He's staying! TCU's Jim Schlossnagle pulls name from MSU consideration
TCU baseball fans, take a deep breath.
Horned Frogs coach Jim Schlossnagle, who turned the program into a national power, pulled his name from consideration for the Mississippi State job Sunday evening.
Schlossnagle, who turns 48 in August, confirmed the news but declined to comment.
Schlossnagle has won a record number of games at TCU and has led the Horned Frogs to five College World Series, including four consecutive seasons (2014-2017).
"From the day I arrived here seven years ago, Jim has always expressed to me that TCU is his dream job," TCU athletic director Jeremiah Donati said.
Schlossnagle visited the MSU campus in Starkville, Miss., this weekend, according to several sources. The Bulldogs are in the process of a $60 million renovation to their famed Dudy Noble Field.
Schlossnagle earns about $1.5 million a year, which makes him one of the highest-paid college baseball coaches in the country. Schlossnagle was hired by TCU in July 2003 and has taken the Frogs to the postseason in 13 of his 15 seasons.
Various, unsubstantiated reports had MSU offering a salary of $2 million or more to lure a top coach to the job. MSU is looking for a new coach because second-year coach Andy Cannizaro resigned in February after reportedly having an affair with another MSU athletic department employee.
TCU pitching coach and recruiting coordinator Kirk Saarloos is a candidate for the head job at Rice. Saarloos has been given permission to interview for the job by TCU.
MSU is looking to pry away one of the premier coaches in the country, and Schlossnagle was a leading candidate. He acknowledged as much after the Frogs lost the Big 12 tournament championship on May 27.
Schlossnagle said he'd listen if MSU called.
"I've been loyal to TCU for 15 years and I'll continue to show my loyalty to TCU until something else happens," he said then. "Chancellor [Victor] Boschini has been amazing. Every athletic director I've had has been phenomenal."
This story was originally published June 3, 2018 at 9:40 PM with the headline "He's staying! TCU's Jim Schlossnagle pulls name from MSU consideration."