Podcast: UConn assistant Josh MacDonald prioritizes attitude

UConn recruiting coordinator Josh MacDonald joined Dan Guttenplan and Matt Feld on The Base Path Podcast. (UConn Athletics)

The latest guest on The Base Path Podcast is UConn pitching coach and recruiting coordinator Josh MacDonald, who is the reigning D1Baseball.com Assistant Coach of the Year.

A member of the longest-tenured coaching staff in college baseball, MacDonald has seen the Huskies earn NCAA tournament berths in seven of his 11 seasons. Jim Penders’ top assistant has led UConn to the super regional round twice, the latest coming in 2022.

MacDonald told hosts Dan Guttenplan and Matt Feld that he is in no hurry to accept a head coaching position.

“I’ve had some opportunities come up,” MacDonald said. “I didn’t think that they were better than the situation I have here. Again, I think with the coaching world, you see basically two sides of it. You see guys that can hop around and climb the occupational ladder to bigger jobs or more money. I’ve got nothing against those guys. My situation, I have a family with two kids. I have grandparents 15 minutes down the road. It’s not as easy for me to make those decisions and just leave. On top of that, I’m probably in one of the more unique situations in terms of how long my deal is as an assistant. I know that I have a deal that’s longer than most head coaches.”

MacDonald has established a reputation for being one of the more honest and outspoken coaches around New England. His voice can often be heard above all others emanating from the UConn dugout on game day.

“I think we’re psychotic,” MacDonald said. “I don’t think it’s weird. I don’t think we’re the easiest coaching staff to play for. This isn’t like a Bobby Knight situation where you should be afraid of going to practice. I don’t think it’s like that, but we’ve been together so long. We want it to feel like a business on game day.”

MacDonald shared UConn’s recruiting calendar, noting that the majority of his scouting is done during the travel ball season during the summer. However, he does prefer seeing players compete for their high school teams when he gets the chance.

“The summer is a time when we can see most of them, but it’s really important to keep tabs on guys in your backyard,” MacDonald said. “On those rare occasions in the spring, you can go out and see some of the best players in Connecticut on your three or four days off. You see most of the kids outside the state once the summer happens. You should be able to see a decent amount of in-state players during the spring season too because those games are super important.”

Listen to the entire podcast with UConn coach Josh MacDonald.

The New England Baseball Journal podcast is brought to you by the University of Nebraska High School.

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