Last year, Chris Wright sat down and evaluated his life.

With a wife and young child at home, his chosen profession of nursing was taking a heavy toll. Long shifts were keeping him at work and draining him mentally and physically.

The 27-year-old decided it was time for a change. He went back to school for a degree in education while returning to baseball, the sport he had a passion for which. He got a job at New Hope High School and was looking to make another career move this summer when opportunity knocked.

Wright applied for an assistant coach’s position at two-time Class 1A champion St. Aloysius. Following a flurry of offseason activity that included the resignation of St. Al head coach Clint Wilkerson, Wright ended up with a much bigger assignment.

Wright was hired this week as St. Al’s new head coach. He replaces Wilkerson, who spent six years at the school and won back-to-back state titles in 2009 and 2010 before stepping down last month to pursue other opportunities.

“Just the tradition they’ve had the last couple years and the academic status of the school, it was an opportunity that I couldn’t turn down,” Wright said. “I originally applied for the assistant coach’s job. When Coach Wilkerson left it turned into a head coaching job and I really couldn’t turn that down. I was lucky. It normally doesn’t happen that way. I’ll have a learning process this year, and definitely in the classroom.”

St. Al principal Michele Townsend said Wright was selected from a pool of about 20 applicants. Most of them were given an initial interview, and five were brought back for a second interview.

Townsend said Wright’s background made him an ideal candidate to fill both a coaching and teaching position. Wright will teach biology, health and earth science at St. Al in addition to his coaching duties.

“We were looking for a science teacher and a baseball coach, and that’s what we got,” Townsend said.

This is the first head coaching job for Wright, who spent only the one season at New Hope. After a standout high school baseball career at Caledonia, he played collegiately at Meridian Community College and Union University in Jackson, Tenn.

Wright stepped away from the game to pursue his nursing degree, but quickly found it wasn’t everything he’d hoped for. He went back to school for a degree in education — he’s scheduled to complete his coursework at Mississippi University for Women early next month — and took a para-professional coaching job at New Hope.

New Hope head coach Lee Boyd said Wright’s skill as a player and his enthusiasm made up for a lack of coaching experience. Wright served as the Trojans’ hitting coach and helped the team hit .331. They finished the season 23-8 and reached the second round of the Class 5A playoffs.

“Chris did a good job for me. He’s an excellent offensive guy,” Boyd said. “He understands the kids. He’s on the same level as them in a lot of aspects.”

In some ways Wright will have the perfect team for learning on the job. Outfielder Judson Gatling is the only St. Al senior returning next season. Most of the other starting jobs will be filled by freshmen and sophomores, giving the new coach a chance to build a team from the ground up.

“Coach Wilkerson was an unbelievable coach. The ones that are still there have been coached well,” Wright said. “I get them while they’re still young and they can buy into my system.”

Despite the young players, Wright will inherit a team capable of contending for at least a division championship. Sophomore infielder Reed Evans was second on the team with a .400 batting average last season, while second baseman Matthew Foley and infielder Josh Eargle played well in part-time roles.