Coming behind a legend is such a tough proposition for a coach. Bethune-Cookman (B-CU) has had such a excessive degree of efficiency in baseball that it has produced two legendary baseball coaches back-to-back. With Sunday’s win within the SWAC Baseball Championship, Jonathan “Johnny” Hernandez is making room in a gifted legacy.
Merv Melendez established the Wildcats as a pressure to be reckoned with by not solely dominating the MEAC, however choosing up wins from mid-majors and Energy 4 faculties alongside the best way. He was adopted by Jason Beverlin who continued to excessive degree of accomplishment.
Beverlin’s 2017 Wildcats achieved the unbelievable. They gained the MEAC and made severe noise within the NCAA Regional in Gainesville. They defeated the Gators for the primary time at school historical past within the championship spherical, earlier than falling to the No.3-seeded Gators within the championship recreation. Beverlin was instantly scooped up after that efficiency.
Large cleats to fill at Bethune-Cookman
In 2018, Hernandez was employed to take over this system. There was a shadow of success and very massive footwear to fill. Hernandez, who had success each as head coach of ASA Faculty in Miami and as a coach/recruiter for Crew USA baseball, took the problem head-on. It was not straightforward to begin, nonetheless, he had a right away affect. His 2019 class was the highest-ranked class in B-CU historical past at 59th as ranked by Good Recreation.
“Coach Beverlin and Coach Melendez, these two guys did nice issues right here in our program,” Hernandez mentioned. “For us is to have the ability to get this system again the place it must be, and that’s on the prime of what’s now the Southwestern Athletic Convention, once I took the job, we had been within the Mid-Japanese Athletic Convention and it was a chance for us to get proper again to it. Having that championship mindset day in and day trip, I put on that on my sleeve each day.”
Transitional section
Hernandez started with a 17-38 season in 2019. The 2020 and 2021 seasons had been COVID-interrupted years. The Wildcats would transition to the SWAC in 2021, the place the primary season was performed in 2022. The Wildcats managed a 27-32 season on the restart of baseball. Since then, every of the final three seasons, B-CU has gained 30-plus video games. In 2023, the crew went 33-27, in 2024 the crew went 32-27, and this 12 months the Wildcats are sitting at 37-21, Hernandez’s greatest season ever.
The crew additionally introduced dwelling the primary SWAC title at school historical past after dominating the MEAC to seize 17 titles. It’s a clear sign that Hernandez was the fitting selection to steer B-CU for the longer term. Moreover, within the period of APR, Hernandez has an ideal file of student-athlete tutorial success.
“I’ve to commend our gamers too, as a result of we had a 3.5 GPA within the fall and a 3.5 GPA within the spring. In order that’s back-to-back championships within the classroom that in the end result in what we now have proper now, a SWAC baseball title in entrance of us. It’s been a grind, however I’ve loved each a part of the method, and also you begin to see the fruit of the labor proper now with how this system has developed within the final couple of years.”
Bethune-Cookman wins SWAC Championship with walkoff homer
It was solely becoming that B-CU’s best-ever dwelling run-hitting crew seize the SWAC championship with a walk-off homer deep to heart subject with two outs within the last inning of the SWAC Baseball Match. As Andrey Martinez’s blast cleared the centerfield fence, the chess match was full with a checkmate from B-CU’s Johnny Hernandez to FAMU’s Jamey Shouppe. B-CU has hit 90 dwelling runs this season.
Whereas the 2 faculties are arch rivals, the respect that Hernandez and Shouppe have for each other is unmatched. The pregame conferences at dwelling plate have typically been comical. When the sport begins although, it’s each man for himself. The Rattlers derailed the Wildcats’ first alternative at a SWAC title in 2023, so it was solely becoming that in a lot the best way they’ve performed all season, they beat the Rattlers with the final at-bat of the match.
Hernandez had one last phrase for any Rattlers in Tallahassee who love to observe baseball. “If there’s any cousins of ours that rocked the orange and inexperienced, in the event that they need to come out and help, I feel it’ll be big. For our program and for the SWAC to have everyone concerned to return out and help the Wildcats as we’re representing not solely our program, our college, however the Southwestern Athletic Convention and the HBCU area as a complete.”The Wildcats are the one Division-I HBCU to make the NCAA Regionals.
