SEC baseball coach resigns after opening weekend

Mississippi State baseball coach Andy Cannizaro resigned from his position Tuesday morning, the school announced in a statement.

The move was not related to on-field success as the Bulldogs finished 40-27 last season and advanced to an NCAA Super Regional.

Instead, Cannizaro made the move after what he called “poor decisions.” Assistant Gary Henderson will serve as the interim coach.

“I had a wonderful opportunity at Mississippi State, but unfortunately I made some poor decisions,” Cannizaro said in a statement. “I hope Mississippi State University and all of the fans and people affected will one day forgive me.”

The Bulldogs opened the season with three consecutive losses to No. 21 Southern Miss after being ranked No. 23 by Baseball America in the preseason.

Cannizaro played professional baseball before getting into coaching and was an assistant at LSU from 2014-16 before taking over at Mississippi State.

Henderson, who was serving as the Bulldogs’ pitching coach, was the head coach at Kentucky from 2009-16 before joining MSU’s staff prior to last season.

He was named the SEC Coach of the Year in 2012 and had a record of 258-199 as the head coach at Kentucky.

“While the circumstances are difficult, we are fortunate to have a coach of Gary Henderson’s caliber to assume leadership of the program on an interim basis during our transition,” Mississippi State Director of Athletics John Cohen said.

This story was originally published February 20, 2018 at 11:06 AM with the headline "SEC baseball coach resigns after opening weekend."