GOAT Third Basemen Under Head Coach Mike Bianco

By Adam Brown and Jeff Roberson 
adam.brown@hottytoddy.com; wjrobers@olemiss.edu

Ole Miss fans, it has been a long month with no sports for the red and blue. Here at HottyToddy.com, we feel the same way you do about not being out at Swayze. We miss hearing the crack of the bats, feeling the energy of the crowd and cheering on the Rebels. 

Over the next few weeks, HottyToddy is going to break down the greatest of all time to step on the diamond of Swayze Field in the coach Mike Bianco era. We’re taking a position-by-position look at the five best at their craft.

We know there will be debate about these choices, and that is good. It’s what we want. We also know some excellent players are left off these lists because we only chose five at each spot as well as a total of 15 outfielders.

HottyToddy’s own sports editor Adam Brown and contributor Jeff Roberson are going to give our readers our top picks at each position on the diamond. In all, there will be a total of 10 lists that include starters, relievers, closers, and utility players.

Today’s GOAT (greatest of all time) list will feature the hot corner of third base:

Adam’s picks:

No. 5 – Colby Bortles
No. 4 – Tyler Keenan
No. 3 – Austin Anderson
No. 2 – Zach Miller
No. 1 – Chris Coghlan

Jeff’s picks:
No. 5 – Lance Jones
No. 4 – Zach Miller
No. 3 – Tyler Keenan
No. 2 – Austin Anderson
No. 1 – Chris Coghlan

Chris Coghlan arrived at Ole Miss in the fall of 2003 as a highly-regarded player from Tarpon Springs, Fla. An 18th round draft pick by the Diamondbacks out of East Lake High School, Coghlan would in three seasons leave Ole Miss as one of the best third basemen in the history of the program. Batting .364 in his second season and .350 in his third season, Coghlan had only 13 home runs in three years but consistently found his way on base. In his final Rebel season, Coghlan walked 35 times, was hit by a pitch eight times, and he stole 24 bases in 26 attempts. In his final two Ole Miss seasons, he combined for 107 RBIs. Coghlan was drafted in the first round (36th pick) by the Marlins in 2006. In 2009 he was named the National League Rookie of the Year. He was a member of a World Series championship team with the Cubs in 2016.