Air Force acted quickly to name a replacement for baseball coach Mike Hutcheon, who is resigning at the end of the 2010 season.

In a move sure to be met with excitement by Falcon baseball alumni, athletic director Hans Mueh named Maj. Mike Kazlausky, a popular former player and assistant coach, Air Force’s interim head coach for the 2011 season.

Because of his familiarity with the academy and the program, the hiring of “Coach Kaz,” a 1991 academy graduate, should provide some stability for a team going through troubled times.

“I’m very pleased to have Kaz take over as our baseball coach,” Mueh said in a statement. “He has demonstrated a great knowledge of the game as both a player and assistant coach and I’m confident he’ll continue to do so as our head coach.”

According to sports information director Troy Garnhart, the academy will conduct a national search for a coach after the 2011 season. Kazlausky will be a candidate if he decides to leave the military and pursue a civilian coaching career.

Kazlausky has served six seasons as an assistant baseball coach at Air Force in three stints. His most recent lasted two seasons but ended abruptly after the 2008 campaign when he and Hutcheon decided they could not continue their working relationship.

Kazlausky currently is an Air Officer Commanding (AOC) for cadet squadron 12 at the academy.

A fiery player, Kazlausky made the Air Force team in 1988 as a freshman walk-on and became a four-year starter. The two-time All-Western Athletic Conference selection led the Falcons in batting in 1989 and 1991 and graduated with eight career records.

Kazlausky declined a request for an interview for this story but released the following statement:

“I’d like to thank Dr. Mueh for this opportunity to lead the Air Force baseball program. I am very honored and privileged to work with the great cadets at the academy. I hope to be able to impress upon them that I am highly motivated and have a desire to be successful not only on the field but more importantly to develop leaders of character for tomorrow’s Air Force. My job as coach is to be a great role model and mentor and inspire these young men to achieve their full potential in all facets of the academy. I would also like to thank Gen. (Samuel) Cox for giving me the opportunity to be the Air Force Officer Commanding (AOC) of cadet squadron 12.”

Hutcheon told his team of his plans to resign after its game last Friday against Georgia Southern. His announcement came a week after the academy suspended five players indefinitely for violations of academy standards. Those suspensions, which came shortly after the removal of a pair of players from the roster for violations, provided more negative attention for a program that has struggled on the field and had problems off it.

Mike

Kazlausky