Gary Ward (baseball coach)

Gary Ward (born September 9, 1940) is an American former baseball coach. He was the head baseball coach at Oklahoma State University from 1978 to 1996, compiling a record of 953–313–1. Ward won 16 Big Eight Conference championships at OSU, including 14 in a row from 1982 to 1995.[1] He led his team to 18 40-win seasons, and 12 times his teams finished in the top 10. He later became the head baseball coach at New Mexico State University. During his tenure, he became only the 24th coach in college baseball history to gain 1,000 career wins.[2]

Gary Ward
Biographical details
Born (1940-09-09) September 9, 1940 (age 84)
Ramona, Oklahoma, U.S.
Playing career
Basketball
1958–1959NE Oklahoma A&M
1959–1962New Mexico State
Baseball
1959NE Oklahoma A&M
1960–1962New Mexico State
Position(s)Pitcher
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
Collinsville (OK)1963–1969
Yavapai College1971–1977
Oklahoma State1978–1996
New Mexico State (H)2000
New Mexico State2001–2002
New Mexico State (H)2003–2014
Head coaching record
Overall1022–361–1 (NCAA D-1)
240–83 (NJCAA)
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
  • NJCAA National Champion (1975, 1977)
  • 2× Big Eight West Division Champion (1979, 1980)
  • 14× Big Eight Conference (1982–1995)
  • 19× Big Eight Tournament (1978–1996)
College Baseball Hall of Fame
Inducted in 2008

From 1971 to 1979, he served as the head baseball coach at Yavapai Junior College. He compiled a 240–83 record, including two national championships in 1975 and 1977. From 1963 to 1969, he was the head baseball and basketball coach at Collinsville (OK) High School. He played baseball and basketball at New Mexico State.

Ward now serves as the Chairman of the Advisory Board for 3D Sports Partners, Inc.

Head coaching record

edit

College

edit
Statistics overview
Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason
Oklahoma State Cowboys (Big Eight Conference) (1979–1996)
1978 Oklahoma State 40–22 7–5 2nd (West) Midwest Regional
1979 Oklahoma State 33–19 12–8 T-1st (West) Big Eight tournament
1980 Oklahoma State 43–10 17–3 1st (West) Big Eight tournament
1981 Oklahoma State 52–17 12–6 2nd College World Series
1982 Oklahoma State 57–16 19–5 1st College World Series
1983 Oklahoma State 48–16 11–3 1st College World Series
1984 Oklahoma State 61–15 15–3 1st College World Series
1985 Oklahoma State 58–16–1 19–4 1st College World Series
1986 Oklahoma State 56–15 18–5 1st College World Series
1987 Oklahoma State 59–13 15–6 1st College World Series
1988 Oklahoma State 61–8 21–3 1st Midwest Regional
1989 Oklahoma State 48–19 18–6 1st Midwest Regional
1990 Oklahoma State 56–17 18–6 1st College World Series
1991 Oklahoma State 47–20 17–7 1st Central Regional
1992 Oklahoma State 49–16 17–7 1st Midwest Regional
1993 Oklahoma State 45–17 16–8 1st College World Series
1994 Oklahoma State 49–17 21–6 1st Midwest Regional
1995 Oklahoma State 46–19 18–10 1st Midwest I Regional
1996 Oklahoma State 45–21 17–9 2nd College World Series
Oklahoma State: 953–313–1 308–113
New Mexico State Aggies (Sun Belt Conference) (2001–2002)
2001 New Mexico State 32–23 9–16 10th
2002 New Mexico State 37–25 10–14 6th NCAA Regional
New Mexico State: 69–48 19–30
Total: 1022–361–1

      National champion         Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

References

edit
  1. ^ "Gary Ward's shadow still looms over OSU". June 2012.
  2. ^ "Class of 2008 Inductees | College Baseball Hall of Fame". MLB.com. Retrieved 2024-05-17.