Harrison Resigns at Pepperdine

In a move that surprised even his assistant coaches, Pat Harrison resigned as Pepperdine baseball coach Tuesday and today will become coach at Mississippi.

Harrison, 49, led the Waves to a record of 69-38-1 in two seasons after replacing Andy Lopez, who left to become coach at Florida.

“We have lost two head coaches to Southeastern Conference schools in the last two years, and that says a lot about the quality of our program,” Pepperdine Athletic Director Wayne Wright said.

Harrison spent Monday with Pepperdine assistants David Rhoades and John Verhoeven, never mentioning his impending move. He flew to Mississippi on Tuesday and will be introduced as Mississippi’s coach at a press conference today.

“I had heard rumors, but I was pretty sure he was going to stay,” Rhoades said. “[Tuesday] he told us he was leaving and said it had nothing to do with Pepperdine. He was not unhappy with anything here.”

The Waves were 33-19 last season but did not qualify for the NCAA tournament after finishing second in the West Coast Conference. Pepperdine was the conference champion in 1995.

Most likely leaving with the coach will be his son, J.T. Harrison, an infielder who was a freshman last season. J.T. got a large tuition break as the son of a faculty member.

“Pat said that J.T. probably will transfer, although he might not go to Mississippi,” Rhoades said.

A replacement has not been hired, although Harrison recommended Verhoeven, a former major league pitcher.

At Mississippi, Harrison will take over for Don Kessinger, a former Chicago Cub shortstop. Kessinger, who led the team to a 24-30 record last season, resigned to take an administrative position at the school.