Before the head coaching position for the Ball State baseball team opened up, the future wasn't looking bright after two season with only 14 and 15 wins.
But the amount of interest in the position Athletic Director Bill Scholl has gotten should be a positive for Ball State when the final decision is made.
"I've lost track from a volume standpoint [of applicants]," Scholl said. "Once it got posted the number of applications has skyrocketed."
Former coach Alex Marconi resigned on May 30 after only two years as Ball State's head coach.
Scholl said the coaching search has yielded more than 200 applicants not including the number of candidates Scholl has on a list of people he actively has sought out.
He said the search has garnered more interest than the women's basketball coaching search that ended in May.
He also said the search has left him satisfied with both the number of candidates and the quality of the candidates he is looking at.
The criteria of the search hasn't changed from earlier searches this summer.
"The NCAA issues are always paramount and beyond that, looking for head coaching experience is a nice bonus if you can get it," he said. "The ability to develop players, recruit players and identify players."
Despite the enormous amount of interest, Scholl said he wasn't surprised by it.
"I knew there would be really good candidates that would be interested in this job," he said.
The interest is a credit to the success of Ball State baseball in years past.
"We've got a great history here," Scholl said. "Over the last 20 to 30 years, other than the last couple, we have really had a very strong program and I think there are a lot of aspiring Division I coaches out there that see Ball State as a great opportunity to build a program."
Scholl said the process is still making progress but it's getting close to being finished.
"I would hope that we'll have something to announce relatively soon," he said.
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