COLUMBUS, Ohio – On a warm Columbus Thursday (cloudy and 50 degrees), Jeff Gosney, the new National Coordinator of Umpires, took to the stage. Gosney brings 20 years of experience as an umpire in professional and college baseball (seven NCAA Tournaments).
George Drouches, the previous National Coordinator, spent 11 years on the job. At the end of 2024, Drouches announced that he would step down after the 2025 season’s conclusion.
Ironically, in the last game of Drouches’ tenure, umpire Angel Campos ejected Coastal Carolina Head Coach Kevin Schnall in the first inning of a National Championship game. That incident capped off a long list of recent postseason debacles conducted by umpires.
“It is time for someone else to bring new focus, energy, and passion to this leadership role,” stated Drouches in his ‘24 announcement through the NCAA. Gosney is bringing that new blood and drive to an important role in the sport of college baseball.
“I want to change the culture of umpiring,” said Gosney. “Make it competitive and more successful than the product we’ve had on the field.”
Gosney laid out his plan in front of ABCA member Division I baseball coaches in the Greater Columbus Convention Center ballroom. He listed three huge changes to the way umpires will be assigned to NCAA Tournament games moving forward.
Umpires will be evaluated based off of pitch tracking analysis for the first time ever. There will be a merit-based advancement from regionals to super regionals for an ump. Therefore, Super Regional ump crews are no longer pre-determined. Lastly, there will be 10 umpires on-site in Omaha for the College World Series instead of only eight. This will give two umps a day off each day during the 10+ days of grueling, dry, Omaha heat during June.
Gosney added, “I’m a firm believer in being transparent… we need to do a better job at listening and communicating. We need to learn how to manage personalities… I think there are times where we listen to respond, instead of listening to understand.”
With this approach and improved umpire training and grading, Gosney hopes to change the public perception of umpires, especially in the NCAA Tournament.
COLUMBUS, Ohio – On a warm Columbus Thursday (cloudy and 50 degrees), Jeff Gosney, the new National Coordinator of Umpires, took to the stage. Gosney brings 20 years of experience as an umpire in professional and college baseball (seven NCAA Tournaments).
George Drouches, the previous National Coordinator, spent 11 years on the job. At the end of 2024, Drouches announced that he would step down after the 2025 season’s conclusion.
Ironically, in the last game of Drouches’ tenure, umpire Angel Campos ejected Coastal Carolina Head Coach Kevin Schnall in the first inning of a National Championship game. That incident capped off a long list of recent postseason debacles conducted by umpires.
“It is time for someone else to bring new focus, energy, and passion to this leadership role,” stated Drouches in his ‘24 announcement through the NCAA. Gosney is bringing that new blood and drive to an important role in the sport of college baseball.
“I want to change the culture of umpiring,” said Gosney. “Make it competitive and more successful than the product we’ve had on the field.”
Gosney laid out his plan in front of ABCA member Division I baseball coaches in the Greater Columbus Convention Center ballroom. He listed three huge changes to the way umpires will be assigned to NCAA Tournament games moving forward.
Umpires will be evaluated based off of pitch tracking analysis for the first time ever. There will be a merit-based advancement from regionals to super regionals for an ump. Therefore, Super Regional ump crews are no longer pre-determined. Lastly, there will be 10 umpires on-site in Omaha for the College World Series instead of only eight. This will give two umps a day off each day during the 10+ days of grueling, dry, Omaha heat during June.
Gosney added, “I’m a firm believer in being transparent… we need to do a better job at listening and communicating. We need to learn how to manage personalities… I think there are times where we listen to respond, instead of listening to understand.”
With this approach and improved umpire training and grading, Gosney hopes to change the public perception of umpires, especially in the NCAA Tournament.
