Alabama baseball: Interim head coach addresses betting probe, talks message to team

Alabama baseball: Interim head coach addresses betting probe, talks message to team

In the first public comments by a member of Alabama baseball since a suspicious wager on the team was placed a week ago, interim head coach Jason Jackson declined to comment on the scandal surrounding the program.

“I want to thank Greg Byrne, I want to thank Dr. Bell for having the confidence in me to allow me to lead this great group of guys. I’m really excited about this stretch run that we got. I know there’s some things that happened this week, and I’m sure you guys got questions, and we appreciate your coverage. I respect what you do. I am not going to be able to get into any of that tonight,” Jackson said.

When AL.com asked if Jackson could confirm media reports that no other players or coaches have been suspected of any wrongdoing, Jackson twice declined comment.

“That’s not something I can get into,” he said. “I mean, there’s an ongoing review.”

His remarks came after No. 5 Vanderbilt defeated the Crimson Tide, 4-1, on Friday night in the middle game of a weekend series. A solo home run by Commodores first baseman Parker Noland opened the scoring in the second inning and behind seven innings and nine strikeouts (one earned run) from pitcher Hunter Owen, Vanderbilt improved to 34-12 (17-6 Southeastern Conference). Alabama dropped to 31-16, 10-13 SEC.

On Monday, the Ohio Casino Control Commission halted betting on Alabama baseball after a “large” wager was placed shortly before the Tide’s April 28th game against then-No. 1 LSU and subsequently flagged. Video surveillance from the BetMGM sportsbook in Ohio’s Great American Ballpark, the home of the Cincinnati Reds, later confirmed that former head coach Brad Bohannon had contacted a former high school coach to make the bet, according to Action Network.

As the NCAA, Southeastern Conference the University and the OCCC continued their look into the situation, the Tide announced it had fired Bohannon on Thursday morning. Shortly after, SEC commissioner Greg Sankey noted the “swift action” taken by the university in the matter. Hours later, Alabama arguably had its best win of the season as it beat No. 5 Vanderbilt, 11-2.

“With all the stuff going on this week, and (players) they got exams,” Jackson said. “I think the message was just, ‘Hey guys, everything we want is right here in front of us.’ … We got a great group of older guys that really do a good job of that.

“For me, personally, it means that I got a couple more things to do each day. Right some lineups out, I gotta talk to media and those things. But overall, and this is what we told our guys too, ‘Guys, our day-to-day is gonna be the same. Our pregame schedule, everything that we do, all of our stuff stays the same.’ We just keep it business as usual.”

UA did not make Jackson or any players available Thursday. Instead, the team released a video with Jackson answering questions asked by a team spokesperson.

RELATED: Alabama baseball betting scandal: What we know

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Jackson started his coaching career at North Florida C.C. in 2002 and had stints at Mercer, South Alabama and FAU as a pitching coach and recruiting coordinator. By the time Jackson left in 2017 to join Bohannon’s staff, he had risen to associate head coach and helped FAU develop multiple MLB Draft picks.

Both Bohannon, Jackson and team trainer Sean Stryker are currently being sued by a former player for supposed negligence in caring for the player’s arm injury.

Nick Alvarez is a reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @nick_a_alvarez or email him at [email protected].