Perchcast: Hangin' with Hood

Hear from the UNCW baseball coach on this season, his vision for the program

While the Perch is disappointed there’s no midweek baseball to enjoy, we’re incredibly excited that we had the opportunity to talk with UNCW baseball coach Randy Hood for nearly an hour on Wednesday night for the fifth episode of Perchcast.

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Officially named head coach on April 29, 2019, it’s been anything but smooth sailing for Hood, who saw his first season cut short by COVID-19, lost a summer with his guys and has been unable to recruit in-person for a year.

He touched on everything the Seahawks have done to keep the program moving amid the circumstances, how recruiting has changed via Zoom and the identity and culture he hopes to continue and push forward durign his tenure.

“You can look at our recruiting classes at the beginning and say, ‘All right, they’re ranked this or that,’ but when it’s all said and done, we’ve done a great job of helping young men to develop as young adults, as great baseball players and also, a lot of them having the potential to go on and play at a higher level in baseball,” he said.

Hood, who joined the program in 2001 as an assistant to Coach Mark Scalf, detailed his own playing career, from becoming an All-Big South player at Campbell to the long bus rides as a member of the Helena Brewers until wrapping up his pro baseball career and deciding to pursue coaching at the college level.

With the Seahawks at 13-8 overall and 2-4 in CAA play, Hood explained why he isn’t panicking after struggling through two conference weekends.

“If you feel confident in what you’re seeing and if you feel confident that everybody is moving in the right direction nd on the same page, then I don’t think you really have to change a lot,” he said. “I think you, obviously, make some adjustments but I don’t think you have to go crazy and make a lot of changes.”

No doubt, UNCW’s history of success — especially in the past two decades — brings added pressure from the outside.

“We talk about our culture., our history, the expectations that come with our baseball program,” he said. “Yeah, a two-game losing streak right now, everybody kind of flips out a little bit and it turns into two series that we’ve lost and everyone gets a little bit uptight.

“But I know what we have here in our stable, I know what we have here in our locker room and on the field day-to-day and I’m trusting that our process and how we go about our business and the way our guys work and the talent we have will get through this little bump in the road and we’ll be fine it’s all said and done.”

All that, plus Hood’s memories of recruiting Ryan Jeffers, who begins the Major League season as one of the Minnesota Twins’ regular catchers and what the UNCW baseball program needs to take the next steps nationally.

“We’ve got the type of program that, year-in and year out, can be a Top 25-program — no doubt in my mind,” he said. “We just need to tap into some of those abilities to upgrade our facilities and help in that direction.”

As always, thanks for listening and reading!

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