Talley Haines won five state baseball titles at Mobile Christian and was a perfect 10-0 in the finals. (Photo courtesy of al.com)
By JIMMY WIGFIELD
Talley Haines, who coached Mobile Christian to five baseball state championships between 2015 and 2022, has resigned to return to Missouri.
“Some situations came up and it just seemed like a good time to get back with family back home,” Haines said Monday. “My wife’s mom lives back that way, so getting a chance to get back there has been something that we’ve decided to do.”
Haines — who won Blue Maps in 2015, 2016, 2018, 2021 and 2022 and was 256-126 in 11 seasons — left coaching to sell insurance and said he later realized it was a mistake. He returned in 2025, just after the Leopards lost in the Class 5A state championship series under Jason Smith, but he struggled to only his second losing season at the school, finishing 10-19 and losing 11 games by three or fewer runs.
“We had a great group of seniors this year and a good group of juniors,” Haines said. “We played a really tough schedule early on and we just never kind of figured out how to win this year. It was probably my fault for not leading them in the right direction. We had a little bit of a down year but it had nothing to do with the kids that we had.”
Haines said he will likely resume coaching in Missouri after some time away from the sport.
“I’m going to step away for a little while and kind of recharge my batteries a little bit,” he said. “I’m sure I’ll get back into coaching at some point.”
Haines coached 30 All-State players at Mobile Christian, was 72-17 in the playoffs and 10-0 in the five state championship series he appeared in. He coached Alabama Sports Writers Association Players of the Year Ethan Hearn (2018 and 2019), Charlie Keller (2021) and Zane Stokes (2022) and was named the Coach of the Year in 2015 and 2016.
“We had a lot of great kids come through,” Haines said. “When you have really good players, you have a good chance to win.”
The 2025 team featured five college signees in Damien Gatson (South Alabama), Brady Keller (Snead State), Noah Blackburn (Pensacola State), Maddox McKinion (Coastal Alabama South) and Bryce Rivers (Nicholls State).
Haines said he intended to stay for more than a year when he returned for the 2025 season.
“My plan was to kind of keep doing the things that we had done when I was there before,” he said. “Things come up with family. My father passed away about a year and a half ago and her father passed away right around that same time. The chance for us to get back with my wife’s mom was just one of those things.”
Mobile Christian Head of School Clint Mitchell said Haines met with him just before spring break and broached the topic of leaving.
“He had the opportunity to move back closer to where (his wife) Jackie’s family’s from and closer to where he’s from as well,” Mitchell said. “He felt the timing was right for some of that. They’ve been a huge part of Mobile Christian now for many, many years, him and Jackie both, and we’re incredibly thankful for all they’ve done in their time here at Mobile Christian.”
Mitchell said the 10-19 finish this season was not indicative of a slipping program.
“We love Talley Haines,” Mitchell said. “In a perfect world, he’d have been here for a long time. But I certainly understand the call of family and in-laws. It’s not something we planned for when he came back. I have lots of respect for Talley. He’s been more than just a coach at Mobile Christian, he’s been a great mentor for a lot of our kids. There are no hard feelings.”
Mitchell said he won’t hurry to find a successor, although he added the vacancy has already stirred a lot of interest and the school is interviewing two candidates this week.
“We want time to be diligent,” Mitchell said. “Mobile Christian is in a great place as far as baseball goes and has been because of Talley and because of Jason (Smith) and so many others. It’s an appealing job.”
