MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Memphis baseball recently announced a historic hire, Kerrick Jackson as head coach. He’s the first Black coach in the school’s history and he’s already making a difference on the recruiting trail. Glenn Green III is one new recruit who will don the blue and white next year.
Green is leaving SEC country and the University of Georgia after a redshirt freshman year. He loved his team and his coaching staff under Scott Stricklin, but with an established upperclassmen core and other freshmen getting more playing time, Green felt like he needed a better chance to prove himself.
"Stricklin made me feel like I didn’t have it at that point and maybe, he may be right. I tried to tell him I never got that chance to show whether I did or didn’t have it. Like some of the other freshmen did," Green said.
Green hit the transfer portal. One of the first texts he got? Memphis’ Kerrick Jackson, who recruited Green out of Sandy Creek High School in Georgia when Jackson coached at Southern University. Green considered playing under Jackson at the HBCU, but says Jackson being at Memphis gives the program real merit.
"Because when people hear Memphis, they think ‘oh that’s a basketball school. I wouldn’t want to go there to play baseball. I feel like they wouldn’t help me or nothing.' But you’ve got someone who was the president of the draft league, a very respectable coach," Green said.
Green is one of three SEC transfers who’ve already committed to Memphis since Jackson became head coach. Challenging the SEC was a point of emphasis at his introductory presser.
"We want the guys who say, 'I’m a good player and I’m going to surround myself with other good players and I want to be in a good environment with good coaches.'" Jackson told media. "Because at the end of the day, regardless of what conference you play in, it’s about whether you play in the postseason."
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That mentality with Jackson’s credentials speak for themselves. And Green says he’s not the only one looking at Tiger Town.
“Ever since I came in I had some of my old teammates that are at Mississippi State, Georgia Tech, Florida, these big schools are like ‘hey you think coach would talk to me?'" Green said.
The redshirt freshman joins Mississippi State’s Brayland Skinner and Ole Miss’ Luke Ellis as SEC transfers to Memphis. He’ll have four years of eligibility remaining.