University of Houston Athletics
Kirk Blount Named Baseball Assistant Coach
8/18/2003 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Aug. 18, 2003
HOUSTON - University of Houston baseball head coach Rayner Noble announced the hiring of former Cougar letterwinner and volunteer assistant coach Kirk Blount as the newest member of his staff on Monday.
Blount will work closely with the Cougar pitching staff and catchers and assist in recruiting. He returns to the collegiate coaching ranks after working in private business for the last three years. Prior to working in the private sector, he served as an assistant coach at UH for two years and began his collegiate coaching days at the University of Alabama in 1996.
"Kirk worked here for two years as a volunteer coach to prove himself, and he did a good job of that," Noble said. "He handled the pitching staff as well as could be expected. We were in the market for a pitching coach, and Kirk was a perfect fit."
" I was surprised and excited by this. I was flattered that Coach Noble thinks that highly of me," Blount said. "I see it as a great opportunity to get back and do something that I love to do.
"Every time that Coach Noble and I have been around one another, we've had a good relationship. We have clicked," Blount said. "Coach Noble is one of the best guys in baseball that I have worked with. He allows you to have a lot of freedom but it's obvious that everyone is going in the same direction."
In 1999, Blount's Cougar pitching staff tied for the Conference USA lead with a 4.60 ERA and .271 opponents' batting average and tossed five shutouts. That team also advanced to the championship game of the NCAA Regional at Houston.
That year, pitcher Shane Nance set a then-UH single-season record with 119 strikeouts.
One year later, Blount helped lead the Cougars to one of the finest seasons in school history. UH set a new school record with 48 wins and fell just one win short of advancing to the NCAA College World Series.
The Cougar pitching staff was a major reason for the team's success in 2000. UH hurlers compiled a 3.58 team ERA and hurled 440 strikeouts with Nance tossing 117 strikeouts, the then-second highest mark in Cougar single-season history.
In 2003, the UH pitching staff became the first group in program history to throw more than 600 strikeouts in a single season and only the second to throw more strikeouts than innings pitched. While not expecting milestones as lofty as that, Blount said he expects the 2004 UH hurlers to take control of games.
"I want my pitchers to be as aggressive as they possibly can. I want our guys to go out and throw the first punch as a pitcher, so to speak. I want them to take charge of the game," Blount said. "The way that a starting pitcher takes the mound and approaches the first inning sets the tone for his teammates and delivers a message to the other team. I want our guys to be known for throwing strikes and having guts and being aggressive on the mound."
Blount began his coaching career at Alabama where he worked for three years from 1996 to 1998. He served as a volunteer coach from 1996 to 1997 and worked as the Director of Baseball Operations for one season in 1998.
During his tenure in Alabama, the Crimson Tide enjoyed three consecutive appearances to the NCAA postseason with back-to-back berths to the NCAA College World Series in 1996 and 1997. Alabama captured the SEC Tournament championships in both 1996 and 1997, while the 1997 team advanced to the NCAA College World Series title game before falling to LSU.
Alabama recorded 152 wins during that time, compared to only 51 losses.
Blount lettered at UH in 1995 during Noble's first year as the Cougar skipper. He appeared in 26 games with 19 starts behind the plate and added a double, home run and eight RBIs.
Before enrolling at UH, Blount attended Angelina Junior College in Lufkin, Texas, where he was a two-year starter behind the plate. During that time, he batted .313 and was a member of the Angelina Dean's List.
Blount is a 1990 graduate of Waltrip High School, where he maintained a 4.0 grade point average. He was an All-District selection as a senior and earned the Army Academic Leadership Award.
He and his wife Laura live in Houston.
Blount replaces Todd Whitting, who accepted a similar position at TCU.
