Notre Dame's Link Jarrett Named NCBWA National Coach of the Year

Notre Dame head baseball coach Link Jarrett will lead his Fighting Irish against No. 9 Texas on Friday night in the College World Series, but the third-year skipper had some business to take care of this morning. 

Jarrett was named the Mike Martin National Coach of the Year by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association and accepted the award in Omaha during a ceremony a few moments ago. 

"When you receive an award like this, you think about the moments with the team,” Jarrett said in Omaha. “I don't think about anything personal that I did. You think about the execution, the character of the guys that played all year. Some of the moments even in just Knoxville, the way they handled that and executed with class and played hard through a tricky environment - never forget it. 

"I think about my assistant coaches. They deliver and provide me and the players with information that puts us in the best position to win. It's not easy. I think that job gets harder and harder as the analytics and data comes at you like it never has before. They sift through that. The team is prepared. That's what I think of and you can tell by my outfit, I never thought I would be sitting here receiving this award." 

Notre Dame is back in Omaha for the first time in 20 years and for just the third time in program history. 

The Irish have not only surprised many over the last two seasons, but Jarrett has turned Notre Dame into one of the most consistent programs in the country. 

Since his arrival in 2020, Notre Dame is 85-30 (.739) and that ranks No. 2 over the time span as the Irish only trail Tennessee. 

Jarrett played and coached for legendary Florida State coach Mike Martin, whom the award is named after, making the moment even more special. 

"Coach Martin, there were three things I thought of when I was informed late last night about this," explained Jarrett. "His competitiveness day in and day out always stood out to me as a player and I got to coach for him for one year. The care with which he handled people that touched the program - I think his management of the various facets of support that you have in a program in this day in age, he handled that beautifully. 

"He put the players in the best position to win. He had a lot of trust in the players and I think he felt that. Those things, I hope I had a part in leaving his program the one year I coached. Hopefully, that helped me get to where we are today.

"That entire family is very, very special to me. To receive an award with Coach Martin's name, I'm humbled, flattered, honored and I'll think about 11. I'll reach out to him. I will ultimately remember what our players and coaches did to get us to this moment." 

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