Apr 26, 2016 3 min read

It’s back to the drawing board in the search for California University’s next men’s basketball coach.

After conducting on-campus interviews with five candidates earlier this month, it was decided the search will start over. The job has been “reopened” and applications will be accepted through this week. That’s hardly good news for any of the five coaches who were interviewed. The Observer-Reporter has learned four of the candidates were Concord head coach Kent McBride, Fairmont State assistant coach Joe Mazzulla, Marietta head coach John VanderWal and former Pitt assistant Bill Barton.

The asterisk in the situation is, when interviews begin anew next month, they will be conducted by an almost entirely different search committee.

Having a “do over” on a coaching search can’t make California look good. You have to wonder if any of the original finalists will even bother to reapply.

Who knew it would be this hard to find a replacement for veteran coach Bill Brown, who announced in February that he would be retiring after the 2015-16 season?

• If the California women’s softball team is to return to the NCAA Division II World Series next month in Denver, the Vulcans will be battle-tested.

Cal won the PSAC’s West Division title and will take a 32-2 record into the double-elimination conference tournament that begins today in Quakertown. The Vulcans lost their season opener by one run to New Haven in mid-February and have won 31 of 32 since then. The only stumble was a 1-0 loss at home to Slippery Rock 10 days ago.

The Vulcans are ranked No. 9 in the nation, which seems about right for a team with only two losses.

It also sounds like a clear path to the world series should await Cal, right?

Not quite.

Though in the top 10 nationally, the Vulcans are only ranked No. 5 in the Atlantic Region. None of the four teams ranked ahead of Cal – West Chester, Charleston (W.Va.), West Virginia Wesleyan and Bloomsburg – are ranked in the top dozen in the national poll. To host one of the two pods for the Atlantic Region tournament, Cal would have to win the PSAC tournament and then get some help from unranked teams in the Mountain East Conference tournament. Losses by Charleston and West Virginia Wesleyan would help.

It’s possible, if Cal falls into the losers’ bracket of both the PSAC and regional tournaments, for the Vulcans to play 13 games against teams ranked ahead of them in the region just to qualify for the world series.

• Has anybody else noticed the annoying strike-zone box that is superimposed over the catcher during the telecast of every major league game, from ESPN to Root, is the same size for every batter?

• Among the Pittsburgh Steelers players who have committed to playing in the Antonio Brown Celebrity Softball Game at Consol Energy Park May 14 are running back Le’Veon Bell, guard Ramon Foster, linebacker Arthur Moats, Mike Mitchell and former cornerback Will Allen. A complete roster will be announced today.

Sports editor Chris Dugan can be reached at dugan@observer-reporter.com.