Southern Illinoise University Athletics
What They're Saying About Lance Rhodes
06/21/2019 | 10:58:00 | Baseball
A taste of the national conversation around Lance Rhodes being hired as the new Saluki Baseball head coach...
STEVE BIESER, MISSOURI HEAD BASEBALL COACH
"Coach Rhodes is a terrific hire for the Salukis. He is one of the top recruiters in the country, as well as one of the best baseball minds I have been around. His passion, energy and work ethic will be contagious. I am excited to watch him tear it up in Carbondale."
JERRY KILL, SIU DIRECTOR OF ATHLETICS
"This is a big day for our baseball program. We landed a proven guy and a great fit in Lance Rhodes. You talk to a lot of candidates who have specialized, but he has coached everything in baseball. He has done it all. In the hierarchy of young coaches, he was one of the most sought-after assistants in the country. He brings a lot of things to the table, but the No. 1 thing: He can flat-out recruit. That's a big part of being successful, and he's had great success at every place he's been."
MARK NEWMAN, SIU HALL OF FAME ('00) AND FORMER NEW YORK YANKEES SENIOR VP, BASEBALL OPERATIONS
"In this search, Coach Kill did an outstanding job identifying several of the brightest young coaches in college baseball. Lance has an outstanding background and has worked under one of the truly great college baseball coaches in the country in Steve Bieser. Lance is energetic and a people person. In some ways, he reminds me of Itchy Jones, who was the best coach I have ever been around. I get that vibe from Lance. He cares about players, the program, and the university. As a Saluki, I could not be happier with this hire."
DILLON LAWSON, NEW YORK YANKEES HITTING COORDINATOR
"Lance Rhodes is an amazing person with an even better family. He happens to be a great baseball coach, too. Lance can recruit and teach, and that will lead to a lot of wins. I'm excited for him, his family, and the SIU baseball program."Â
KENDALL RODGERS, CO-MANAGING EDITOR, D1BASEBALL
"Lance is what I'd consider to be a terrific hire for SIU. Lance accomplished big things during his time at SEMO with Coach Bieser, and established himself as an obvious successful evaluator with strong recruiting acumen. He carried that approach over to Missouri, where he guided the Tigers to one of the nation's best recruiting classes in 2018 and did a strong job as an assistant. Lance will know what's needed to put SIU on the national map."Â
MIKE ROONEY, PERFECT GAME
"This is an exciting hire for SIU. I thought Lance did an excellent job at Missouri in building an SEC caliber roster at arguably the least-advantaged school in the league. The signatures of the programs at Missouri and SEMO were innovative player development and a blue collar work ethic and I believe those themes play well in any league. Lance's recruiting chops are respected nationally and that will obviously be a huge asset at SIU. Overall, I think Lance's skills and background are an outstanding fit here."
