Brotherly love

Arkansas hitting coach and recruiting coordinator Nate Thompson spoke glowingly Friday about his older brother being hired as head baseball coach at Baylor.

Mitch Thompson was officially announced by the Bears on Wednesday, replacing Steve Rodriguez, who resigned in May after seven seasons.

Mitch Thompson was an assistant at Baylor from 19952012 and helped the team to three Big 12 championships and the 2005 College World Series. The Bears were a national seed in his final season as an assistant but lost a pair of one-run games to Arkansas in a home super regional.

“He’s the perfect man for that job,” Nate Thompson said. “Nobody loves Baylor more than him and he’s as good of a coach as there is in the country. It’s the perfect fit. He’s what they need.”

Mitch Thompson left Baylor to become a scout for the Kansas City Royals, but re-entered coaching in 2014 when he was hired as head coach at McLennan Community College in Waco, about 7 miles from the Baylor campus. McLennan was the NJCAA World Series champion last season and won nearly 73% of its games under Thompson with postseason appearances each year.

He was also on College World Series staffs at Mississippi State in 1990 and Auburn in 1994.

“He’s a recruiter and he’s a coach, and he develops guys and holds them to a high standard,” Nate Thompson said. “All he’s done is win there. Baylor was really good when he was there and I think he’ll really help them again.”

Arkansas shortstop Jalen Battles played for Thompson at McLennan, and the Razorbacks have signed another McLennan infielder, Hunter Grimes, for next season.