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Houston Cougars baseball

Houston Cougars
2024 Houston Cougars baseball team
Founded1947
UniversityUniversity of Houston
Head coachTodd Whitting (14th season)
ConferenceBig 12 Conference
LocationHouston, Texas
Home stadiumSchroeder Park
(Capacity: 5,000)
NicknameCougars
ColorsScarlet and white[1]
   
College World Series runner-up
1967
College World Series appearances
1953, 1967
NCAA regional champions
2000, 2002, 2003, 2014
NCAA Tournament appearances
1951, 1953, 1958, 1960, 1966, 1967, 1982, 1985, 1987, 1990, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2006, 2008, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018
Conference tournament champions
1951, 1953, 1960, 1997, 2000, 2008, 2014, 2017
Regular season conference champions
1950, 1951, 1952, 1953, 1960, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2015, 2017, 2018

The Houston Cougars baseball team is the college baseball team of the University of Houston. Along with the university's other athletic teams, the baseball team is a member of the Big 12 Conference as a Division I team. They play their home games at Schroeder Park. In addition to 22 NCAA tournament appearances, the Cougars have made four Super Regional and two College World Series appearances. Houston has been led by head coach Todd Whitting since 2011.

History

See also: List of Houston Cougars baseball seasons

Early years and Lovette Hill era

Lovette Hill, ca. 1958

The University of Houston's baseball program started in 1947. Head coach Ned Thompson was hired from Pasadena High School, and became the first baseball coach for 1947, backfield coach in football from 1946 to 1948 for the University of Houston. He also served as associate athletic director in charge of business finances from 1946 to 1976. Among the players for his 1947 baseball team was pitcher Bill Henry who had been a forward on Thompson's state high school championship basketball team the year prior.[2] Following his 1947 efforts for Houston, Henry went on to become Houston's first player to play Major League Baseball, where he enjoyed an 18-year career.

During the first few years of the baseball team's existence, head coaches came and went, and after the third season, the team had already been through three. Houston's fourth head baseball coach, Lovette Hill broke this trend when taking over for the 1950 season. A year after Hill became coach, the Houston Cougars appeared in their first NCAA Regional. The 1953 season was one of the team's most historic and winningest years as they made their first College World Series appearance. Continuing with Hill, the Cougars appeared in several more NCAA Regionals throughout the 1950s and 1960s. Appearing in the finals of the 1967 College World Series against the Arizona State Sun Devils, the Cougars finished runner-up and with a #2 national ranking. The team also began playing their home games at nearby Buffalo Stadium, before moving into an on-campus facility. Also during this time, the University of Houston discontinued their stint as being independent from any college athletic conference, and joined the now defunct Southwest Conference in 1973.

Walton era

After a 25-year tenure with the Cougars, Lovette Hill retired, and Rolan Walton took over as head coach. Walton had previously played for the Cougars in the early years under Hill.[3] He later played as a shortstop for the Victoria Rosebuds, a Texas League team, before leaving in 1954. During Walton's time as coach, the Cougars appeared in two more NCAA Regionals throughout the 1980s.

Stockton era

In 1987, the University of Houston hired Bragg Stockton[4] as head coach, and appeared in another NCAA Regional the same year. Before Stockton retired after the 1994 season, the Cougars made one more appearance. Playing under Stockton were several standout players including Rayner Noble. After a brief stint of playing in Minor League Baseball, Noble returned to the University of Houston as an assistant coach under Stockton. In 1994, following Bragg Stockton's retirement, Rayner Noble was named head coach of the Cougars. Stockton however, was not completely done with the team, and returned for the 2002 season as a volunteer coach. Working with Noble for only a year, Stockton died.

Noble era

Rayner Noble at Cougar Field

After becoming head coach of the Cougars in 1994, Rayner Noble launched the Cougars to more NCAA Regional appearances than any other coach in the team's history. In addition to eight of such appearances, the Cougars have appeared in three NCAA Super Regionals. In 1995, the Cougars baseball team received a newly constructed Cougar Field that seated 5,000. The following year was the last for the Southwest Conference, and in 1997 the Cougars joined Conference USA. In 2004, the Cougars played San Diego State at Petco Park in front of 40,106, the largest college baseball crowd to date.[5]

The 2008 Houston Cougars baseball team lined up at Cougar Field

In 2006, pitcher Brad Lincoln won the Dick Howser Trophy. Lincoln was the first to receive this award in the program's history, and in Conference USA. He also received the Brooks Wallace Award that year among other honors.

In Conference USA, the Cougars appeared in every Conference USA baseball tournament, and held the second most number of tournament titles (behind Tulane).

No. 14 Bryan Pounds batting

Despite becoming the program's winningest coach, Noble's 2009 and 2010 records were back-to-back losing seasons, which Houston had not seen since 1974 and 1975.[6]

Whitting era

In 2010, it was announced that Rayner Noble would not return as head coach.[7] Former Houston assistant coach and player Todd Whitting was announced as his replacement. Whitting had served in various positions with TCU, ultimately serving as associate head coach before returning to his alma mater.[6]

Texas at Houston in 2013

In the 2013 season after rebuilding the team for two years, Whitting led the Houston Cougar Baseball team to its best start in 24 seasons. In March 2013, for the first time in seven years, with Whitting at the helm, the Cougars were ranked in the top twenty by Baseball America.

Houston's Cougar Field (now Schroeder Park) received substantial renovations at the end of the 2013 calendar year thanks to major donations from alumni and former players. FieldTurf was installed to replace the natural grass and bullpens were upgraded, giving the stadium a nice makeover.

In 2014 season, the Houston Cougars joined the American Athletic Conference for its inaugural season. Riding the momentum of the 2013 season, the Cougars continued their success into 2014 and won the inaugural AAC conference tournament. The Cougars finished the 2014 regular season with an impressive 44–15 record and ranking as high as number 9 nationally. This was also the first season since 1993 that the Cougars swept baseball powerhouse Rice and claimed the Silver Glove Series.

Conference affiliations

Head coaches

Cougar Field, the home of the Houston Cougars
Tenure Coach Overall
Record 		Conference
Record 		Conference
Regular
Season
Titles 		Conference
Tournament
Titles 		NCAA
Tournament
Appearances
1947 Ned Thompson 1–5 (.167) –
1948 Dalton Albert 4–7–1 (.375) 2–6 (.250)
1949 Bill Lutz 7–9 (.438) –
1950–1974 Lovette Hill 343–325–5 (.513) 75–53 (.586) 5 3 6
1975–1986 Rolan Walton 378–235–5 (.616) 129–136–3 (.487) 2
1987–1994 Bragg Stockton 283–183–4 (.606) 68–106 (.391) 2
1995–2010 Rayner Noble 551–420 (.567) 259–162 (.615) 3 3 8
2011–present Todd Whitting 444–338–1 (.568) 158–158–1 (.500) 3 2 4
Total 2,011–1,522–16 (.569) 11 8 22

Notes: Through 2024 season.

NCAA Division I baseball tournament results

Year Record Result
1951 0–2 (.000) Eliminated in District 5 playoffs
1953 2–3 (.400) Won District 5 playoffs
College World Series (7th Place)
1958 0–1 (.000) Eliminated in District 6 playoffs
1960 1–2 (.333) Eliminated in District 6 playoffs
1966 1–2–1 (.375) Eliminated in District 6 playoffs
1967 5–3 (.625) Won District 6 playoffs
College World Series Runner-up
1982 1–2 (.333) Eliminated in West II Regional
1985 1–2 (.333) Eliminated in Central Regional
1987 3–2 (.600) Eliminated in Central Regional
1990 2–2 (.500) Eliminated in South I Regional
1997 0–2 (.000) Eliminated in South I Regional
1999 2–2 (.500) Eliminated in Houston Regional
2000 4–3 (.571) Won Houston Regional
Eliminated in Houston Super Regional
2001 0–2 (.000) Eliminated in Houston Regional
2002 4–2 (.667) Won Mesa Regional
Eliminated in Austin Super Regional
2003 5–3 (.625) Won College Station Regional
Eliminated in Houston Super Regional
2006 0–2 (.000) Eliminated in Norman Regional
2008 3–2 (.600) Eliminated in College Station Regional
2014 4–3 (.571) Won Baton Rouge Regional
Eliminated in Austin Super Regional
2015 1–2 (.333) Eliminated in Houston Regional
2017 2–2 (.500) Eliminated in Houston Regional
2018 2–2 (.500) Eliminated in Chapel Hill Regional
Total 43–48–1 (.473)

Rivalries

Each year, Houston competes in the Silver Glove series against Rice. They also play against Sam Houston State in what has been dubbed the Don Sanders Cup.

Other rivals include former Southwest Conference foes Baylor, TCU, Texas, Texas A&M, and Texas Tech.

Individual awards

National Player award winners

See also: List of college baseball awards

ABCA/Rawlings National Player of the Year

Brooks Wallace Award

Dick Howser Trophy

First-Team All-Americans

See also: College Baseball All-America Team

Key

† Consensus selection
ABCA American Baseball Coaches Association BA Baseball America
CB Collegiate Baseball Newspaper NCBWA National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association
Year Player Position Selector(s)
1967 Tom Paciorek OF ABCA
1968 Tom Paciorek OF ABCA
1976 Jerry Willeford C ABCA
1983 Rayner Noble UT ABCA
1997 Goefrey Tomlinson OF NCBWA
2000 Kyle Crowell SP BA
2002 Jesse Crain UT BA
Brad Sullivan† SP ABCA, BA, CB, NCBWA
2003 Ryan Wagner† RP ABCA, BA, CB
2006 Brad Lincoln† SP ABCA, BA, CB, NCBWA
2017 Trey Cumbie SP NCBWA

Conference Coach of the Year

Year Coach Conference
1976 Rolan Walton Southwest
1982
1999 Rayner Noble C-USA
2000
2018 Todd Whitting The American

Individual honors

National College Baseball Hall of Fame inductees

The following Houston players and coaches have been enshrined in the National College Baseball Hall of Fame.

Year Inducted Name Position Years at Houston Ref.
2016 Tom Paciorek OF 1966–1968 [8]

Retired numbers

The Cougars have retired three numbers.

No. Player Position Years at Houston
6 Rolan Walton SS, Coach 1948–1951 (Player); 1974–1986 (Coach)
16 Doug Drabek P 1981–1983
22 Tom Paciorek OF 1966–1968

See also

References

  1. ^ "Logos - University of Houston Athletics". June 12, 2018. Retrieved March 23, 2019.
  2. ^ Avery, Robert (January 11, 2010). "Happy 100th birthday, coach Thompson". Pasadena Citizen. Retrieved March 3, 2014.
  3. ^ Lyons, John (1954-06-04). "Roland Walton Leaves Rosebuds". Victoria Advocate. Retrieved 2009-07-22.
  4. ^ "Bragg Stockton Baseball Biography". Archived from the original on 2009-11-06. Retrieved 2010-02-18.
  5. ^ "Baseball Falls to San Diego State in Aztec Invitational Opener". March 11, 2004.
  6. ^ a b Campbell, Steve (2010-07-02). "Whitting returns to Houston dugout". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved 2010-07-05.
  7. ^ Royal, John (2010-06-08). "Rayner Noble Gone After 16 Years As UH Baseball Coach; Who's Next?". Houston Press. Retrieved 2010-07-05.
  8. ^ "Tom Paciorek - University of Houston / 1966-68". www.mlb.com/college-baseball-hall-of-fame.
Quelle: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Houston_Cougars_baseball