The coach who led Edmonds Community College’s baseball team to back-to-back NWAACC championships is headed east.
Don Marbut resigned as head coach of the Tritons to accept an assistant coaching position at Washington State University last week. Marbut will be the Cougars’ recruiting coordinator.
Though he will be based in Pullman, Marbut’s plans include spending a lot of time on the west side of the mountains.
“Washington State definitely has the need to get recruiting on the west side,” Marbut said. “They thought I’d be a good fit. This (Puget Sound area) is where the players are. We want to have a good recruiting base in Seattle.”
The decision to leave Edmonds was difficult, but Marbut sees the Washington State position as the next step in his coaching career.
“It’s a good professional move,” Marbut said. “My ultimate goal is to be a head coach at the Division I level.”
Still, leaving Edmonds Community College wasn’t easy. Marbut was the head coach for four years and also was a player for two seasons.
“It was a difficult decision,” Marbut said. “The people you are leaving are great. There are great things about junior college. Junior college players have something to prove. They want to get to Division I.
“I think we’ve done what we could have done here. Personally and professionally there are more goals that I want to accomplish.”
In his four years at Edmonds, Marbut posted a 152-38 overall record. In addition to back-to-back titles, Marbut led the Tritons to three North Division titles.
Washington State was 7-17 in the Pac-10 and 19-37 overall last season. The Cougars were tied for last place in the league.
After having lived his entire life on the west side, Marbut is prepared for a little culture shock.
“I’m going to miss everything about Seattle,” he said. “But I’m not going to miss the rain.”
A successor to Marbut has not been named, but he expects the school will find a quality candidate.
“It’s the best junior college program in the Northwest,” Marbut said of Edmonds. “I think there’ll be a lot of interest in the job.
“We have a great group returning.”
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