From special dispatches

Kentucky baseball assistant coach Brian Green, who spent six years as the offensive coordinator for the Wildcats, has been tabbed the new head coach at his alma mater, New Mexico State, it was announced by NMSU on Thursday afternoon.

Green was introduced in Las Cruces by Dr. McKinley Boston, the New Mexico State athletics director, as the 10th head coach in the program’s history.

A native of Temecula, Calif., Green and his wife, Becki, return to their alma mater, where Green received his business management degree in 1995 after playing for the Aggies in 1994 and serving as an assistant coach on the 1995 squad. Green has spent all six years of Gary Henderson’s time as head coach at Kentucky as UK’s offensive coordinator, also serving as the infield defense and base running coach.

“It has always been my goal to become a head coach, but it also has always been my dream to someday return to my alma mater as its lead guy,” Green said at a news conference. “All I know of New Mexico State and Las Cruces are special and great memories.”

Green’s 2014 offense was the best in the nation, leading all BCS conferences in runs, homers, on-base and slugging percentage and scoring. His dynamic offensive approach led the Southeastern Conference in eight categories, ranking among the top three in the SEC in 10 of 13 categories. In the SEC stats, UK finished with a 36-point advantage in slugging, a 29-point margin in on-base percentage, 67 more runs and RBI, and 18 more homers than the next closest team. UK’s .844 OPS was 62 points higher than the second-place team.

The 2014 season was highlighted by Green’s work with one of the best players in college baseball, junior two-way star AJ Reed. Reed went from a lightly recruited left-handed pitcher/first baseman out of Terre Haute, Ind., into a superstar talent and the first pick of the second round by the Houston Astros in the 2014 MLB Draft.

Reed was named the Dick Howser Trophy Award winner, the Baseball America College Player of the Year, Collegiate Baseball’s Player of the Year and the American Baseball Coaches Association National Player of the Year. The first national player of the year in Kentucky history, Reed also won the 2014 John Olerud Award, given to the nation’s top two-way player. In addition, Reed was named SEC Player of the Year by the conference coaches and SEC Male Athlete of the Year by the league athletics directors.

“BG has been a great influence on my baseball career,” Reed said. “From the moment I stepped onto campus, he was committed to doing everything in his power to make me a better man and baseball player. ... A lot of the credit for the progress I made as a junior can go to BG and his constant dedication to make me a better player.”

In addition to Reed, 2014 center fielder Austin Cousino was selected in the third round by the Seattle Mariners. Reed and Cousino marked the highest drafted position player duo in program history. Third baseman Max Kuhn, who had three at-bats as a freshman, and hit under .250 as a sophomore, was a 13th-round pick by the Athletics. Kuhn finished 2014 leading the SEC and all BCS conferences in runs scored, becoming the first UK player to lead the SEC in runs since Billy White in 1988.

Before joining the Wildcats, Green spent four years as an assistant coach at UCLA.