The University of Cincinnati has hired the baseball coach from archrival Xavier to lead the Bearcats program.

Scott Googins, who led XU to three NCAA Tournament appearances in the last four years, will l replace Ty Neal. Neal resigned last month after four seasons and a 91-130 record. 

Word of the Googins hire began spreading through social media Tuesday. UC made it official via a press release late Tuesday afternoon.

This past weekend, Xavier lost in the NCAA Tournament regional championship round for the second consecutive year. XU was back-to-back Big East tourney champions, and won the league three out of the last four seasons.

Googins is the winningest coach in XU history (341-357 record) and oversaw the first NCAA Tournament win in school history. Overall, Googins led XU to four NCAA tournament appearances in 12 seasons at the school.  Googins led Xavier to a 34-27 finish in 2017.

“Coach Googins is a proven winner and developer of talent and a perfect fit for the University of Cincinnati,” UC athletic director Mike Bohn said in a statement. “He is a coach with great passion for student-athletes, is highly regarded in the state of Ohio and possesses strong connections to pro scouts and leaders across baseball on the national scene. He is a man of character, integrity and has a deep desire to seek a new challenge and win championships in a competitive baseball conference.”

Googins will be introduced to the media at a 1 p.m. press conference on Wednesday in the Richard E. Lindner Center in Varsity Village.

“My family and I are thrilled to be a part of the University of Cincinnati,” Googins said in a statement. “It was not an easy decision to leave Xavier, a great institution where I have many connections. I am excited to be the head coach at UC, to get to know our team and grow with them, give our student-athletes a great experience and have fun playing baseball.”

UC went 28-30 this season. The Bearcats have not reached the NCAA Tournament since 1974.

At XU, Googins was named 2009 ABCA Mideast Region Coach of the Year, 2008 Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year and the 2016 Big East Coaching Staff of the Year. Also, 11 of his players have been chosen in the MLB First-Year Player Draft since 2005, including Seth Willoughby whose fourth-round selection by the Colorado Rockies in 2012 was the highest pick in program history.

A native of Granville, Ohio, Googins was a three-year varsity letterwinner at Ohio Wesleyan. Googins and his wife, Jody – a former volleyball standout at Xavier – live in West Chester with their daughter, Ellie, and two sons, Tommy and Charlie.

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Enquirer reporter Pat Brennan contributed.