History
The first Sam Houston baseball team was fielded in 1906 and was the university's first collegiate athletic team. After disbandment following their 1926 campaign, the Bearkats returned in 1947 as a member of the Lone Star Conference. The modern era for the Bearkats baseball team began in 1949, as the Sam Houston athletic department does not include any statistics prior to the season in the program's record books. Since 1949, however, Sam Houston State baseball has been one of the most productive sports out of all the university athletic programs. The Bearkats boast an overall 1732-1134-7 (.604) WLT record from 1949 through the 2012 season. The Bearkats claim one national title from theThe Malone years (1949–1956)
To begin the modern era, Hayden "Hap" Malone, former graduate and professor of Physical Education at SHSTC was hired as the head baseball coach in 1949. As a NAIA independent in baseball, Hap Malone's Bearkats saw mixed results in his first 6 years as the Bearkats head coach. The program was quite successful from 1949 through 1950 as the Bearkats posted a combined 24–14 record in those two seasons (15–5 and 19–9 respectively). The next two seasons saw two losing records, (11–13 and 11–14). The 1953 and 1954 seasons were both winning seasons, with the Bearkats posting a 20 win record in 1954. However, the roller coaster ride was not over and the Kats once again fell into mediocrity in 1955–56. After the 1956 season resulting in 10–18 record, their lowest win total to date, Coach Malone was relieved of his duties. Hap Malone was inducted into Sam Houston Hall of Honor in 1971.The Benge supremacy (1957–1968)
To right the ship left by Hap Malone, Sam Houston hired Ray Benge as the new head coach of the Bearkats. Ray Benge formerly pitched for Sam Houston in the early twenties before being drafted by the Phillies and playing 12 years in the Major Leagues. Benge proved to be the cure to ail all of the Bearkats woes as his teams never saw a losing record. Benge took the Bearkats to six straight NAIA Baseball World Series appearances including one national championship win in 1963 over Grambling. He finished with a 237–102 record and was inducted into SHSU's Hall of Honor with Hap Malone in 1971.The Bob Britt years (1969–1975)
Despite being the university's shortest tenured coach (excluding current head coach David Pierce), Bob Britt continued the success of the baseball squad following Benge's departure. Like his predecessor, Britt also never head a losing season. He also coached the Bearkats to two NAIA Area Playoff berths in 1969 and 1970, and three NAIA World Series appearances in 1972, 1974, and in 1975 which all were top 3 finishes with the latter two seasons being national runner-up years. Britt also coached Sam Houston to its first two 40-win seasons in 1974 and 1975. He retired from coaching following the 1975 season, but continued to teach Physical Education as a professor at Sam Houston until 1995. Britt was inducted into Sam Houston Hall of Honor in 1979.The John Skeeters era (1976–2002)
Coach John Skeeters was Sam Houston longest tenured baseball coach with over 25 years as the Bearkats' head coach. He picked up right were Britt left off as the Skeeters led Bearkats to winning seasons in his first 16 years as head coach. During this stretch, the Bearkats saw post-season action in 9 different years, including 4 NAIA Area Playoff berths from 1979 through 1982. In 1984, the Bearkats moved intoChris Rupp's Bearkats (2003–2006)
Chris Rupp was hired following Skeeters' resignation prior to the 2003 season. In his four years as head coach, Rupp's teams failed to finish with a winning season. In 2006, he resigned as the head coach and finished with an overall record of 86–123 record.The Mark Johnson years (2007–2012)
Mark Johnson, former Texas A&M coaching legend and member of the American Baseball Coaches Association and Texas Baseball halls of fame, took over as head coach a little more than a month after Rupp's resignation and immediately began working on improving the baseball team. Johnson brought in two full-time assistants to his coaching staff, a luxury the previous two Bearkats coaches did not have. There was seemingly no rebuilding stage for the Bearkats, as Johnson led Sam Houston to a 40–24 record his first year as coach, only a year removed from a 23–31 season under Chris Rupp. Since Johnson joined the Bearkat staff as head coach, the team saw post season action in 4 of his 5 seasons at Sam Houston, including 3 NCAA regional appearances.Under David Pierce (2012–2014)
2012
David Pierce, who joined the staff in 2011 from2013
The start of the 2013 season came with very high expectations for Coach Pierce and the Bearkats. Coming into the season, the Kats received votes in the NCBWA poll and was picked to repeat as Southland Conference champions by the Coaches' and SID polls. After a disappointing 3–4 start, the Bearkats would go on to beat then #22 rankedSHSU career coaching records
Year-by-year results
''SourcePost season appearances
''SourceNotable players
Many of Sam Houston baseball players earned various awards and honors, including 95 All-Conference players, 16 All-Americans, and 7 conference award winners. Film directorAll-Americans
The Bearkats have produced 16 All-Americans across three different divisions (NAIA, NCAA D-I, and NCAA D-II). Four of these players earned the honor in multiple years. * NAIA All-America :Alton Arnold, 1960 hm, 1961 1t, 1962 hm :Fred Beene, 1963 1t, 1964 1t :Doyle Campbell, 1975 hm :Jud Chamblee, 1981 hm :Albert Choate, 1965 2t :Floyd Ciruti, 1972 1t :Richard Dyer, 1961 hm :Jimmy Dodd, 1963 2t, 1965 1t :David Woolley, 19741t Jackie Heard, 19741t Jim Miller, 19741t * NCAA D-II All-America :Richard Johnson, 1983 3t, 1985 1t :Bryan McDonald, 1986 1t :Terry Pirtle, 1986 1t * NCAA D-I All-America :Kelly Eddlemon, 1999 1t :Douglas Moulder, 1999 2t :Luke Prihoda, 2007 1t :Bobby Verbick, 2007 1t :Todd Sebek, 2008 3t :Nick Zaleski, 2009 hm :Sam Odom, 2014 :Riley Gossett, 2016 f :Heath Donica, 2017 3t :Hayden Wesneski, 2015 f :Colton Cowser, 2019 f, 2021 1t, 2022, 1t ''1t denotes 1st Team selection, 2t denotes 2nd Team selection, 3t denotes 3rd Team selection, and hm denotes Honorable Mention and f denotes freshman selection''Post-season awards
Sam Houston has had multiple players earn end-of-the-season awards, such as Pitcher of the Year, Player of the Year, and Newcomer of the Year. These awards were handed out by the Gulf Star Conference from 1985 through 1987, the Southland Conference from 1988 through 2021, and the Western Athletic Conference in 2022 and 2023. ''Conference honors'' * Player of the Year :Richard Johnson, 1985 :Terry Pirtle, 1986 and 1987 :Anthony Azar, 2014 :Colton Cowser, 2021 and 2022 * Hitter of the Year :Colton Cowser, 2019 * Pitcher of the Year :Kenneth Garza, 1989 :Steve Prihoda, 1994 :Greg Kubes, 1997 :Luke Prihoda, 2007 :Heath Donica, 2017 * Coach of the Year :John Skeeters, 1989 :David Pierce, 2013 & 2014 :Matt Deggs, 2016 * Newcomer of the Year :Isaias Garcia, 2005 * Relief Pitcher of the Year :Dakota Mills, 2018 * Freshman of the Year :Hayden Wesneski, 2017 In 2001 the Bearkats set a new tournament record for runs scored in a game with 22. Third baseman Douglas Moulder and right fielder Josh Harrison both contributed with 2 home runs and 7 R.B.I.s each, also tying each other for the tournament record. Harrison also stole 3 bases in the game. For Moulder, it was his 9th multi-homer game of the season< a school record. Harrison and Moulder are also tied for the longest home run at Bearkats Stadium. In 1998 Harrison blasted a shot 437 ft. The following year, Moulder launched a ball the same distance in his second hit as a Bearkat. Seven players have also been selected as the conference tournament's Most Valuable Player: *Brent Bubela, 1996 *Douglas Moulder, 1999 *Luke Prihoda, 2007 *Bobby Verbick, 2008 *Matt Shelton, 2009 *Heath Donica, 2016 *Robie Rojas, 2017 *Walker Janek, 2023 ''SourcePlayers in Major League Baseball
As of the 2021 Major League Baseball season, Sam Houston has had 16 former members go on to play Major League Baseball:See also
*References
External links
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sam Houston Bearkats Baseball