UF baseball volunteer assistant coach Lars Davis has accepted the hitting coach job at Georgia State, according to a report from D1Baseball’s Kendall Rogers.
This will be Davis’ first full-time coaching job after spending the last seven years on Kevin O’Sullivan’s staff.
He arrived at UF prior to the 2015 season. As a former professional catcher, he worked with the catchers on defense and helped coach the team’s offense. He also served as the first-base coach for his first five seasons before moving to third base for the past two years.
Davis, 35, played a role in the Gators making four College World Series appearances and winning the 2017 national championship. The Gators won 205 games from 2016-19, making it the most successful four-year stretch in school history.
As a player, Davis started behind the plate for two seasons at Illinois and was named an All-American and the Big Ten Player of the Year after his junior season in 2007. He became the first Fighting Illini player to hit .400 in a season since 1996. He led the conference with 13 home runs.
The Colorado Rockies selected the Grande Prairie, Alberta, Canada, native in the third round of the 2007 MLB Draft. He spent eight seasons in the minor leagues with the Rockies, Arizona Diamondbacks and Philadelphia Phillies organizations before transitioning into coaching.