Alabama Fires Head Baseball Coach Brad Bohannon
After six seasons as the head baseball coach, Alabama is parting ways with Brad Bohannon.
"Alabama director of athletics Greg Byrne announced he has initiated the termination process for head baseball coach Brad Bohannon for, among other things, violating the standards, duties, and responsibilities expected of University employees," the University of Alabama said in a press release Thursday morning. "Bohannon has been relieved of all duties and Jason Jackson will serve as the interim head coach. There will be no further comment at this time pending an ongoing review.”
Bohannon has already been removed from the official team roster and website.
Jackson is the pitching coach for the Crimson Tide and has been on staff at Alabama since Bohannon arrived in 2017.
The termination comes amidst news earlier in the week that multiple states, starting with Ohio, are ceasing betting on Alabama baseball games due to suspicious activity stemming from Friday night's loss at No. 1 LSU.
According to a report from ESPN, there is video surveillance of Bohannon in communication with the person who placed the suspicious bets in connection to the April 28 game.
In mid April, a lawsuit was filed against Bohannon, Jackson and athletic trainer Sean Stryker by former player Blake Bennett for "refusing medical care to a severely injured player."
SEC commissioner Greg Sankey released a statement Thursday afternoon relating to Bohannon's termination.
"The University of Alabama has taken swift action after the information about baseball sports wagering activity was questioned by industry regulators," Sankey said in the statement. "Ensuring the integrity of athletic competition is our highest priority, and for that purpose the SEC monitors gambling activity through its relationship withe US Integrity and has done so since 2018.
"There must be zero tolerance for activity that puts into question the integrity of competition. We will remain in communication with the University throughout the ongoing review and will have no further comment at this time."
Bohannon took over after the 2017 season, when Greg Goff was fired after just one season as head coach with a 19-34-1 record. He was 166-124 (.572 win percentage) in six seasons as Alabama head coach. This was his first head coaching job after stops as an assistant at Wake Forest, Kentucky and Auburn.
Alabama has amassed a 30-15 (9-12 SEC) record this season and is in position to make the NCAA Tournament for what would be just the second time in Bohannon's tenure. The Crimson Tide opens a three-game series at home against No. 5 Vanderbilt Thursday night.
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