Mainieri taking over as Recruiting Coordinator?

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This from Tiger Rag:
Mainieri said he intends to take the reins as recruiting coordinator once a new pitching coach is in place.

“I think one of the mistakes I made that I am going to take responsibility for is that I probably delegated too much,” said the coach.

Mainieri continued that since LSU’s 2009 national championship, he feels he hasn’t been hands on quite enough in many aspects of the program.

“When we got back from the World Series in ‘09, I had so many requests for speaking engagements and appearances here and there. My head was spinning. My calendar was full,” said Mainieri. “A lot of times I was late getting back to the field for practice even, and I just feel like I kind of lost a little bit of contact with our players that I think is so critical to have. In order to do that, I had to delegate more and more, and I need to be more involved. I need to be more involved in recruiting. I need to be more involved in every aspect of play on the field.”

As for who will be playing on the field for the Tigers next season, the skipper said he expects Mikie Mahtook and Tyler Jones to sign with MLB clubs after next week’s draft, while the futures of Austin Nola, Tyler Hanover and Matty Ott are up in the air.

“I think all three of them [Nola, Hanover and Ott] love being at LSU,” said the coach. “It’s been a great time for all of them. If the opportunity is the right opportunity, they’ll probably sign, and if not, they’ll come back to school.”

Mainieri said all of LSU’s players with eligibility remaining will be welcomed back for fall ball if they choose to come back.

On the injury front, Mitch Hopkins (missed 2011 recovering from shoulder surgery) probably won’t be ready to resume pitching until some time during the early part of the 2012 season, according to Mainieri.

Better news, however, for Joey Bourgeois and Jordan Rittiner (both missed 2011 recovering from Tommy John surgery) as both will be ready to resume pitching at full strength for fall ball.

“They both have told me they’re 100 percent back at this point,” said Mainieri. “They’re throwing off the mound. They’ve just begun throwing curveballs, but they both feel real good and are real excited about being back with the team.”

Neither will compete in summer ball for precautionary reasons, but one player who Mainieri hopes excels in summer ball in the coming months is Jamie Bruno. The Tulane transfer had to sit out 2011, and the skipper hopes his left-handed bat can show its meddle in the Cape Cod League.

“What he does this summer is going to weigh heavily on what we think we can count on him for next year,” said the coach.

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