Huskies continue search for new baseball coach

It's been more than two weeks since Washington fired Ken Knutson as its baseball coach, and the search for his replacement is apparently spreading far and wide.

It's also reportedly hitting close to home.

Among the rumored candidates are Knutson's longtime assistant Joe Ross, Washington State coach Don Marbut, Gonzaga coach Mark Machtolf, Hawaii coach Mike Trapasso, Pepperdine coach Steve Rodriguez, San Francisco coach Nino Giarratano and Dave Grewe, LSU pitching coach and associate head coach. Grewe is a former coach at Michigan State.

Washington officials won't comment on specific candidates, and an athletic department spokesman said there is "no timetable" for making a hire. However, he also said that taking time to make the right hire is more important than rushing it and the Huskies have the luxury to be a little patient because it is summer, which means "we have some flexibility."

Ross has been at UW since 1993, working primarily on hitting.

Marbut and Machtolf each led their teams to the NCAA tournament this year, success that apparently helped play a role in UW deciding it was time to make a change.

Marbut, a native of Aberdeen, just completed his fifth year at WSU, during which time he has used solid in-state recruiting to help rebuild the Cougars program. However, his Cougars career hasn't been without some controversy as he was issued a letter of reprimand by the school in 2006 after The Seattle Times reported he had misrepresented some aspects of his academic credentials.

Machtolf, a Spokane native who played at Stanford, just completed his sixth season as coach at Gonzaga.

Trapasso's candidacy was reported recently by The Honolulu Advertiser and The Honolulu Star-Bulletin. The Advertiser noted that Trapasso "has recruited extensively in the Pacific Northwest" with four players on last season's roster from either Washington or Idaho.

Grewe, whose candidacy was reported by NewOrleans.com, helped lead LSU to its sixth College World Series title last month in his first year at the school after going 75-85 in three seasons as coach at Michigan State. Scott Woodward, the UW athletic director, is an LSU grad who worked in the administration at LSU before coming to UW in 2004. However, Grewe did not work at LSU when Woodward was there.

Giarratano has been at the University of San Francisco for 11 seasons and in the past five years has led the school to a 163-123 record. Rodriguez has been at Pepperdine six years, leading the Waves to five straight NCAA tournaments from 2004-2008 and played briefly in the major leagues as a middle infielder for the Red Sox and Tigers in 1995.

Bob Condotta: 206-515-5699 or bcondotta@seattletimes.com.