Baylor Baseball Coach Steve Rodriguez announces resignation

WACO, Texas (KWTX) - Baylor Head Baseball Coach Steve Rodriguez has announced that he is stepping down from his position, after leading the Bears for seven seasons.

His 197-146 record marks the third-most wins of any head coach in program history.

“While a decision of this magnitude is never easy, I am at peace with it,” said Rodriguez. “Seven years is a long time at one place, and now it is time for a new voice to lead the Baylor Baseball program. I will forever be grateful to the outstanding young men who have played for me. I am just happy that I was able to help young men achieve their own goals of playing professionally, that our program helped young men find faith and that I have built lifelong friendships with players for my entire career. I wish every one of them the very best on the field and in life. My family and I wish Baylor the very best and will always cherish our times as Baylor Bears.”

The 2017 Big 12 Coach of the Year, Rodriguez led the Bears to three-straight NCAA Regional appearances, as well as their first Big 12 Tournament title in program history in 2018. BU finished in second place in the Big 12 standings with a 14-8 conference record in 2019, the Bears’ best finish since their most recent regular-season Big 12 Championship in 2012.

“We are grateful for Steve’s time at Baylor over the past seven years and for his commitment to our student-athletes, our university and to Preparing Champions for Life,” said Vice President and Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Mack Rhoades. “On behalf of Baylor University, I want to thank Steve and his family for their service, and we wish him, his wife Kim and their two children, Julia and Nolan, the very best as God directs their next steps. We have a world-class university and incredible momentum in Baylor Athletics, and I am confident we will identify and recruit a tremendous new head coach.”

Baylor reached the 30-win mark in four of Rodriguez’s six full seasons with a high mark of 37-21 in 2018.

Rodriguez was named 2017 Big 12 Coach of the Year in his second season leading the program, as the Bears earned a berth in the 2017 NCAA Houston Regional and finished in fourth place in the Big 12 with a 34-23 mark.

Baylor made its third-consecutive postseason appearance with a trip to the 2019 NCAA Los Angeles Regional and placed second in the Big 12 with a 35-19 mark, its highest Big 12 finish since winning the regular-season conference title in 2012.

The Bears were off to a 10-6 start in 2020 before that season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and BU followed with a 31-20 record in 2021 and 26-28 mark in 2022.

Eight Bears earned All-America honors during Rodriguez’s tenure, beginning when Troy Montemayor became Baylor’s first All-American in five seasons when he was honored in 2017.

Rhoades has launched a national search for the next Baylor baseball head coach and will not make any comments on prospective candidates or on the search process.

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