head coach in program history on June 15 and introduced at a press conference eight days later before an overflow crowd at the Baylor Club that included former All-Americans Jason Jennings, David Murphy and Kelly Shoppach.
Of course, he didn't really need an introduction. As Baylor's hitting coach and recruiting coordinator under Steve Smith, Thompson was instrumental in the golden era of the program, helping the Bears win three Big 12 titles, post 40-win seasons 10 times and advance to the 2005 College World Series.
As Rhoades put it: "He's done it before, he knows how to do it, and he'll do it again."
"We moved to Waco 27 years ago, and I hope I never leave," Thompson said. "Baylor is such a unique place. We don't run away from our Christian heritage, and I love that. I love being able to share with our guys. If I truly love my players, how can I not talk about their eternal destination and their heart and soul? This is a place that gives us the opportunity to do that and not back away from it at all. There's no other place like this."
A native of Goodland, Kan., which is "not the end of the world, but you can see it from there," Thompson is a 1988 graduate of Fort Hays (Kan.) State University and earned his master's degree from Mississippi State in 1991. After one-year stops at Cloud County Community College and Bacone College, he twice earned academic all-conference honors and served as the baseball team captain his senior year at Fort Hays.
"When I was in the eighth grade, I knew I wanted to be a college baseball coach," he said. "Mom and Dad had to play a big part. They had to get us out to go places and do things and to meet people, and had to work hard at it, because we lived way out in Northwest Kansas, a long way from anywhere."
Getting his start in coaching, Mitch was a graduate assistant for legendary coach Ron Polk on a Mississippi State team that made the 1990 College World Series. After one year as an assistant at Radford, he returned to Starkville and made two regional appearances before getting back to the College World Series in his one year at Auburn in '94.
That's when he got the call to join Smith at Baylor.
"My first experience at Baylor on the field, there was a 7-foot-tall sunflower growing at third base. That's a fact," he said. "I'm coming from Auburn and a College World Series program, and I'm going, 'What have we done?'''
Just three years later, though, the Bears made an NCAA regional. In 1999, Baylor came a win away from getting to the World Series, losing a Game 3 against Oklahoma State in the Waco Super Regional.
The highlight of his Baylor career came six years later, when the Bears swept the Waco Regional and came back from a first-game loss to defeat Clemson in the Super Regional. Getting back to the World Series with a third different team, Thompson helped Baylor defeat Oregon State and top-ranked Tulane before a 4-3 loss to eventual national champion Texas.
"I'll never forget the dogpile out at Baylor Ballpark," Thompson said of the celebration after Baylor's 6-1 win over Clemson. "This is a place that needs to host regional championships, it's a place that needs to host Super Regionals. It needs to, and it can. I've seen it done."
Yes, he has.
And Thompson saw it at MCC, too. Four JUCO World Series appearances included a runner-up finish in 2015 and the NJCAA national championship in 2021.
"I want to play defense, I want to pitch, I want to run the bases like our hair's on fire," he said. "But, to do that, we've got to have players that can do all that, too. Our great Baylor offenses of the past . . . we had several years where we hit 100 home runs and stole 100 bases. You throw it over the plate, we crush you out of the ballpark. You try to throw off-speed stuff, we'll just steal you blind.
"We're going to play hard, we're going to try to look like we're well-coached. But, we're going to play a winning brand of baseball."
Going with what he knows, Thompson brought in a coaching staff that includes former Baylor players Zach Dillon (hitting coach/recruiting coordinator) and Jim Blair (volunteer assistant) and former MCC and Arkansas-Little Rock pitching coach James Leverton. On Tuesday, he added former UTA head coach Darin Thomas as director of baseball operations.
"I am honored to be coming home to our Baylor Family," said Dillon, who was part of the 2005 World Series team. "I am so fired up to be a part of the next chapter of Baylor Baseball alongside Coach Thompson. We will work relentlessly to bring in talented players with winning DNA. We will build team and championship culture on and off the field together."
To support Coach Thompson and the future of Baylor Baseball, you can either join the Heart of the Order, make donations to the Baylor Ballpark improvements project, or both! To join HOTO, please call Kyle Barnard at 254-710-4303. Visit the Baylor Ballpark Projects link to donate funds for the planned improvements.
By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
Mitch Thompson may have left Baylor 10 years ago, but he never got too far away – 6.9 miles to be exact. That's the distance from Baylor Ballpark to Bosque River Ballpark, where he spent the last nine years as MCC's head baseball coach.
"Thompy" has 23 years' experience as a Division I assistant coach, including an 18-year stint at Baylor (1995-2012). But even during his nine years across town at McLennan Community College, where he led the Highlanders to four Junior College World Series appearances and the 2021 national championship, he never lost sight of the one job he's always wanted.
"This was my dream," said Thompson, who compiled a record of 372-138-1 and made nine-straight postseasons at MCC. "Twenty-three years as a Division I assistant coach, I thought I was ready to be a Division I head coach. And I think I was. But, I can promise you, I'm more ready now than I was before. My years at McLennan were so valuable."
Thompson was actually in the mix and seemed to have the inside track for the Baylor job seven years ago, after leading MCC to the NJCAA national championship game in his second year with the Highlanders. This time, he was the obvious pick in a "really deep pool of candidates."
"Mitch wasn't given this job, he earned it," said Baylor Vice President and Director of Athletics Mack B. Rhoades IV. "He was the best of the best when we think about a really, really deep and talented pool. I'll say this, because of Mitch's history here and because he was the favorite externally, probably made it harder for him. Because we weren't going to hire him just because of those things. He had to be the right person, and he is the right person."
Two weeks after Steve Rodriguez announced his resignation, Thompson was named as the 20th head coach in program history on June 15 and introduced at a press conference eight days later before an overflow crowd at the Baylor Club that included former All-Americans Jason Jennings, David Murphy and Kelly Shoppach.
Of course, he didn't really need an introduction. As Baylor's hitting coach and recruiting coordinator under Steve Smith, Thompson was instrumental in the golden era of the program, helping the Bears win three Big 12 titles, post 40-win seasons 10 times and advance to the 2005 College World Series.
As Rhoades put it: "He's done it before, he knows how to do it, and he'll do it again."
"We moved to Waco 27 years ago, and I hope I never leave," Thompson said. "Baylor is such a unique place. We don't run away from our Christian heritage, and I love that. I love being able to share with our guys. If I truly love my players, how can I not talk about their eternal destination and their heart and soul? This is a place that gives us the opportunity to do that and not back away from it at all. There's no other place like this."
A native of Goodland, Kan., which is "not the end of the world, but you can see it from there," Thompson is a 1988 graduate of Fort Hays (Kan.) State University and earned his master's degree from Mississippi State in 1991. After one-year stops at Cloud County Community College and Bacone College, he twice earned academic all-conference honors and served as the baseball team captain his senior year at Fort Hays.
"When I was in the eighth grade, I knew I wanted to be a college baseball coach," he said. "Mom and Dad had to play a big part. They had to get us out to go places and do things and to meet people, and had to work hard at it, because we lived way out in Northwest Kansas, a long way from anywhere."
Getting his start in coaching, Mitch was a graduate assistant for legendary coach Ron Polk on a Mississippi State team that made the 1990 College World Series. After one year as an assistant at Radford, he returned to Starkville and made two regional appearances before getting back to the College World Series in his one year at Auburn in '94.
That's when he got the call to join Smith at Baylor.
"My first experience at Baylor on the field, there was a 7-foot-tall sunflower growing at third base. That's a fact," he said. "I'm coming from Auburn and a College World Series program, and I'm going, 'What have we done?'''
Just three years later, though, the Bears made an NCAA regional. In 1999, Baylor came a win away from getting to the World Series, losing a Game 3 against Oklahoma State in the Waco Super Regional.
The highlight of his Baylor career came six years later, when the Bears swept the Waco Regional and came back from a first-game loss to defeat Clemson in the Super Regional. Getting back to the World Series with a third different team, Thompson helped Baylor defeat Oregon State and top-ranked Tulane before a 4-3 loss to eventual national champion Texas.
"I'll never forget the dogpile out at Baylor Ballpark," Thompson said of the celebration after Baylor's 6-1 win over Clemson. "This is a place that needs to host regional championships, it's a place that needs to host Super Regionals. It needs to, and it can. I've seen it done."
Yes, he has.
And Thompson saw it at MCC, too. Four JUCO World Series appearances included a runner-up finish in 2015 and the NJCAA national championship in 2021.
"I want to play defense, I want to pitch, I want to run the bases like our hair's on fire," he said. "But, to do that, we've got to have players that can do all that, too. Our great Baylor offenses of the past . . . we had several years where we hit 100 home runs and stole 100 bases. You throw it over the plate, we crush you out of the ballpark. You try to throw off-speed stuff, we'll just steal you blind.
"We're going to play hard, we're going to try to look like we're well-coached. But, we're going to play a winning brand of baseball."
Going with what he knows, Thompson brought in a coaching staff that includes former Baylor players Zach Dillon (hitting coach/recruiting coordinator) and Jim Blair (volunteer assistant) and former MCC and Arkansas-Little Rock pitching coach James Leverton. On Tuesday, he added former UTA head coach Darin Thomas as director of baseball operations.
"I am honored to be coming home to our Baylor Family," said Dillon, who was part of the 2005 World Series team. "I am so fired up to be a part of the next chapter of Baylor Baseball alongside Coach Thompson. We will work relentlessly to bring in talented players with winning DNA. We will build team and championship culture on and off the field together."
To support Coach Thompson and the future of Baylor Baseball, you can either join the Heart of the Order, make donations to the Baylor Ballpark improvements project, or both! To join HOTO, please call Kyle Barnard at 254-710-4303. Visit the Baylor Ballpark Projects link to donate funds for the planned improvements.
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