Lloyd Simmons is an American

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played by Student athlete, student-athletes at institutions of higher education. In the United States, college baseball is sanctioned mainly by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA); in Japan, ...

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of Athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Coac ...

. He was the

head coach A head coach, senior coach, or manager is a professional responsible for training and developing athletes within a sports team. This role often has a higher public profile and salary than other coaching positions. In some sports, such as associat ...

for Seminole State College from 1976 to 2001 and from 2012 to 2016. He also served as a

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...

Minor League Baseball Minor League Baseball (MiLB) is a professional baseball organization below Major League Baseball (MLB), constituted of teams affiliated with MLB clubs. It was founded on September 5, 1901, in response to the growing dominance of the National Le ...

and a

scout Scout may refer to: Youth movement *Scout (Scouting), a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement ** Scouts (The Scout Association), section for 10-14 year olds in the United Kingdom ** Scouts BSA, sect ...

. Simmons is a member of the

National College Baseball Hall of Fame The National College Baseball Hall of Fame is an institution operated by the College Baseball Foundation serving as the central point for the study of the history of college baseball in the United States. In partnership with the Southwest Collect ...

Early life

Simmons was raised on a farm west of

Union City, Oklahoma Union City is a town in Canadian County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 1,645 at the 2010 census, a 19.6 percent increase from 1,375 in 2000. It is part of the Oklahoma City metropolitan statistical area. History In 1889, a post ...

. He graduated from Union City High School and Central State University (now the

University of Central Oklahoma The University of Central Oklahoma (UCO) is a public university in Edmond, Oklahoma, United States. It is the third largest university in Oklahoma, with almost 13,000 students and approximately 430 full-time and 400 adjunct faculty. Founded in ...

). His career goal was to become a basketball

Career

After he graduated, Simmons became the head basketball coach and assistant baseball coach at Choctaw High School. He spent three years coaching at Elgin High School and one year at

Cordell High School New Cordell is a city in and the county seat of Washita County, Oklahoma, United States. It lies along U.S. Route 183. The population was 2,775 at the time of the 2020 Census. The community was previously established a few miles from the curr ...

. In 1975, Simmons was hired to become the head baseball coach for Seminole State College, a

junior college A junior college is a type of post-secondary institution that offers vocational and academic training that is designed to prepare students for either skilled trades and technical occupations or support roles in professions such as engineering, a ...

. He wore

uniform number In team sports, the number, often referred to as the uniform number, squad number, jersey number, shirt number, sweater number, or similar (with such naming differences varying by sport and region) is the number worn on a player's uniform, to id ...

0 to signify the number of games he expected to lose each season. He declined numerous opportunities from four-year colleges, though he was a candidate to be coach of the

Oklahoma Sooners The Oklahoma Sooners are the college athletics in the United States , athletic teams that represent the University of Oklahoma, located in Norman, Oklahoma, Norman. The 19 men's and women's varsity teams are called the "Sooners", a reference to ...

in 1991, when they instead hired

Larry Cochell Larry Cochell is an American former professional coach in NCAA Division I college baseball. He coached baseball for the Emporia State Hornets (then known as Kansas State Teachers College), the Creighton Bluejays, the Cal State Los Angeles Golden ...

. Simmons won his 1,000th game at Seminole State in 1990 and became the winningest coach in

National Junior College Athletic Association The National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) is the governing association of community college, state college, and junior college athletics throughout the United States. Currently the NJCAA holds 24 separate regions across 24 states ...

(NJCAA). In 1997, Simmons was inducted into the NJCAA Hall of Fame. In 2001, Simmons announced his retirement from Seminole State. Later that year, the

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The team ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB) hired Simmons as a

for their

Rookie-level Minor League Baseball (MiLB) is a professional baseball organization below Major League Baseball (MLB), constituted of teams affiliated with MLB clubs. It was founded on September 5, 1901, in response to the growing dominance of the National L ...

farm team In sports, a farm team (also referred to as farm system, developmental system, feeder team, or nursery club) is generally a Team sport, team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any s ...

s. He managed the

Gulf Coast League Royals The Gulf Coast League (GCL) Royals were a minor league baseball franchise in the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League from 1971–1978, 1982–1983 and 1985–2002. The club was owned and operated by the Kansas City Royals of Major League Baseball. The ...

in 2001 and the

Arizona League Royals The Arizona Complex League Royals are a Rookie-level affiliate of the Kansas City Royals, competing in the Arizona Complex League of Minor League Baseball. The team plays its home games at Surprise Stadium in Surprise, Arizona. The team is compose ...

for the next six seasons. He had heart surgery in 2007, which caused him to stop managing. Simmons became a

for the Royals and then for the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Am ...

. He scouted

Ty Hensley Michael Tyler Hensley (born July 30, 1993) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. Hensley was a first round selection of the New York Yankees in the 2012 Major League Baseball draft, but never played in the major leagues after playi ...

when the Yankees selected him in the first round of the

2012 MLB draft The 2012 Major League Baseball draft was held from June 4 through June 6, 2012, from Studio 42 of the MLB Network in Secaucus, New Jersey. The Houston Astros, with the first overall pick, selected Carlos Correa from the Puerto Rico Baseball Ac ...

. When the head coaching position at Seminole State became open again in 2012, they convinced Simmons to return. He retired after the 2016 season, having won over 1,800 games and leading Seminole State to the

JUCO World Series The JUCO World Series is an annual baseball tournament held across three divisions of National Junior College Athletic Association baseball. Taking place in late May and early June each year, it determines the junior college baseball national champ ...

thirteen times, finishing as the runner-up in 1981, 1982, and 1987. Simmons was inducted into the

in 2019.

Personal life

Simmons married his wife, Carolyn, on June 7, 1963. His brother, Wendell, became the head coach for Central Oklahoma in 1991.

References

External links

Lloyd Simmons , Seminole State College (OK)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Simmons, Lloyd Living people People from Canadian County, Oklahoma Baseball coaches from Oklahoma Seminole State Trojans baseball coaches Kansas City Royals scouts New York Yankees scouts National College Baseball Hall of Fame inductees University of Central Oklahoma alumni Year of birth missing (living people) Minor league baseball managers