Just a week after leading the University of Montevallo baseball team to their best record in school history, Greg Goff was announced last Wednesday as the new head coach of NCAA Division I member Campbell University, located in Buies Creek, N.C.

&8220;It&8217;s a great day for my family and I,&8221; Goff told Campbell radio following the press conference announcing his hiring. &8220;We always wanted an opportunity to do this, and we&8217;re thankful the University of Montevallo gave us an opportunity to be there for four years.&8221;

Leaving his job as the University of Kentucky pitching coach, Goff inherited the Montevallo Falcons team in the summer of 2003. After a 26-27 first year, Goff hit the recruiting trail to find a way to change the program&8217;s direction.

Four of those first recruits, including pitcher Zach Andrews, hoped to close their collegiate career under Goff at Montevallo next spring.

&8220;It&8217;s going to hurt not having him around another year. I&8217;ve played for him for three years. He&8217;s like my Montevallo father,&8221; Andrews said. &8220;He&8217;s a great coach and a great guy and is going to be missed by all of the players.&8221;

While Andrews says he was surprised by the phone call he received from Goff last Tuesday, outfielder Daniel Furuto saw it coming.

&8220;I wasn&8217;t really shocked, because during my whole career I&8217;ve been waiting for him to get a Division I job,&8221; Furuto said. &8220;He was pretty much the reason I came to Montevallo. I think a lot of the guys are like that.&8221;

Goff, with the help of Andrews and Furuto, led the Falcons to their first 40-win season in five years in 2006, while capturing a regional championship and finishing third in the NCAA Division II World Series. He followed the historic run with a record-setting 47 wins this spring and a runner-up finish in the South Central Regional.

During his tenure, he collected 152 wins and produced one first-team All-American (Trent Prueitt, 2005).

&8220;I will forever be grateful to the University of Montevallo, for giving me my first chance to be a collegiate baseball head coach,&8221; Goff said. &8220;My family and I will always cherish our time at the University of Montevallo &8230;it is indeed a very special place.&8221;

Assistant coach Jeff Smith has been named interim head coach and is considered a viable candidate for the job according to university President Philip Williams.

&8220;We are excited that Coach Smith has agreed to serve as interim head coach pending the outcome of a search for Coach Goff&8217;s replacement, which is required by university policy,&8221; Williams said.

Smith came to Montevallo after serving as head coach at Volunteer State Community College in Gallatin, Tenn. from 1999-2005.

Falcons&8217; alum and pitching coach Aubrey Blackwell is expected to join Goff&8217;s staff at Campbell