With a Vicksburg Warren School Board meeting set for Thursday evening, athletic director Lum Wright, Jr. hopes to have a new Vicksburg High baseball coach in the fold.

Monday was the last day to submit applications and resumés, and interviews were held today. Wright, though, had to little to say about the ongoing search.

“All I can tell you is that we will be interviewing (today). We should be able to do them all in one day,” Wright said.

The coaching job opened when Jamie Creel resigned to take an assistant principal’s post at Vicksburg High. Creel had been the Gators’ head coach for 11 seasons and led the team to the Class 4A finals in 2008.

Thursday’s school board meeting is the last before July 1, when most contracts for the upcoming school year are finalized. In addition to the new baseball coach, the board is expected to approve the hiring of a girls soccer coach for VHS.

Creel had said that he hoped the new baseball coach would be named before Thursday. Wright has the same goal.

“We hope we can make a recommendation at that time,” Wright said. “But like everything, it’s a timing thing.”

Three people have surfaced as candidates. St. Aloysius coach Clint Wilkerson confirmed Monday that he has been contacted about the job. A four-time Vicksburg Post coach of the year, Wilkerson led St. Al to 125 wins and two Class 1A championships in six seasons.

Warren Central assistant coach Tipp Nutt also confirmed Monday that he was to interview for the VHS job this morning.

Nutt has been an assistant with the Vikings for six seasons — the first two as a volunteer — and helped lead the team to a 15-13 record and the Division 4-6A championship this year. Nutt also has been an assistant coach for Warren Central’s football team.

Clinton High assistant Cody Zumbro said he also interviewed for the Vicksburg opening this morning. Zumbro has the educational background sought for the position, with a bachelor’s degree in biology and a masters’ degree from Mississippi College.

Zumbro helped the Arrows rally from an 0-3 start in Division 4-6A play to finish 6-3 and beat out Vicksburg for the final playoff spot.

The vacant Vicksburg job is one of Mississippi’s most attractive on the high school level this summer. The Gators went 16-12 in Creel’s final season with a lineup that included four sophomores and four juniors, all of whom are expected back in 2011.