Houston Christian Huskies baseball
American college baseball team
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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.
| Houston Christian Huskies baseball | |
|---|---|
 2026 Houston Christian Huskies baseball team | |
| |
| Founded | 1964,[1] 1990 |
| University | Houston Christian University |
| Head coach | Clay VanderLaan (2nd season) |
| Conference | Southland |
| Location | Houston, Texas |
| Home stadium | Husky Field (capacity: 500[2]) |
| Nickname | Huskies |
| Colors | Royal blue and orange[3] |
| College World Series appearances | |
| NAIA: 2007 | |
| NCAA tournament appearances | |
| 2015, 2025 | |
| Conference tournament champions | |
| NAIA: NAIA District 8: 1969 Red River: 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006 NCAA DI: Great West: 2013 Southland: 2015, 2025 | |
| Conference regular season champions | |
| NAIA: Big State: 1997 Red River: 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 | |
History
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
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
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] They also qualified for the 2025 NCAA Division I baseball tournament.[9] The program's 1,000th win in the modern era came on March 13, 2026, in a 7–6 victory at Tarleton State.
Facilities
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.[10][11] 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.[12] The location of HBC Diamond was directly northeast of Sharp Gym on what is now a Houston Christian University-owned shopping center.[13]
Houston Baptist Baseball played at nearby Bayland Park from 1990-1992.[14][15][16]
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.[17] Lights were installed around the venue in time for the 2025 season. The first night game took place on February 14, 2025, in the second game of a doubleheader against Central Michigan.[18]
Houston Christian career coaching records
| 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 |
| Clay VanderLaan | 2 | 56—54 | .509 |
| Overall | 37 | 1,015–953–3 | .516 |
(Records reflect game results through the conclusion of the 2026 season. This does not include the program's original stint from 1964—1970)
Year-by-year results
Information Source:[19]
| Year-by-Year Results | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Coach | Record | Conference Record | Conference | Notes |
| Junior College | |||||
| Independent | |||||
| 1964 | Kandie Risenhoover[20] | – | Independent | ||
| 1965 | Peck Vass[21] | – | Independent | ||
| NAIA | |||||
| Independent | |||||
| 1966 | Peck Vass[22] | – | Independent | ||
| 1967 | Peck Vass[23] | – | Independent | ||
| 1968 | Lonnie Richards[24] | – | Independent | ||
| 1969 | Lonnie Richards[24] | – | Independent | NAIA District 8 Postseason Champions NAIA Area II Tournament (1–2) | |
| NCAA College Division | |||||
| Independent | |||||
| 1970 | Lonnie Richards[25] | 2-22[26] | – | 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 of 14 SLC regular season |
| 2015 | Jared Moon | 28–27 | 14–13 | Southland | 7th of 13 SLC regular season SLC Tournament Champion (4-0) Houston Regional (0—2) |
| 2016 | Jared Moon | 24–29 | 12–18 | Southland | 10th of 13 SLC regular season |
| 2017 | Jared Moon | 29–25 | 18–12 | Southland | 4th of 13 SLC regular season (3–2) SLC Tournament |
| 2018 | Jared Moon | 29–30 | 18–12 | Southland | 4th of 13 SLC regular season (3–2) SLC Tournament |
| 2019 | Jared Moon | 18–35 | 10–20 | Southland | 12th of 13 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 of 13 SLC regular season |
| 2022 | Lance Berkman | 18–36 | 11–13 | Southland | 6th of 8 SLC regular season [27] (0-2) SLC Tournament |
| 2023 | Lance Berkman | 11–37 | 7–16 | Southland | 9th of 9 SLC regular season [28] |
| 2024 | Lance Berkman | 18–31 | 9–15 | Southland | 9th of 9 SLC regular season |
| 2025 | Clay VanderLaan | 32–25 | 17–13 | Southland | 6th of 11 SLC regular season SLC Tournament Champion (5–0) Austin Regional (0–2) |
| 2026 | Clay VanderLaan | 24–29 | 13–17 | Southland | 9th of 11 SLC regular season
(1–2) SLC Tournament |
Postseason
Conference Tournaments
| Year | Head coach | Record | % | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conference Tournament Results | ||||
| NAIA District 8 | ||||
| 1969[a] | Lonnie Richards[24] | 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 | Jared Moon | 4–0 | 1.000 | Tournament champion |
| 2007 | Jared Moon | 2–1 | .667 | 3rd Round |
| National Independent Tournament | ||||
| 2009 | Jared Moon | 1–3 | .250 | |
| Great West Conference | ||||
| 2010 | Jared Moon | 2–1 | .667 | 2nd in Great West Tournament Pool 1 |
| 2011 | Jared Moon | 4–2 | .667 | Runner-up |
| 2012 | Jared Moon | 4–2 | .667 | Runner-up |
| 2013 | Jared Moon | 4–0 | 1.000 | Tournament champion |
| Southland Conference | ||||
| 2015 | Jared Moon | 4–0 | 1.000 | Tournament champion |
| 2017 | Jared Moon | 3-2 | .600 | Consolation Rounds |
| 2018 | Jared Moon | 3-2 | .600 | Consolation Rounds |
| 2022 | Lance Berkman | 0-2 | .000 | First Round |
| 2025 | Clay Vanderlaan | 5-0 | 1.000 | Tournament champion |
| 2026 | Clay Vanderlaan | 1-2 | .333 | Consolation Rounds |
| Total | 64–20 | .762 | 21 Appearances | |
NCAA Division I Tournament results
The Huskies have competed in two NCAA Division I baseball tournaments with a record of 0–4.
NAIA World Series results
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:[32]
Major League Baseball
Houston Christian has had 8 Major League Baseball draft selections since the draft began in 1965.[33]
| Huskies in the Major League Baseball Draft | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Player | Round | Team |
| 1971 | Ron Mahood | 7 | Expos |
| 1996 | Ryan Thomas | 23 | Padres |
| 1996 | Trevor Enders | Rays | |
| 1998 | Galen Shea | 19 | Tigers |
| 2000 | Brian Steffek | 27 | Dodgers |
| 2003 | Kyle Smith | 18 | Reds |
| 2010 | Johnathan Moore | 45 | Rangers |
| 2012 | Robbie Buller | 35 | Diamondbacks |
| 2015 | Zach Nehrir | 16 | Diamondbacks |
| 2017 | Addison Russ | 19 | Phillies |
| 2018 | Tyler Depreta-Johnson | 35 | Rangers |
| 2023 | Morris Austin | 10 | Brewers |
| 2026 | Luke Bard | 19 | Dodgers |
Notes
- Houston Baptist competed as an NAIA Independent team in 1969.
