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. 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 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. Ray Zaragoza threw a seven-inning perfect game in the first game of a home doubleheader against Bishop College on April 27, 1968.
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. They also qualified for the 2025 NCAA Division I baseball tournament. 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. 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. The location of HBC Diamond was directly northeast of Sharp Gym on what is now a Houston Christian University-owned shopping center.
Houston Baptist Baseball played at nearby Bayland Park from 1990-1992.
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. 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.
Houston Christian career coaching records Coach Numberof Seasons Overall record Winning percentage Coaching records Rickey Witt 3 29–119 .196 Rusty Pendergrass5 177–92 .658 Brian Huddleston 8305–143–1 .680 Jared Moon 16 401–441–2 Lance Berkman 3 47–104 Clay VanderLaan 2 56—54 .509Overall 371,015–953–3 (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: Year-by-Year ResultsYearCoachRecordConference RecordConferenceNotes Junior College Independent 1964 Kandie Risenhoover –Independent 1965 Peck Vass –Independent NAIA Independent 1966 Peck Vass –Independent 1967 Peck Vass –Independent 1968 Lonnie Richards –Independent 1969 Lonnie Richards –Independent NAIA District 8 Postseason Champions NAIA Area II Tournament (1–2) NCAA College Division Independent 1970 Lonnie Richards 2-22 – 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 championsNAIA 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 season2nd 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 2022 Baseball Standings Southland Conference (0-2) SLC Tournament 2023 Lance Berkman 11–37 7–16 Southland 9th of 9 SLC regular season 2023 Baseball Standings Southland Conference 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)2026Clay VanderLaan24–2913–17Southland9th of 11 SLC regular season (1–2) SLC Tournament
Postseason
Conference Tournaments Sources: Year Head coach Record % NotesConference Tournament ResultsNAIA District 8 1969 Lonnie Richards 1–0 1.000 ChampionRed 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 RoundNational Independent Tournament 2009 Jared Moon 1–3 .250Great 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 championSouthland Conference2015 Jared Moon 4–0 1.000 Tournament champion2017Jared Moon3-2.600Consolation Rounds2018Jared Moon3-2.600Consolation Rounds2022Lance Berkman0-2.000First Round2025Clay Vanderlaan5-01.000Tournament champion2026Clay Vanderlaan1-2.333Consolation 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.
Year Round Opponent Result/ScoreNCAA Division I Tournament Results 2015 First RoundSecond Round HoustonRice L 4–6L 1–3 2025 First RoundSecond Round TexasKansas State L 1–7L 4–7
Sources:
NAIA World Series results The Huskies participated in the 2007 NAIA World Series with a record of 3–2.
Year Round Opponent Result/ScoreNAIA World Series 2007 First RoundSecond RoundThird RoundFourth RoundFifth 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:
Major League Baseball Houston Christian has had 8 Major League Baseball draft selections since the draft began in 1965. Huskies in the Major League Baseball Draft Year Player Round Team 1971 7 Expos 1996 23 Padres1996Trevor Enders Rays 1998 19 Tigers 2000 27 Dodgers 2003 18 Reds 2010 45 Rangers 2012 35 Diamondbacks 2015 16 Diamondbacks 2017Addison Russ19 Phillies 2018Tyler Depreta-Johnson35 Rangers 2023Morris Austin10 Brewers 2026Luke Bard19 Dodgers
Notes
See also List of NCAA Division I baseball programs
References
External links