Evan Bush, a former Alabama Crimson Tide standout, joined the Southeastern staff of coach Bobby Barbier in July of 2023. He serves as the Lions’ hitting coach.
In his first season, Bush helped rejuvenate the Lion bats. SLU posted its highest batting average (.282) in eight seasons while smashing a program-record and conference-leading 86 home runs as a team.
Four SLU hitters produced double-figure home run totals – TJ Salvaggio (13), Parker Coley (12), Jude Hall (12) and Shea Thomas (10). Justin Williams was on track to join the group, blasting eight homers in just 23 games before suffering a season-ending injury. Hall, Coley and Williams would each earn Southland Conference Hitter of the Week honors during the season.
Salvaggio and Thomas joined right-hander Brennan Stuprich in earning first-team All-Conference honors. Salvaggio and Thomas also earned Southland All-Academic honors along with designated hitter Rhett Rosevear and left-hander Jackson Rodriguez.
Bush arrived in Hammond following an eight-season stint as an assistant coach at Jacksonville State.
During the 2023 season, Jacksonville State returned to the ASUN Tournament following an 18-win conference slate. The Gamecocks picked up non-conference wins over SEC programs Georgia and Ole Miss.
J.T. Reeves earned ABCA/Rawlings All-Region honors after accumulating a .366 batting average. He was the anchor of the Jax State offense and in the outfield for the Gamecocks as he finished the season ranked third in the ASUN in RBI (75) and among the league leaders in hits (76). He was named one of Collegiate Baseball Newspaper's National Player of the Week (May 15) after collecting 13 RBI and four home runs, including a pair of grand slams in a series sweep of Central Arkansas.
Reeves headlined the group of six All-ASUN selections. Junior Javon Hernandez, junior Mason Maners and sophomore Aj Causey earned spots on the All-ASUN Second Team. Freshman Eli Zielinski was named to the All-ASUN Third team and a member of the league's all-freshman team. Freshman Bear Madliak joined Zielinski on the first-year player club.
Both Madliak and Zielinski also picked up Freshman All-America honors from Collegiate Baseball.
Madliak finished his rookie season with a .330 batting average, collecting 66 hits over a span of 49 games played. The backstop tallied 14 doubles, which ranked second on the club and belted six home runs in his freshman campaign. He stepped in as the everyday catcher for the club and eventually took over the leadoff spot in the Gamecock lineup prior to the start of conference play. He also threw out 33-of-47 on the base paths.
Zielinski was on track to one of the spots on the first team after starting the season with six wins before suffering an injury. He tossed a season-best 6.2 innings vs. Jacksonville with 11 strikeouts. Zielinski was a perfect 6-0 with three wins versus ASUN competition before his first season as a Gamecock was cut short. He accumulated 33 strikeouts in 27.2 innings of work in the ASUN and opposing teams in the league hit .242 against him.
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 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.
Bush was named the Large College Assistant Coach of the Year by the Alabama Baseball Coaches Association following the 2019 season.
That 2019 season will be noted as one of the historic seasons in Jacksonville State history. The Gamecocks claimed both the regular season and tournament crowns en route to earning the program’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, and recorded the program’s first NCAA Division I Regional win with a 7-5 victory over Big 10 foe Illinois. After dispatching the Fighting Illini, the Gamecocks ousted Clemson to reach the championship round of the Oxford, Mississippi regional.
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.
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 Alabama Junior College Assistant Coach of the Year 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.
A native of Rainbow City, Alabama, 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.
THE BUSH FILE
Coaching Career
2016-23: Assistant Coach, Jacksonville State
2011-2015: Assistant Coach, UAH
2008-10: Assistant Coach, Bevill State CC
Playing Career
Alabama: 2003-06, 48th-Round Draft Pick San Francisco Giants (2006)
Minor Leagues: San Francisco (2006)
Personal
College: Alabama
Family: Wife – Mary Elizabeth, Daughter – Madelyn, Son – Bryce
