A Kosciusko High School graduate and former assistant coach will be the school's new head baseball coach, pending the formality of school board approval at the board’s July meeting.
Cole McBride graduated from Kosciusko in 2012 and was an assistant baseball coach in 2017 and 2018. He returns to Kosciusko after three years as Eupora's head coach.
“Number one, it's where it all started for me as a player and coach,” McBride said. “It's a history-rich program. Year in and year out, they play the game the right way. They play the game hard. I'm excited to be a part of it.”
Kosciusko Athletic Director Macy Wilbanks said the district is happy to bring him back to Kosciusko.
“Coach McBride did an excellent job when he was an assistant here. He has been very successful as a head coach at Eupora the last three years,” she said. “We are excited to have him back with us. He is very familiar with the strong baseball tradition at Kosciusko. He is a hard worker who will be a real asset to the Whippet family.”
The Eagles improved each of his years at Eupora, from 9-16 in 2019 to 6-5 in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, and 18-11 this year with a second-place finish in Region 4-2A. Eupora defeated Coahoma County in the opening round of the state playoffs before losing to St. Joseph Catholic in the second round.
McBride said it was a case of the team maturing with experience.
“I had some guys who were really young that first year. They were thrown into the fire. You can't buy experience. We lost a lot of one-run games,” he said. “The second year, we were kind of on the right track when the pandemic hit us like it hit everyone else.”
McBride said he doesn't have a particular coaching style.
“My theory is that it's about the kids. Find our strengths, find our weaknesses, and improve on our weaknesses. I expect them to work hard. I'm going to work hard,” he said.
The hard work will begin with practices and weightlifting in the summer and throughout the fall.
McBride was a standout catcher at Kosciusko who batted .306 as a sophomore, .354 as a junior, and
.333 as a senior on a team that finished 21-7. He also played football for the Whippets and was an assistant football coach.
Kosciusko finished second in 4-4A this season and reached the second round of the playoffs. Coach Derrik Boland resigned after the season and accepted a position as Winona Christian baseball coach.
