Johnson hires one of his long-time assistants as LSU’s volunteer hitting coach

Photo courtesy of Arizona Daily Star

The final hire on new LSU baseball coach Jay Johnson’s staff has been made, according to D1 baseball.

Marc “Chief” Wanaka, Johnson’s assistant for eight years at Nevada and then Arizona, will join the Tigers’ coaching staff as a volunteer hitting coach and be paid through LSU’s summer baseball camps.

Wanaka and Johnson first met when they played together at Shasta College in Redding, California. Wanaka was a pitcher and Johnson a middle infielder. Wanaka coached pitchers and catchers on the same staff as Johnson at Point Loma Nazarene in San Diego in 2003. Wanaka and Johnson were working in San Diego at different schools when Johnson got the head job at Nevada. He brought Wanaka along with him, first as a volunteer assistant and then as a full-time assistant.

At Arizona as a volunteer assistant, Wanaka worked with players, compiled scouting reports and studied videos. He also coached the catchers and was charged with positioning the outfielders during games.

Be the first to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.


*


− one = 3