The Jacksonville State offense has been rejuvenated since Evan Bush’s first season as assistant coach on Jim Case’s staff in 2016 and begins his eighth year on the staff.
Jax State’s first season back in the ASUN saw the Gamecocks put together 19 wins in conference play and another trip to the postseason with a berth in the league’s conference tournament. The Gamecocks finished with 27 wins on the season, including road wins over Southern Miss and Auburn – two teams that advanced to the NCAA Super Regional round and the College World Series respectively.
JSU’s five all-conference selections led the 2022 club. Cole Frederick and Isaiah Magwood headlined the group as members of the All-ASUN First Team, while T.J. Reeves was tabbed to All-ASUN Second Team. Brennen Norton and AJ Causey earned spots on the league's All-Freshman Team. The five selections ranked third among the league teams.
In their final season in the Ohio Valley Conference, the Gamecocks were a mainstay at the top of the offensive categories in the league, including a league-best .281 batting average in 2021. Jax State accumulated over 500 hits on the season, including 106 doubles and 53 home runs. Defensively, JSU ranked among the best in the conference with a fielding clip of .973.
His fifth season (2020) with the program came to an abrupt halt after 15 games due to the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak around the world. The Gamecocks played 11 of its 15 games on its home turf of Rudy Abbott Field at Jim Case Stadium. JSU opened the 2019 season hosting Southeastern Conference foe Missouri in a three-game set along with home weekend sets with Central Michigan and Gardner-Webb. Jax State’s final game of the season was a 15-inning, 14-10 marathon win over Kennesaw State on the road.
The 2019 season will be noted as one of the historic seasons in the program’s history. The Gamecocks claimed both the regular season and tournament crowns en route to earning JSU’s fifth trip to an NCAA Regional. JSU put together a 39-win season, which is the most wins by the program in its NCAA Division I era. The 2019 club recorded the program’s first NCAA Division I Regional win with a 7-5 win over Big 10 foe Illinois to remain alive in the Oxford, Mississippi regional. After dispatching the Fighting Illini, the Gamecocks ousted Clemson to reach the regional championship round. By reaching the championship of the NCAA Oxford Regional, JSU was one of nine No. 4 seeds to advance to the title round since 2013 and the only one in 2019 edition of the NCAA Tournament and one of 32 teams left in the regional final round. The Gamecocks finished the season winning 14 of the final 16 games, including one of the longest winning streaks in NCAA Division I Baseball entering the regional round. The Gamecocks put together a 12-game winning streak before falling to the Rebels in the opening round.
Bush was named the Large College Assistant Coach of the Year by the Alabama Baseball Coaches Association following the 2019 season.
The 2018 season was the program’s 34th 30-plus wins campaign since the 1971 season and the 15th under Case. Jax State has now posted 30 or more wins in a season in 14 of the last 15 seasons. The Gamecocks fished 32-25 overall and 18-12 in OVC play. Jax State finished tied for third with Morehead State and has finished in the top-three in the league standings in 13 of the 15 seasons in the OVC.
One of the highlights of the 2018 campaign was the chase for the program’s all-time career hits record and the OVC’s record for hits in a career by Clayton Daniel. Daniel, entered his final season as a Gamecock with 247 career hits, 76 shy of the record, held by Bert Smith, who played for Case from 2006-2010. Daniel matched Smith’s career mark on the final day of the regular season against SIU Edwardsville on May 19. He broke the record on the same day with his second hit of the day. Daniel concluded his career with 330 hits, including 69 career doubles, which is also a new career standard at JSU and in the OVC.
Daniel became a four-time All-OVC selection following the 2018 season and was joined by All-OVC selections Trent Simpson and Garrett Farmer. JSU placed a league-best three on the All-OVC Freshman Team – Isaac Alexander, Cole Frederick and Christian Edwards. In 2017, Andrew Naismith collected postseason honors as a Freshman All-American honoree by Collegiate Baseball.
Under his watch in 2016, JSU improved its batting average by 17 points from one season to the next and led the Ohio Valley Conference in hitting with a team average of .313. The Gamecocks also ranked third in NCAA Division I baseball in total doubles with a program-record 145 doubles and finished the 2016 season as the NCAA statistical champion in doubles per game with 2.5 doubles per game. JSU had seven players to finish the 2016 season above the .300 mark at the dish, led by Daniel’s team-best .372 batting clip. The Gamecocks averaged 8.2 runs per game in 2016, which also led the OVC.
Bush joined the Gamecocks’ program after spending six seasons at the University of Alabama in Huntsville. He is also returning to northeast Alabama as he is a native of Rainbow City, Alabama.
While on staff at UAH, he was instrumental in building the Chargers in to one of the top teams in the Gulf South Conference and on the NCAA Division II national scene. In 2015, he helped UAH into one of the most distinguishing programs in Division-II collegiate baseball, as the squad was ranked in the top 25 nationally for the duration of the season. The Chargers prolific offense, comprised of Bush's recruits, led the GSC with a .339 batting average, 409 runs, 108 doubles, 63 homers, 376 RBI, a 544 slugging percentage, and a .433 on-base percentage.
The 2014 campaign saw the Chargers capture the 2014 GSC Championship and make their second appearance in the NCAAs in the last three seasons. He helped the Chargers to lead the GSC in home runs, doubles, triples, RBIs, total bases, slugging percentage, walks, and total runs scored.
With Bush handling recruiting activities, UAH has produced 30 All-GSC recognized players, 14 All-Region players and four All-Americans. In 2013, Bush saw Chandler Brock earn four Player of the Year honors and three First Team All-American honors, while in 2015 mentoring Colton Simbeck to become an All-American and GSC Player of the Year.
Prior to his stint in Huntsville, Bush was a member of the coaching staff at Bevill State Community College program in Fayette, Alabama. He was honored by Alabama Baseball Coaches Association as the top junior college and as the top assistant coach in the state in 2010.
Before entering the coaching ranks, Bush spent time playing minor league baseball in the San Francisco Giants organization. Bush was a 48th-round selection by San Francisco and spent the 2006 season in Fresno (AAA) and Salem-Keizer (A). He also played for the USA National Youth 16-under team in 2000, where his team won the 2000 Pan American Championship Gold Medal by defeating Cuba en route to an 8-0 record. He hit .500 appearing in four games, while playing with standout big-leaguers- Xavier Paul, Delmon Young and James Loney.
Bush played collegiate baseball at Alabama as a four-year regular utility player. He ranks among the Crimson Tide's career leaders in several categories including walks (2nd-131), games started (5th-215) and games played (7th-223). As a senior in 2006, Bush helped lead Alabama to the Southeastern Conference championship as well as their second-straight NCAA tournament appearance.
Bush is married to the former Mary Elizabeth Moore. The two welcomed their first child, a daughter, Madelyn, in 2013 and son, Bryce, in 2016.
