Gautreau happy to get opportunity with MSU
Jake Gautreau knew he belonged on the baseball field.
Even as he worked the last three years as a sports agent with the Boras Corporation, Gautreau had a longing to be back on the diamond where he felt most at home.
Opportunities came, but none felt right. That was until Gautreau's good friend, Mississippi State head coach Andy Cannizaro, made contact with Gautreau a few months back and presented him with the perfect opportunity to be an assistant with the Bulldogs. Gautreau didn't take long to say, ‘Yes.'
“(It was) 10 seconds,” Gautreau joked when asked how long it took him to jump onboard with Cannizaro. “Maybe just a second actually.”
About the only delay Gautreau had was to check with his wife, Erin, and make sure she was OK with the move from Texas to Starkville. She was, so now here Gautreau is reunited with Cannizaro.
The two men were college teammates at Tulane in the early 2000s. As players, the duo helped take the Green Wave to their first College World Series appearance in program history back in 2001. It was in those days that a bond was formed.
“Being able to be a part of this (now at MSU) with Andy was a no-brainer,” Gautreau said. “I've known (Cannizaro) for a very long time and respect him more than just as a coach, but as a man and a husband and a dad also. I was very grateful and fortunate, so when he asked me to come, it was a no-brainer.”
This isn't just some situation of a friend helping a friend. Gautreau boasts an impressive resume in his own right. Before he spent three years with the Boras Corporation, three years in which Gautreau called “an amazing opportunity,” Gautreau was a coach on the rise in the college ranks. Gautreau spent five years coaching at his and Cannizaro's alma mater, Tulane, from 2010 through 2014.
Perfect Game dubbed Gautreau an ‘Assistant Ready to Lead' following the 2013 season. As fate would have it, Gautreau then got the chance to do just that. Gautreau became the interim head coach for Tulane midway through the 2014 season after head coach Rick Jones stepped down. However he didn't return to Tulane following the campaign and has been with the Boras Corporation until Cannizaro invited Gautreau to Starkville.
“The last three years I wasn't able to be on the field and being a baseball guy, that's usually the best part of the job,” Gautreau said. “At the same time though, I could be picky in my decisions and not just jump right back in there.
“It sounds maybe arrogant, but I could wait on the perfect place. For me, Mississippi State baseball was the perfect place.”
Gautreau's role for the Bulldogs will be to help Cannizaro with MSU's hitters and serve as State's recruiting coordinator. He's focused on helping Cannizaro build upon last season when the Bulldogs finished just two wins shy of a College World Series berth.
“Wherever there are good players, we're going to try to be there,” Gautreau said. “Never assume somebody doesn't want to be a part of this. Make them tell you no.”
Gautreau knows first-hand how hard it is to say, ‘No,' to MSU. It was something he couldn't do. As a result, Gautreau is back on the baseball field doing what he loves the most. He'll really get to dive in on October 9 when MSU plans to begin its fall baseball practices, pending the completion of the playing surface at the under-construction, new Dudy Noble Field.
To say Gautreau is thrilled to be back in the game seems to be an understatement.
“I'm super excited to be back in, especially here at State,” Gautreau said.