Episode 17 - Matt Cornacchione, SAGU 123 Inning Podcast

It wasn’t long ago opponents could see an upcoming series against SAGU and immediately pencil in wins. In 2017 and 2018, their record was an unimpressive 27-68 and were on the wrong end of numerous double-digit losses. The next season Matt Cornacchione was hired to lead the Lions and revamp the paltry program which had never finished over .500. His success was immediate. In 2019 the Lions won a school record 26 games and that mark would be bested once again in each of the next two complete seasons as well. That alone makes Coach Cornacchione story at SAGU remarkable, but there’s another aspect to what he has accomplished with his team that makes it even more compelling.

SAGU is not a typical college. It is a private Christian university. And it is not only a Christian university, but one in Texas, deeply entrenched in the bible belt. It is an extremely conservative school with a bible-center curriculum. They don’t allow profanity, drinking alcohol or rated "R" movies. Even dancing is regulated. As a result, that really, really, really narrows down your pool of potential players when recruiting – even if you are located in the heart of evangelical country. That makes what Coach Cornacchione has accomplished even more fascinating. He’s taking down big targets with limited ammunition.