Only seven years after he made the move from head coach of Pepperdine Baseball to the same position at Baylor, Steve Rodriguez resigned from his title. An inspiring candidate in 2016, Rodriguez spent 16 years at Pepperdine as both a player and coach where, as an athlete, he helped his team win a national title. His Pepperdine coaching record also included 5 conference championships and 8 NCAA regional bids. As the 2017 Big 12 Coach of the Year, Rodriguez took Baylor to three-consecutive regionals in 2017, 2018, and 2019 and led the Bears to their first ever Big 12 Tournament title (read all about it here!). Finishing with a 197-146 record, Rodriguez is leaving Baylor with Vice President and Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Mack Rhoades in search of a new leader to increase the Bears’ success.
In the announcement, Rodriguez said, “While a decision of this magnitude is never easy, I am at peace with it. 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.”
“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,” Rhoades said. “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.”
