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Rick Clagett is in his fourth season as Villanova's pitching coach and continues to an instrumental part of the team's recruiting efforts.
Clagett has been a key figure in helping head coach Joe Godri develop a perennially strong pitching staff. In his first season as pitching coach, Clagett guided the Wildcats to a 4.58 ERA, a figure that was the third best in the Big East and more than a run lower than the previous season. The strength on the mound continued in 2004, as Villanova limited the opposition to three or fewer runs in 27 games, and compiled a 22-4-1 record in those games.
During the past three years, five Villanova pitchers have been chosen in the Major League Baseball Amateur Draft. This past spring, seniors Adrian Schau and Mike Ciccotelli were both drafted, while James Russell, Kevin Mulvey and Brian Slocum have been chosen in previous years. In addition, former Wildcat hurler John Yeager went on to pitch for Dekata of the Mexican League, while Bob Grzenda pitched in the German Professional League.
Clagett has been equally successful in helping Godri with the team's recruiting efforts. Villanova's recruiting classes have been ranked among the top 100 in the nation in each of the last four years by the Collegiate Baseball newspaper. The current recruiting class was chosen as the second best in the Northeast Region, and the fourth strongest in the Big East.
Clagett came to Villanova from the University of Utah, where he was an assistant coach for two seasons under head coach Tim Esmay. He also spent one season as a student assistant coach for the Utes.
A former standout pitcher for the University of Utah, Clagett served as the Utah team captain in 1998. As a senior, he was among the team leaders with six victories. In 1997, Clagett led the team with 10 wins, placing him just one victory shy of tying the school record for wins. He was instrumental in leading the Utes to the WAC Northern Division Championship.
Prior to coming to the University of Utah, Clagett played at Cypress Junior College. A Las Vegas native, Clagett earned his bachelor's degree in political science from the University of Utah in 1999.
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