Phillips leaves Niceville baseball for job with Troy

Citing the opportunity as one he “could not let pass by,” Brad Phillips, the 2009 Daily News big school Coach of the Year, has resigned as the head baseball coach at Niceville and accepted an assistant coaching position on Bobby Pierce’s baseball staff at Troy University.

Phillips’ decision, which he informed school administrators of on Monday, came only days removed from fielding a phone call from the Troy head coach while on vacation. According to Phillips, who worked on the Trojans’ staff from 2002-04, Pierce’s call and subsequent offer “came out of left field, really.”

“When I saw the name pop up, I did not expect the conversation to move in the direction it did,” Phillips said. “It was tough in the fact that I’m going to have to leave the community, and I am going to have to leave the program and a great school — the administration is unbelievable, their commitment to athletics is like no other — but personally, it was a decision I had to make.

“I wasn’t looking for it,” Phillips added. “Looking back on it over the last few days, it’s gotten to be one of those things that was meant to be.”

At Troy, Phillips will oversee the Trojans’ pitching staff and have an active role in recruiting, with additional responsibilities to be discussed between the two parties in the coming days. Following his previous stint with the Troy staff, Phillips accepted a head coaching job at nearby Charles Henderson High School, where in his last season (2008) he led the team to a Class 5A state runner-up finish before taking over at Niceville.

Phillips’ resignation from the Eagles’ post comes after two highly successful seasons.

In his first season, Niceville entered the year having graduated several key members of a 2008 squad that reached the state semifinals yet went on to capture the District 1-5A championship on its way to a 19-10 record and an appearance in the regional quarterfinals.

Last season, Phillips guided Niceville to a 23-6 record and another berth in the regional quarterfinals.

Niceville athletic director John Hicks credited Phillips for setting a new standard.

“He did some things within our program more than just winning baseball games, he established a certain way our players were going to act on the field and in the classroom,” Hicks said. “He set a standard … in order to be a Niceville baseball player this was the way you were going to do things. That’s really important.”

By his own accord, perhaps Phillips’ crowning achievement came in graduating players to the next level.

“Seeing all 15 of the seniors we’ve had over the last two years go on to have the opportunity to play at the next level … that’s saying a lot about those boys and their commitment to the game,” Phillips said. “That’s something that’s going to stand out.”

One such player is Michael Coelho, a former Niceville outfielder who has since signed with Northwest Florida State College. He credits Phillips’ workmanlike approach for allowing him to achieve his dream of playing collegiate baseball.

“He made sure his players were going to be prepared at the next level,” Coelho said. “Every day with coach Phillips was going to work, there was no doubt about it. He made you earn everything but in the end, I think we were all better players for it.”

Hicks said that while Phillips’ sudden resignation will leave the school a “narrow window” to find a replacement, the school was already receiving calls from interested candidates as of Tuesday.

Hicks said the school would like to name Phillips’ successor by the start of the new school year on Aug. 5 or by the end of the first semester at the latest.

“We would like to find someone that is a teacher and works at the school, but we’re not sure if that’s going to happen,” Hicks said.