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Houston Christian Huskies baseball

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Houston Christian Huskies
2024 Houston Christian Huskies baseball team
Founded1964,[1] 1990
UniversityHouston Christian University
Head coachClay VanderLaan (1st season)
ConferenceSouthland
LocationHouston, Texas
Home stadiumHusky Field
(Capacity: 500[2])
NicknameHuskies
ColorsRoyal blue and orange[3]
   
College World Series appearances
NAIA: 2007
NCAA Tournament appearances
2015
Conference tournament champions
NAIA:
NAIA District 8: 1969
Red River: 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006
NCAA DI:
Great West: 2013
Southland: 2015
Regular season conference champions
NAIA:
Big State: 1997
Red River: 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007

The Houston Christian Huskies baseball team, known as the Houston Baptist Huskies until 2022, is a varsity intercollegiate athletic team of Houston Christian University in Houston, Texas, United States.[4] The team is a member of the Southland Conference, which is part of the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division I. The team plays its home games at Husky Field in Houston, Texas. The Huskies are currently coached by Clay VanderLaan.

History

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The Huskies baseball team's first stint was from 1964-1970. The team was idle from 1971 to 1989 before returning in the spring of 1990, competing in the sport in every season since.

NAIA years

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The Huskies competed at the NAIA level from 1966 to 1969 and again from 1990 to 2007. The team played as an NAIA independent twelve of those seasons (1966-1969, 1990-1996, and 1998). They also competed in the Big State conference for one season (1997) winning the conference championship. The Huskies competed in the Red River Athletic Conference for the final nine seasons (1999–2007) as an NAIA member winning the RRAC conference championship eight of the nine seasons (1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007) and the RRAC conference tournament championship seven times (1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006). In 1969, the Huskies played in the 1969 NAIA Area II Area Tournament, going 1-2.[5] Ray Zaragoza threw a seven-inning perfect game in the first game of a home doubleheader against Bishop College on April 27, 1968.[6]

NCAA Division I years

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In 2008, Houston Baptist transitioned to Division I (NCAA) competing as an independent for the first two seasons at the Division I level. From 2010 to 2013, the Huskies competed in the Great West Conference winning the conference tournament championship in 2013. The team was a finalist in the 2011 and 2012 conference tournaments. Houston Baptist University became a member of the Southland Conference before the start of the 2013–14 season. The Huskies won the Southland Conference Baseball Tournament in their second season as an SLC member. In winning the tournament, the Huskies won the SLC auto-bid to the NCAA Division I baseball tournament. The 2015 NCAA Division I baseball tournament marked the Huskies' first appearance in the tournament.[7][8]

Facilities

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The Huskies (known as the Spartans prior to the conclusion of the 1965 season) split their 1965 home games between Andy Anderson Field in Memorial Park and the new HBC Diamond.[9][10] HBC Diamond was the home for Houston Baptist Baseball until the program's first stint ended in 1970 and part of right field became the site of a then-future shopping center.[11] The location of HBC Diamond was directly northeast of Sharp Gym on what is now a Houston Christian University-owned shopping center.[12]

Houston Baptist Baseball played at nearby Bayland Park from 1990-1992.[13][14][15]

The Huskies opened Husky Field in 1993 and continue to play at the venue as of 2024. Construction began on a 7,200 square-foot indoor training facility behind the right field line in September 2022 which has since been completed.[16]

A Huskies baseball player during a 2022 game at Drayton McLane Baseball Stadium at John H. Kobs Field

Houston Christian career coaching records

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Coach Number
of
Seasons
Overall record Winning
percentage
Coaching records
Rickey Witt 3 29–119 .196
Rusty Pendergrass 5 177–92 .658
Brian Huddleston 8 305–143–1 .680
Jared Moon 16 401–441–2 .476
Lance Berkman 3 47–104 .311
Overall 34 959–899–3 .516

(Records reflect game results through the conclusion of the 2023 season)

Year-by-year results

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Information Source:[17]

Year-by-Year Results
Year Coach Record Conference Record Conference Notes
Junior College
Independent
1964 Independent
1965 Independent
NAIA
Independent
1966 Independent
1967 Independent
1968 Independent
1969 - Independent
NCAA College Division
Independent
1970 Independent
NAIA
Independent
1990 Rickey Witt 4–40 Independent
1991 Rickey Witt 11–40 Independent
1992 Rickey Witt 14–39 Independent
1993 Rusty Pendergrass 23–23 Independent
1994 Rusty Pendergrass 39–16 Independent
1995 Rusty Pendergrass 48–9 Independent
Big State Conference
1996 Rusty Pendergrass 37–18 15–0 Big State Champions
Independent
1997 Rusty Pendergrass 30–26 Independent
1998 Brian Huddleston 26–26 Independent
Red River Athletic Conference
1999 Brian Huddleston 40–19 15–0 RRAC Regular season champions
tournament champions
2000 Brian Huddleston 43–16 12–3 RRAC Regular season champions
tournament champions
2001 Brian Huddleston 34–23 9–0 RRAC Regular season champions
tournament champions
2002 Brian Huddleston 40–17 12–0 RRAC Regular season champions
tournament champions
2003 Brian Huddleston 33–20–1 16–10–1 RRAC 2nd
2004 Brian Huddleston 41–15 13–1 RRAC Regular season champions
tournament champions
2005 Brian Huddleston 48–7 14–0 RRAC Regular season champions
tournament champions
2006 Jared Moon 40–16–1 14–1 RRAC Regular season champions
tournament champions
2007 Jared Moon 44–20 12–3 RRAC Regular season champions
NAIA World Series
NCAA Division I
Independent
2008 Jared Moon 23–24 Independent
2009 Jared Moon 11–40 Independent
Great West Conference
2010 Jared Moon 29–31 15–13 Great West 3rd place regular season
2nd in Great West Tournament Pool 1
2011 Jared Moon 22–40 16–12 Great West 3rd place regular season (T)
Great West Tournament finalist
2012 Jared Moon 28–33 15–13 Great West 4th place regular season (T)
Great West Tournament finalist
2013 Jared Moon 34–20–1 17–10 Great West 2nd place Great West regular season (T)
Great West Tournament champion
Southland Conference
2014 Jared Moon 23–38 12–18 Southland 10th place SLC regular season
2015 Jared Moon 28–27 14–13 Southland 7th place SLC regular season, SLC Tournament champion
2016 Jared Moon 24–29 12–18 Southland 10th place SLC regular season
2017 Jared Moon 29–25 18–12 Southland 4th place SLC regular season, 3–2 SLC Tournament
2018 Jared Moon 29–30 18–12 Southland 4th place SLC regular season, 3–2 SLC Tournament
2019 Jared Moon 18–35 10–20 Southland 12th place SLC regular season
2020 Jared Moon 6–11 2–1 Southland Season cancelled due to Covid-19
2021 Jared Moon 14–38 11–27 Southland 13th place SLC regular season
2022 Lance Berkman 18–36 11–13 Southland 6th of 8 SLC regular season
0-2 SLC Tournament [18]
2023 Lance Berkman 11–37 7–16 Southland 9th of 9 SLC regular season [19]
2024 Lance Berkman 18—31 9—15 Southland 9th of 9 SLC regular season

Postseason

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Conference Tournaments

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Sources:[20][21]

Year Head coach Record % Notes
Conference Tournament Results
NAIA District 8
1969[a] Lonnie Richards[22] 1–0 1.000 Champion
Red River Athletics Conference
1999 Brian Huddleston 4–0 1.000 Tournament champion
2000 Brian Huddleston 4–1 .800 Tournament champion
2001 Brian Huddleston 4–0 1.000 Tournament champion
2002 Brian Huddleston 4–0 1.000 Tournament champion
2003 Brian Huddleston 2–2 .500 3rd Round
2004 Brian Huddleston 4–0 1.000 Tournament champion
2005 Brian Huddleston 4–0 1.000 Tournament champion
2006 Brian Huddleston 4–0 1.000 Tournament champion
2007 Brian Huddleston 2–1 .667 3rd Round
Southland Conference
2015 Jared Moon 4–0 1.000 Tournament champion
2017[23] Jared Moon 3-2 .600 Consolation Rounds
2018[24] Jared Moon 3-2 .600 Consolation Rounds
2022[25] Lance Berkman 0-2 .000 First Round
Total 43–10 .811 14 Appearances

NCAA Division I Tournament results

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The Huskies have competed in one NCAA Division I baseball tournament with a record of 0–2.

Year Round Opponent Result/Score
NCAA Division I Tournament Results
2015 First Round
Second Round
Houston
Rice
L 4–6
L 1–3

Source:[8]

NAIA World Series results

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The Huskies participated in the 2007 NAIA World Series with a record of 3–2.

Year Round Opponent Result/Score
NAIA World Series
2007 First Round
Second Round
Third Round
Fourth Round
Fifth Round
Lindenwood (Mo)
Cumberland (Tenn)
Walsh
Azusa Pacific
Lewis-Clark State
L 4–18
W 5–2
W 10–5
W 5–1
L 7–8

Source:[26]

Major League Baseball

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Houston Christian has had 8 Major League Baseball Draft selections since the draft began in 1965.[27]

Notes

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  1. ^ Houston Baptist competed as an NAIA Independent team in 1969.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Saint Thomas Beats Houston Baptist, 12-5". The Houston Post. March 20, 1964. p. 50. Retrieved February 17, 2024 – via genealogybank.com.
  2. ^ "2014 HBU Baseball Media Guide". Houston Baptist University Athletics. pp. 1, 68. Retrieved December 27, 2014.
  3. ^ Houston Christian University Athletics Style Guide (PDF). April 4, 2023. Retrieved September 17, 2023.
  4. ^ "Houston Baptist Huskies". d1baseball.com. Retrieved July 17, 2013.
  5. ^ "Grand Canyon Wins, 8-3". Arizona Republic. May 31, 1969. p. 62. Retrieved February 17, 2024 – via newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "Zaragoza Hurls Perfect Game as HBC Wins Pair". The Houston Post. April 28, 1968. p. 84. Retrieved April 12, 2024 – via genealogybank.com.
  7. ^ "2015 HBU Huskies Baseball". HBU Athletic Department. pp. 49–74. Retrieved April 3, 2015.
  8. ^ a b Melissa Cebold (May 23, 2015). "Houston Baptist wins first Southland Baseball Championship". SportsNOLA.com. Archived from the original on May 24, 2015. Retrieved May 24, 2015.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  9. ^ "Spartans Down Allen in 11th". The Houston Post. March 23, 1965. p. 41. Retrieved February 17, 2024 – via genealogybank.com.
  10. ^ "Baptists Winners over Saint Thomas". The Houston Post. May 8, 1965. p. 44. Retrieved February 17, 2024 – via genealogybank.com.
  11. ^ "Huskies Drop Baseball Team". Houston Chronicle. October 4, 1970. p. 42. Retrieved February 17, 2024 – via genealogybank.com.
  12. ^ Houston Baptist College (1968). "Houston Baptist College Bulletin of Information 1968-1969 (Volume VI, Number 1)" (PDF). p. 9. Retrieved February 17, 2024 – via hc.edu.
  13. ^ "(Sports) Calendar". The Houston Post. February 14, 1990. p. 34. Retrieved April 11, 2024 – via genealogybank.com.
  14. ^ "(Sports) Update". Houston Chronicle. February 27, 1991. p. 44. Retrieved April 12, 2024 – via genealogybank.com.
  15. ^ "(Sports) Calendar". The Houston Post. February 19, 1992. p. 31. Retrieved April 12, 2024 – via genealogybank.com.
  16. ^ Houston Christian Athletics Department (September 12, 2022). "BSB: HBU Begins Construction on Phase One at Husky Field". hcuhuskies.com. Retrieved February 17, 2024.
  17. ^ "HBU Baseball". Houston Baptist University Athletics. pp. 172–180. Retrieved February 9, 2021.
  18. ^ 2022 Baseball Standings Southland Conference
  19. ^ 2023 Baseball Standings Southland Conference
  20. ^ "RRAC Baseball Tournament Results". Red River Athletics Conference. Retrieved May 24, 2015.
  21. ^ "Huskies Halt AC to Take NAIA Title". The Houston Post. May 11, 1969. p. 29. Retrieved February 17, 2024 – via genealogybank.com.
  22. ^ "HBC to Play 4 Houston Teams". The Houston Post. January 17, 1969. p. 46. Retrieved February 17, 2024 – via genealogybank.com.
  23. ^ "2017 Baseball Schedule - Houston Christian University Athletics". 2017.
  24. ^ "2018 Baseball Schedule - Houston Christian University Athletics". 2018.
  25. ^ Houston Christian Athletics Department (2022). "2022 Baseball Schedule". hcuhuskies.com.
  26. ^ "59th Annual Avista-NAIA Baseball World Series – May 22–29" (PDF). p. 47. Retrieved May 24, 2015.
  27. ^ "MLB Amateur Draft Picks who came from "Houston Baptist University (Houston, TX)"". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved June 13, 2015.
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