Head Baseball Coach Scores 500th Career Win

(ABILENE, Texas)–Hardin-Simmons University congratulates Head Baseball Coach Steve Coleman on his 500th career win. Coleman is in his 23rd season coaching the Cowboys and stands as the university’s all-time leader in wins with a 500-442 record.

Coleman has undoubtedly influenced countless players and peers over his many seasons with HSU. Hear from a few of these individuals, including Coleman’s sons and HSU’s Assistant Baseball Coach Brad Holcomb, in a video on HSU’s YouTube page.

Steve Coleman is the Head Coach of HSU’s baseball team.

In his first 22 seasons at HSU, Coleman led the Cowboys to the American Southwest Conference (ASC) Playoffs 17 times. His teams appeared in the finals in 2001, 2005 and 2016. Coleman also led HSU to its first ASC West title in 2008. In 2011, the team once again claimed the ASC West title.

Under Coleman, HSU’s baseball teams have included 123 All-American Southwest Conference selections and seven All-Americans. For the past 24 semesters, the team’s cumulative GPA has surpassed a 3.0 due to Coleman’s philosophy that if a student cannot keep up with both their academics and baseball, Coleman removes baseball from the equation.

In the late ‘70s and early ‘80s, Coleman attended Monterey High School in Lubbock, TX. While in high school, his team won the Class 5A state title, and Coleman set four batting records that still stand today. Due to his highly successful high-school career, Coleman earned a scholarship to play baseball at the University of Oklahoma (OU).

Coleman attended OU for one year before transferring to Lubbock Christian University (LCU) in ‘83. From ’83 to ’85, Coleman made a name for himself as a standout third baseman and catcher. He helped the LCU Chaps win the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics World Series and was an honorable-mention All-American in ’83.

Steve Coleman speaks at the 2019 baseball banquet.

After earning a Bachelor of Science in Secondary Education from LCU in ’85, Coleman coached baseball and football at Coronado High School in Lubbock. In ’90, Coleman began coaching at Frenship High School in Wolfforth, TX, before moving to Odessa Permian High School in ’93. Coleman officially became a Cowboy in June of ’97, when he became HSU’s 22nd baseball head coach.

Coleman and his wife, Lisa, married in 1982. The pair have two adult sons and three grandchildren. Their son Chad coached at Cooper High School, and their son Brad lives in the Abilene area.