Sunday Sit-down with Mizzou baseball coach Kerrick Jackson

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

ABC 17 Sports Director Nathalie Jones brought on Mizzou's new baseball coach, Kerrick Jackson, in this week's edition of Sunday Sit-down.

Jackson comes on the show, just 22 days after he was hired to take the helm of the Tiger baseball team. He said he's hit the ground running, so far, and is still working on assembling a staff. He added that recruiting has been a big priority for him, as well, including re-recruiting the players that were already on the roster.

"I think the biggest thing with them is just letting them understand what we're going to be about, what our culture is going to be about, how important our culture is going to be, with regards to putting ourselves in a position to be successful, and making sure that it's a fit for them," he said. "What I do understand is that they weren't recruited to this, they weren't recruited by me. They need to understand what we're about."

Jackson wants his teams to be known as gritty and said they will always play hard until the final out is called. He is looking for a very specific type of player.

"The big message to all of our guys is if you don't have that dog in you, you can't play here. Plain and simple. This is the wrong place, it'll be an awful experience for you," Jackson said. "You have to have that dog, you have to understand that the most important thing that we have is opportunity and if opportunity's not enough for you, then you probably need to go someplace else."

The former Memphis head coach has had some success turning around programs in the past. He led Memphis to its first winning season since 2017, in his first season, 2022. Before that stint, he was also a head coach at Southern University, where he took a nine-win team in 2018 to 32 wins, a conference championship, and the NCAA Tournament the following season.

He said the most important thing in his success at those two schools was setting the culture early. He added a sustainable culture will allow for sustainable success.

Jackson is no stranger to Columbia, as he was an assistant coach under former head coach Tim Jamieson from 2011-15. He saw MU's last appearance in the NCAA Tournament in 2012 and the team's last conference tournament championship.

"Just the idea of knowing that we could be successful For me, nothing's changed," he said. "Now coming back here, we have to instill that same belief and philosophy in the people that we're recruiting and, not only people that we're recruiting, but the people that are supporting us"

You can watch the full conversation with Coach Jackson on ABC 17's SportsZone at 9:30 Fox 22 and 10:30 on ABC 17.