PULLMAN — Washington State University promoted assistant baseball coach Donnie Marbut to the head coaching position May 31, replacing Tim Mooney, who submitted his resignation.
Marbut, who came to WSU this season after four seasons as head coach at Edmonds Community College, will be inheriting a Cougar team coming off a 29-26 season, its best record since 1994, Bobo Brayton’s last season as head coach.
“We are definitely on the right track,” Marbut said at a Memorial Day press conference called to announce his promotion and Mooney’s resignation. “With the players we have on our existing club and the kids we have coming in, I am excited for the future of Cougar baseball. I feel very fortunate to be a coach in (the Pac-10) conference and more fortunate to be a coach at this university.”
And fortunate to be able to attend the press conference. Marbut, 30, and his wife Jennifer are expecting their second daughter soon, and he kept his cell phone near in case of a call.
Marbut attended Aberdeen High and Edmonds CC before transferring to Portland State University. After graduating from PSU, Marbut was a high school and junior college assistant before being named head coach at Edmonds Community College in 2000.
In four seasons at Edmonds, Marbut posted a 152-38 overall record, was the NWAACC coach of the year in 2002 and 2003 and earned a reputation as one of the finest recruiters in the Northwest junior college ranks.
Marbut, who prior to Monday was serving as the recruiting coordinator and infield coach, has signed 12 players, including 11 from Washington, for next season.
When Marbut signed a long-term contract — unusual for a college baseball assistant coach — late last summer to join the Cougar staff, some thought his ascension to the head coaching position at some point was part of the arrangement.
WSU athletic director Jim Sterk denied it. “There wasn’t a prenuptial agreement,” he said.
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