Redovian returns to Golden Eagle baseball coaching staff as full-time assistant
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – The core of the 2018 Tennessee Tech baseball coaching staff is officially back as head coach coach Justin Holmes announced the promotion of former volunteer assistant Jimmy Redovian to assistant coach.
By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – The core of the 2018 Tennessee Tech baseball coaching staff is officially back as head coach coach Justin Holmes announced the promotion of former volunteer assistant Jimmy Redovian to assistant coach.
Redovian rejoins a staff of the newly appointed head man, Holmes (Tech's assistant coach and recruiting coordinator the past four seasons) and Mitchell Wright (an assistant on last year's squad) that played significant roles in the record-shattering season by the Golden Eagle baseball team.
"First and foremost, I'm just thankful for this past year and Coach [Matt] Bragga giving me this opportunity to be on as a volunteer," Redovian expressed. "Without that, I probably wouldn't be here and get the opportunity to stay on with Coach Holmes. I want to thank Coach Holmes for believing in me. Coach Holmes, Mitch and I worked well together and we're excited to continue the upward trend of Tennessee Tech baseball."
Holmes added, "Promoting Jimmy is a blessing. It really is. Mitch and him both. Being able to retain both of those guys is incredible. Both of them have experience here at a high level and know what I would expect. I think we all speak the same language and I'm just very happy it was able to work out this way."
Redovian served as a do-it-all man for the Tech staff, from coaching first base to field maintenance and support to batting practice pitcher All-American. He also assisted heavily in operations and built a great rapport with the student-athletes and coaches.
"Jimmy does a great job with the outfielders," Holmes expressed. "He does a great job in assisting with the hitting. He does a great job on the field with maintenance. Bringing him back is a no-brainer and we're lucky to have him."
Looking ahead to 2019 and further, Redovian will take on an extended role in his first season as a full-time assistant.
"I'm looking to enhance my role a little more," Redovian explained. "I get to recruit now. I'm still going to do a lot of the field work, but I'll now get to be a bit more hands on with hitting, the outfield and the position players' daily work. I'm very excited about that."
Holmes also expressed, "No matter how you cut it, Jimmy is going to be heavily involved in pretty much everything we do."
The chance to return to a staff with Wright was also exciting as the two assistants discovered a connection they shared this past season.
"Mitch, man, we've actually roomed together on the road for a year," Redovian said of his colleague. "It's a funny story with Mitch – we met two-and-a-half, three years ago coaching 15-year-old summer ball and we realized that we had played each other for the last year and a half in the same conference. I played at West Florida, he played at Alabama-Huntsville, so we had played each other in conference play. We had some stories for each other and we just kind of meshed the first day we met. I'm excited to keep working with him even though he's kicking me out because his fiancée is moving in."
Redovian joined the Golden Eagle staff as a volunteer assistant coach after serving as an assistant coach and JV coach at Florida Southern during the 2017 season. He joined the Florida Southern College staff in the fall of 2016 following a four-year collegiate baseball career that began at Wake Forest University and ended at the University of West Florida.
The Nashville native helped lead West Florida to the 2016 NCAA Division II South Regional in Tampa, Fla., batting .312 with three homers and 27 RBI as the team's primary designated hitter. During the 2016 NCAA postseason, Redovian batted .407 with six runs batted in and a team-best .448 on-base percentage.
In two seasons with the Argonauts, Redovian played in 93 games with 89 games at third base, shortstop, and as the DH, and compiled a .282 batting average with four home runs, 46 runs batted in and a .380 on-base percentage.
Prior to joining West Florida's baseball program, Redovian played two years in the ACC for Wake Forest University and showed his versatility as a defender having started 25 games with a combined 40 appearances at second base, shortstop and third base. As a Demon Deacon he had two home runs and 10 RBI's over his two seasons.
Redovian attended high school at Battle Ground Academy from 2009-2012, where he played for highly-acclaimed head coach, Brad Myers, and was both an all-region baseball and football player. In 2012, he was named to the All Mid-State team after helping lead BGA to the school's first ever baseball state championship. Redovian signed with Wake Forest while a junior in high school. He also played summer baseball with the acclaimed Middle TN Outlaws, returning as an assistant coach for the 16U team during the summers of 2015 and 2016.
He graduated from the University of West Florida in the spring of 2016 with a bachelor's degree in sports management.
Photo by Thomas Corhern
