There’s less than one week before Mervyl Melendez makes his debut as just the fourth baseball coach in FIU’s 44-year history.
The Panthers, who failed to reach an NCAA regional last year after a mediocre 29-29 record that got coach Turtle Thomas fired, have turned to Melendez, a 42-year-old native of Puerto Rico.
Melendez has 17 years of experience as a college head coach, winning 13 conference championships in his combined tenure at Bethune-Cookman and Alabama State.
Conference USA will represent a step up in competition for Melendez, and here’s a quick look at the team he has inherited/assembled in advance of the opener Friday against visiting Jacksonville State.