Alan Luckie enters his 15th season as an assistant coach at South Alabama in 2021. He coaches third base and works with USA infielders, baserunners and hitters.
Luckie’s infield defenses have put up impressive numbers through the years. The 2017 Jag defense’s fielding-percentage mark of .980 broke a single-season record at USA and ranked 11th nationally. The Jags ranked in the top 10 in fielding percentage from 2017-19, and broke the program’s single-season record in fielding percentage in each of those seasons.
The Jaguars’ 2008 mark of .969 was fourth-best in school history at the time. The Jaguar defense also finished third in the nation by turning 68 double plays during the 2008 regular season.
In 2010, Luckie helped Jaguar second baseman Zach Grichor become the program’s first Rawlings Gold Glove Award winner. Grichor committed just two errors in 311 chances to earn the honor. In 2011, Luckie helped freshman Logan Kirkland make a midseason switch from second base to shortstop, which resulted in Kirkland being named second-team Freshman All-American by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association and Baseball America.
He helped guide the Jaguars to their 14th Sun Belt Conference championship and 25th NCAA Regional appearance in 2013. Luckie helped 2013 Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year Jordan Patterson – who was a fourth-round draft pick by the Colorado Rockies in the 2013 MLB Draft – make the transition from outfield to first base. Patterson went on to earn All-American honorable mention as well as First-Team All-Sun Belt Conference and Second-Team American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) all-South/Central Region honors. Robby Campbell was named First-Team All-SBC at second base in that same season. Dustin Dalken was named First-Team All-SBC as designated hitter.
In 2015, center fielder Cole Billingsley led the Sun Belt Conference with 30 stolen bases and received an American Baseball Coaches Association/Rawlings Division I Gold Glove Award. Billingsley also earned First-Team All-SBC honors, and Second-Team All-South Central Region accolades from the ABCA/Rawlings.
In 2016, Billingsley earned First-Team All-SBC honors after leading the league in sacrifice flies (8), which ranked eighth nationally, and stolen bases (31), which ranked 13th nationally, for the second straight year, and was also named Second-Team All-Region in addition to winning his second consecutive Rawlings Gold Glove Award as a center fielder. He was drafted in the 19th round of the 2016 MLB Draft by the Baltimore Orioles. Travis Swaggerty was voted a Freshman All-American by Collegiate Baseball, and shortstop Drew LaBounty also earned First-Team All-SBC honors after leading the league and finishing sixth nationally in walks (59), and ranking second in on-base percentage, sacrifice flies and total plate appearances. The Jaguars won the program’s 16th SBC title in ‘16, and made the program’s 26th NCAA Regional appearance in which they advanced to the Regional final against Florida State.
In 2017, South Alabama finished the season ranked 26th in the final Collegiate Baseball poll after capturing the SBC Tournament title and advancing to the NCAA Hattiesburg (Miss.) Regional. It marked the second straight year the Jags have won 40 or more games, and the 21st time the program has won 40-plus contests. USA broke the program record for walks (373) in a season, which ranked second nationally. The Jags ranked sixth nationally in runs scored (488) and on-base percentage (.415), seventh in runs per game (8.0), 11th in fielding percentage (.980), 14th in sacrifice flies (32) and home runs (78), and 15th in slugging percentage (.480). Jared Barnes and Travis Swaggerty earned All-America honors in 2017, and were also all-SBC selections along with Dylan Hardy, LaBounty and Wells Davis. Swaggerty and Barnes were also each honored with ABCA all-region accolades. Barnes was selected in the eighth round of the MLB Draft by the Miami Marlins.
South Alabama finished third in the Sun Belt East Division in 2018, and advanced to the semifinals of the Sun Belt Tournament before being outed by eventual champion Coastal Carolina. USA led the league in fielding percentage (.983) in conference games, and finished with an overall fielding percentage of .978 in 57 games. Offensively, the Jags ranked second in the league in walks (331) and home runs (54), and third in sacrifice flies (23), slugging percentage (.400), RBIs (348), total bases (768), on-base percentage (.378) and runs scored (383). Hardy and Swaggerty were named First-Team All-Sun Belt, while Carr, catcher Carter Perkins and third baseman Donovan were voted Second-Team All-Sun Belt. Swaggerty was selected in the first round (10th overall) of the 2018 MLB Draft by the Pittsburgh Pirates. Donovan was a seventh-round selection by the St. Louis Cardinals, Hardy was taken in the 13th round by the Boston Red Sox, right-hander Zach Greene was a 15th-round pick by the Miami Marlins, Carr was taken in the 31st round by the Philadelphia Phillies and LaBounty was a 40th-round selection by the Toronto Blue Jays. Perkins and Swaggerty were each also named First-Team All-Central Region by the ABCA/Rawlings.
In 2019, outfielder Ethan Wilson was named the Collegiate Baseball Co-Freshman of the Year, Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year, First-Team All-America by Collegiate Baseball, First-Team Freshman All-America by Collegiate Baseball, Baseball America and the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association, Third-Team All-America by Collegiate Baseball and the American Baseball Coaches Association/Rawlings, First-Team All-Central Region and First-Team All-Sun Belt Conference after breaking the program’s freshman home run record with 17. Right-hander Zach Greene was also a First-Team All-Central Region and First-Team All-Sun Belt selection, and was taken in the eighth round of the 2019 MLB Draft by the New York Yankees.
Luckie came to USA at the start of the 2007 season after spending five seasons working with Stu Fuller at Fairhope High School. The Pirates either captured or tied for the regional championship crown in each of those five seasons. Those teams compiled a combined record of 127-65.
A graduate of Fairhope High School in 1980, Luckie went on to play two seasons at Faulkner State Community College before moving on to Spring Hill College, where he played for coach Steve Kittrell in 1983 and was an all-conference performer there in 1984. He graduated from Spring Hill in 1984. Using opportunities from life-long friend and former Miami Marlins Manager and General Manager, Dan Jennings, Luckie has garnered knowledge from numerous professional coaches including Jack McKeon, Jim Presley, “Bone” Hill, Bo Porter, Rich Donnelly and New York Yankees manager Joe Girardi.
A highly successful businessman involved heavily in the South Alabama community, Luckie brings a vast amount of experience both on and off the field to the Jaguar family.
He resides in Point Clear, Ala., with his wife Kerry. They have two married daughters, Jenna Luckie Rogers (Landon) and Kayla Luckie Buchanan (Chris), two grandsons, Pierce and Sutton Rogers, and one granddaughter, Charleigh Ann Buchanan.
