Former MLB star Chris Sabo will not return as UA baseball coach

The University of Akron and baseball coach Chris Sabo will part ways as his contract will not be renewed.

Sabo was hired in 2018 as the first coach of program that was eliminated in 2015.

With equipment sold off, Sabo and his staff built a program from scratch. The UA baseball community stepped up and donations, including $1 million from alum and former player Bill Skeeles, flowed in to allow updates to the ballpark.

It wasn’t enough.

Sabo went 31-89 during his stint as coach. The Zips were 15-41 this season.

In all fairness, the baseball program returned with severe limitations, including the lack of scholarship money from the department of athletics.

Any “athletic” scholarships had to be privately funded. Donors stepped up to provide $85,456 in 2020, $80,454 in 21 and $103,501 in 2022, according to Director of Collegiate Athletics Charles Guthrie.

Additionally, there was a residency requirement stating players had to live in UA dormitories. Additionally, Ohio recruits were prioritized over out-of-state players.

All of those restrictions were lifted by the UA board of trustees last fall.

The university remains committed to baseball as a team sport, Guthrie said.

“We received another six-figure gift recently from another donor. We’ve increased the scholarships year over year,” he said.

Sabo’s four-year deal expires Oct. 1. A national search will be conducted later this summer.

Reach George M. Thomas at gthomas@thebeaconjournal.com or on Twitter @ByGeorgeThomas.