New era of Mizzou baseball begins on February 16
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
A new era of Tiger baseball is just 15 days away, as Mizzou prepares to open up the season under first-year head coach Kerrick Jackson, on Feb. 16 on the road against Cal Poly.
Jackson was tabbed as MU's head coach in June of 2023 and hit the ground running from there. In fact, making the most of every day is Jackson's motto for the Tigers moving forward. 'No Opportunity Wasted' (NOW) is what his team has lived by this offseason, as he looks to turn a new leaf for Tiger baseball.
"You guys know I was an assistant here before, I'm from the state and we constantly fall victim to what everybody else expects we can or can't do," Jackson said. "We're not supposed to be the best because we're the farthest team north in the SEC, we don't have the best stadium and what I've told our guys is that what you have is opportunity. Either you relish in the opportunity that you have or don't. Our ability to go out and play the game the right way should not be impacted by anybody else that's in the dugout, any other stadium that we play in, so, again, you got kids that have listened to so many things that are negative about why they can't be successful that we're trying to put them in the right position so they understand why they can be successful."
You can watch the full interview with Coach Jackson in the video player below.
Jackson, the former Memphis head coach, has seen what a successful Mizzou program looks like before. He served as an assistant coach in Columbia from 2011-15, working with hitters, outfielders and infielders. In that time, MU made back-to-back trips to the Big 12 Conference Tournament Championships, winning the program's first Big 12 title in 2021.
He said he knows what he's asking of his players is more than possible in Columbia, Missouri. Jackson also brought on someone who knows that success well: former Tiger head coach Tim Jamieson. Jamieson served as MU's head coach for 22 seasons, with Jackson working with him as an assistant.
Having a dose that old Mizzou tradition on the team is important to Coach Jackson moving forward. After all, he said the tradition of Tiger baseball is toughness.
"Trying to get these guys to understand that that's what this place was built on and it wasn't built on the idea of how you were ranked in 'Perfect Game' or what people thought of you as a prospect, it was gritty guys, that had a chip on their shoulder, that took the idea of being the disadvantaged team to their heart and went out and played to the best of their ability," Jackson said.
The Mizzou baseball team will feature several new faces in 2024, including right handed pitcher Xavier Lovett. He followed Jackson to Columbia from Memphis to be a part of the new era of Tiger baseball. Coach Jackson said it's been valuable to have a guy like him, who's gone through some adversity, on the team.
Lovett said that he's already seen his new teammates start to realize the kind of man that Jackson is.
"Kerrick is a man of his word," Lovett said. "Not only does he speak the good word, but he follows it up with his actions."
You can watch the full interview with Lovett in the video player below.
Veteran starter and Jefferson City native Trevor Austin will return for the 2024 season. The second baseman and left fielder said he's enjoyed getting to know Jackson ahead of his senior campaign. He added the way that the team was put together was a lot different than in year's past. MU used to build off of power and hitting, but focused more on versatility for the upcoming season.
"I think we're gonna be a lot faster and cause a lot more havoc around the baseball field," he said.
You can watch the full interview with Austin in the video player below.
Mizzou will start the season on Feb. 16 with a road trip to Cal Poly. The Tigers will be on the road in California for two-straight weeks, before opening up Taylor Stadium on Tuesday, Feb. 27 against Southeast Missouri State.
