Southern athletic director Roman Banks ends first major coaching search with hiring of Kerrick Jackson

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana -- When Roman Banks officially presented Kerrick Jackson with his No. 45 Southern baseball jersey on Tuesday, it ushered in a new era for Southern baseball after the retirement of longtime coach Roger Cador two months ago.

But the announcement also ends an important period at Southern, putting to rest the first coaching search since Banks was named full-time athletic director last spring.

Before Tuesday, Banks never hired a coach for a major sport while serving as interim athletic director for two years or since being promoted to full-time director earlier this year.

The only hirings he made during that time were soccer coach Jeremy Fontenot last summer and promoting former assistant Morris Scott as Banks’ successor in men’s basketball.

“It’s like being out there on the basketball court trying to win a championship,” Banks said. “But right now, instead of talking about Xs and Os, I’m talking about the whole athletic department. … I try, as the athletic director, to give the alumni, the students, the baseball alumni — everybody — what it deserves and that’s a winning product.”

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