A former South Alabama baseball star is returning to Mobile as part of the Jaguars’ coaching staff, AL.com has learned.

Drew LaBounty, an All-Sun Belt Conference shortstop at USA in 2016 and 2017, has joined the program as an assistant coach after three years at Arkansas State. He will work with Jaguars hitters and infielders, head coach Mark Calvi said.

LaBounty is one of two new coaches for South Alabama, which has also hired Matt Hancock as pitching coach. Hancock is a former North Alabama and Troy assistant who spent the last four seasons working in the San Diego Padres’ minor-league system.

Calvi said he is hoping the new coaching blood will help boost a South Alabama program that has not won a postseason game since claiming the Sun Belt Conference championship and advancing to the title game of the NCAA Gainesville (Fla.) Regional in 2021. The Jaguars finished 31-25 in 2024, losing in the first round of the conference tournament.

“it’s always exciting, getting some new coaches in here,” Calvi said. “Our guys are ready to go and they’ll be ready when they get back (for the fall). … It’s been unfortunate, the last couple of years that some things haven’t gone right for us. We’ve had a couple of key injuries that have kept us from being as good as we could have been. But we’re looking forward to getting started for sure. We have some guys hungry to get back into the postseason.”

LaBounty — who replaces Corley Reynolds on the South Alabama staff — got his coaching start at Pearl River (Miss.) Community College in 2019. He was a volunteer assistant at Arkansas State in 2020 before spending one year on the staff at Pensacola (Fla.) State College in his hometown and the last three back with the Red Wolves as assistant coach and recruiting coordinator.

Before going into coaching, LaBounty saw his playing career end abruptly in 2018 after he fouled a ball into his eye during a preseason intrasquad scrimmage. Widely respected as a team leader during his time with the Jaguars, he boasted a .428 career on-base percentage and scored 128 runs in 183 games from 2014-17.

The 30-year-old LaBounty has strong roots in baseball coaching. His father, Richard, is a Hall-of-Fame high school coach in the state of Florida who has won more than 700 games in his career and has led Pensacola Catholic to three state championships.

“I couldn’t be more excited,” Calvi said. “Drew is so worthy and deserving of this. He’s one of the smartest players I’ve ever coached, if not the smartest player. He’s done a fantastic job at his last couple of stops. It’s just great to have Drew back home. I know his family is ecstatic. … Our players will love him.”

Hancock pitched at North Alabama from 2002-05 and is a member of the school’s athletic Hall of Fame. He coached at his alma mater from 2006-18 before spending three seasons at Troy.

Hancock joined the Padres’ minor-league system in 2021, and has worked as pitching coach for the club’s Arizona Rookie League team as well as pitching injury rehab coordinator for the entire organization. He replaces Brad Phillips, who left the Jaguars in June after six seasons to become head coach at Hartselle High School.

“I hundreds of applicants and emails and a lot of accomplished coaches, but I was looking for someone that had college experience, that had run a staff and that was currently in pro ball,” Calvi said. “We have a lot of analytics in college even here, but we wanted somebody that’s kind of conquered the next-level analytics and metrics and that can implement them in their teachings.

“Matt is a guy who did a great job at Troy and worked extremely hard at the Division II level (at UNA), where he didn’t have a whole lot of resources. He’s a self-made guy, and that’s kind of what I’ve looked for in my hires here.”

South Alabama hitting coach/recruiting coordinator Nick Magnifico, director of baseball operations Joey Jones and director of player development Derrick Mount will return to the staff in 2025, Calvi said.