Home Again: Cribby Excited To Lead His Alma Mater Back To Omaha

Since being announced as Washington's Associate Head Coach, Pitching Coach and Recruiting Coordinator, Elliott Cribby has hit the ground running and never looked back.

Cribby, who played collegiately for the Huskies from 2006 to 2008, joined the staff at his alma mater after one year at Purdue and five years at Seattle U. In his first six months, he has tirelessly worked to put the final touches on the Huskies' 2020 roster while coaching up his new stable of pitchers. In addition, he has assembled one of the nation's top incoming classes for 2021 and is pounding the pavement looking for talent in 2022 and beyond.

When Husky Coach Lindsay Meggs offered Cribby the UW job, he jumped at the chance to return home and help build the Huskies back up for a run to Omaha and the College World Series. He is now preparing for the team's first full-squad practice scheduled for Jan. 24. Before the season officially kicked off, he sat down to chat about his return to UW, his coaching history and discuss his plan of attack for this year and beyond.

How did you originally get into coaching and eventually get back to UW?

My track record is a lot more unique than a lot of other coaches out there because I started at high school. About a decade ago I was working at Trader Joe's from 4:00 a.m. to noon and then I was helping a buddy coach his JV high school team at Eastside Catholic. That's when it got started for me and when it clicked for me as far as I wanting to make a run at coaching. So, I had to figure out the best path of how to do it. I coached two years at Mt. Si High School, which is how I got to know Lindsay (Meggs) in the first place. He had just gotten the job and I was doing camps on campus and being an alum and tied into the baseball community a little bit tied into the travel ball scene helped. After coaching high school, I moved to Abilene, Texas to take my first collegiate job at Abilene Christian. I didn't know what I was doing on the recruiting side – I knew the baseball, the pitching and how to teach – but I had no idea. Coach (Britt) Bonneau, who is now at Oklahoma said, 'Here you go. Good luck.' He kind of just set me free, which was great because I had to learn on my own and on the fly through trials and tribulations. I was only there for a year when Donny Harrel, who's the coach at Seattle U and was an assistant when I played here, reached out. I was there for five years. Again, getting to know Lindsay, with them up the street and us playing them all the time and us having some success against them, he probably just took a mental note of what we were doing. I felt like I had to continue to keep making a jump to get more experience, so I went on to Purdue for a year and was fortunate to come back here based off of all the relationship I had built over the years with Coach Meggs and his staff and being a familiar face with the program.

What was train of thought in leaving Purdue after one year?

To be able to come home – my family is here, my dad (Ed) played here, my brother went to school here, my wife's family is here – it was a no brainer. I think in any profession to do what you love and to be able to have your family around and be at your alma mater, there is a major sense of pride to make sure we are able to do this to the best of our ability. It was an easy decision, but it was a hard decision too. I really like West Lafayette. I loved the people out there at Purdue. The players were phenomenal. As much as it was a no-brainer for me to come back here it was also bittersweet because I really did like being a Boilermaker. I wish those guys nothing but success and I talk to them all the time.

Your head coach at Purdue, Mark Wasikowski, is now at Oregon, so it looks like you couldn't completely escape West Lafayette.

He was going through the interview process at Oregon when Coach Meggs had initially said, 'Hey, I might lose my pitching coach. Would you be interested?' I didn't have to say much. I didn't even come out here to visit. There was nothing to see. It was 'Hey, if he leaves, do you want the job?' It was 100 percent yes. There was kind of some jockeying back and forth between Oregon because Wasi (Wasikowski) asked me if I wanted to join him. My wife went to Oregon so that was a nice draw, but for us to come back to Seattle – she kept her job – it all worked out.

Would the younger you that was once a player sitting in the bullpen at Husky Ballpark as a player, laugh at the idea that you'd one day become the pitching coach at UW?

I would laugh. I had no idea what I wanted to do. In 2009, I was getting my master's degree here in the IAL (Intercollegiate Athletic Leadership) program, which is essentially how to interact as a sports administrator. I thought I was going to go down that path. I really did. A lot of people ask, 'How did you get to where you're at?' or 'What can I do?' There is no blueprint. There's no roadmap. But to sit back and think where I was, I kind of chuckle occasionally. To be where I'm at right now and to think that I was almost going to be an administrator and not necessarily a baseball coach (is amazing). I think back to that Eastside Catholic JC coaching experience for me and that was the start. Being able to help those kids and give back everything I got, not only here at the University of Washington, but my playing career and being able to be a beacon of whatever they want to help put them on the right path is very rewarding.

How would you summarize Husky Ballpark now compared to what you had when you played?

It's incredible. I joke with our guys – they don't know – but they're spoiled! We had the same setting. It's a beautiful setting, there is no question about that. But to see what Coach Meggs has done and where the program is now is amazing. It was okay when I played. We were competing for fourth or fifth place every year I was here. We went to a regional, so we had some things that were going well. But to see where it is now with the facilities, the stadium, not having to walk from the basketball arena at Hec Ed all the way down to Husky Ballpark, just remembering those times, these kids are very fortunate for what they have. I think Coach Meggs coming in here and saying 'We're going to go to Omaha. I'm going to build a stadium.' The fact that he did it is impressive. It had been talked about for a long time.

As the recruiting coordinator, how does the new baseball footprint help you?

It's incredible. You can literally bring kids and their families here and not only can you promote we're in the Pac-12, but we have the facilities that are big time. We really try to work on the relationship and ask 'Hey do you fit here?' and intertwine all those things. When you roll into the facility – I love the way it is situated. Coming off Montlake, it really is the first thing you see. Then you see the Diamond on Montlake and you park and you walk up the stairs and – BAM – it hits you right in the face with that view. You have the mountain out there, the lake … it's impressive.

Coach Chris Petersen made the OKG famous. What kind of recruit are you looking for?

We're looking for local guys first. We want to really build a fence in the Northwest. We talk about it a lot with the local schools. We want to get the best players in the state of Washington and then work our way out and go to other areas if we need to get other players. We're definitely in the mix or looking for certain types of players. We want guys that want to be on the field every day and want to work. It's not a job for them. We want them to have enjoyment in the game. To be able to come here and either be on scholarship or not on scholarship, to be able to get this type of education that is going to provide for them down the road. We want guys that feel fortunate to be here. We want guys that will go out on their own every single time they get the opportunity because we have the facilities to do it. I'd say ultimately what we're looking for is no different than what Coach Pete was looking for, the OKG's. We all want the best player, but the best players now in high school can sign for a lot of money. We must be able to position ourselves to where we're going to go after these players, but we have to be mindful when we go after the most elite of the elite. It's not that we don't want to, but those guys are extremely tough to get on campus. It's a tough thing to figure out, but you've got to be able to find the kid that is going to be really good, but at the same time from a professional standpoint, has some stuff to work on right now.

Since you first stepped foot on campus you hit the ground in full recruit mode. Can you quantify how much time and effort you have put into that aspect of the job since you arrived?

Since July 1, I think Ronnie (Prettyman) and I – along with coach – have had 29 commitments. That's including some of the guys who are here now, our 2020 class, our 2021 class and even earlier. It ended up being a unique situation. We want to make sure the fit is there, and it takes time to build a relationship – getting the family to know the coaches and vice versa. Ronnie and I hit the ground running really, really hard – and coach wants to be out there too as much as he can given all the other job duties he has. Again, it goes back to making sure every kid and family in the state of Washington knows that this is the premier place to go to school. Not only from an educational standpoint, but you're playing in a conference that is arguably the best in the country, with these types of facilities, in a city like Seattle with some of the biggest corporations and best economies in the world. It's not always about the baseball, it's about the future and how can we help them.

Your dad, Ed, played baseball here. What are some of your earliest memories of Husky athletics?

I would come to all the alumni games with him, so I remember running around here on the field when it was still Astroturf. I can remember coming to those events and catching fly balls in the outfield during BP and watching him have fun with his buddies. Those memories are engrained in my mind forever. I remember listening to Husky games (on the radio) against Georgia Tech when they were knocking on the door to go to the Super Regionals. I remember having those games blaring in our garage. Husky football games, Husky basketball games – they were always on. He would always talk about his experience of playing at old Graves Field as opposed to over here at Husky Ballpark. When I hear those stories, he talks about how they'd have to rake the field. Being a Husky was instilled in my mind very early so a chance to be a Husky was an easy decision as a player.

You have a couple of your top-line starters Stevie Emanuels and Jack Enger who come from Husky families. How easy has it been to relate to them from the get-go?

It's been a great connection. I remember having recruited both of those guys while I was at Seattle University so the transition for me here was maybe a lot smoother than it could have been at other places. For instance, going to Purdue I was a fish out of water in Indiana. It was a little bit different of a culture to grasp than when you have guys that you've been around for a long time. The fact that they grew up wanting to be Huskies and their family members went here, it's a big deal to continue that legacy and carry that torch. I think they're very prideful of that and I think you can see that in their work ethic. They've done a really good job for us so far and those are going to be a couple of guys we lean on heavily, in whatever role. I'll be able to hand them the baseball and they'll know what to go do with it.

What was your first message to the pitching staff when you got here?

The first thing I told them was that 'I'm going to earn your trust.' You have a lot of kids on that field that weren't necessarily recruited by me. I think earning their trust and showing that I cared for them was the biggest thing moving forward. We're dealing with kids these days that are very cerebral. They're very connected. There has got to be that relationship that is really strong. After that, every kid wants to win baseball games – that's our goal. We want to win a Pac-12 Championship, we want to go to a regional, we want to win a Super Regional – host those here – and then go back to Omaha. But then there is the professional aspect. In professional baseball it's a cutthroat business. It's eat or be eaten. Your competing against Canada, the United States, Mexico, the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, all the international countries in the Pacific Rim – there's a lot of baseball players out there. The question back to them is 'What are you going to do to separate yourself form everybody else?' That's our job as coaches, to instill that work ethic and show them this is why we want you to do these things. I think this generation now is very receptive on asking questions, so now it's showing them this is why I want you to do these things. I am probably more visual than verbal. Those are a few of the messages I gave our guys. I want to show them what it's going to be like when they cross over the fence and into professional baseball. We want to be able to prepare them for that and while they're here, we're going to win.

How would you characterize your pitching staff as you head into camp?

They want to work. You always hear the word 'grind.' They love each other and they love working with each other. They push each other really hard and I think it's my job to oversee these guys and if they're not doing it 100 percent to their ability, make them understand that 'Hey, someone else is beating you right now based off the fact that you're not giving it your all.' So, I think when you see those guys and they're out there on their own doing extra work – whether that has happened in the past, I can't tell you – but what I can tell you is that in the fall those guys got into really good shape. Those guys did a lot of things that they weren't necessarily accustomed to in the past from a training aspect. You're starting to see the bodies get a lot stronger and in turn, the pitching ability is getting better. We're starting to see that in the bullpen sessions now, so it's pretty pleasing so far.

Schedule

Home Again: Cribby Excited To Lead His Alma Mater Back To Omaha

Players Mentioned

Stevie Emanuels

Jack Enger

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