WACO, Texas – Baylor Head Baseball Coach Steve Rodriguez announced today 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 (2017, 2018, 2019), as well as their first Big 12 Tournament title in program history (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. The following season, the Bears defeated TCU in extra innings to win their first Big 12 Tournament title and advanced to the 2018 NCAA Stanford Regional. BU won its first NCAA Tournament game since 2012 and finished with a 37-21 record, which trails only the 49 wins in 2012 as the Bears' most victories in the last 17 seasons.
 
BU 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. Cody Bradford (2018), Shea Langeliers (2018, 2019), Kyle Hill (2019), Davis Wendzel (2019), Luke Boyd (2021), Jared McKenzie (2021) and Andy Thomas (2021) also earned All-America recognition under Rodriguez's leadership.
 
The Bears have had 12 players selected a total of 14 times in the MLB Draft since Rodriguez took over in 2016, including a trio of first-round picks over the last two drafts. Daniel Castano (2016, 19^th round), Montana Parsons (2017, 24^th round), Kameron Esthay (2017, 26^th round), Montemayor (2018, 25^th round), Langeliers (2019, first round), Wendzel (2018, 37^th round; 2019, first round), Bradford (2019, sixth round), Hill (2019, 10^th round), Josh Bissonette (2019, 31^st round), Nick Loftin (2020, first round), Thomas (2021, fifth round) and Boyd (2019, 38^th round; 2021, 17^th round) all went on to professional careers after being selected in the MLB Draft.
 
Baylor players earned a total of 52 All-Big 12 honors over six full seasons with Rodriguez at the helm, as well as the 2017 Big 12 Newcomer of the Year (Parsons), 2018 Big 12 Pitcher of the Year (Bradford) and 2019 Big 12 Player of the Year (Wendzel). The Bears also had a pair of Big 12 Scholar-Athletes of the Year, with Richard Cunningham honored in 2017 and Kyle Hill selected in 2019.
 
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.
 
STEVE RODRIGUEZ AS BAYLOR BASEBALL HEAD COACH
Year         Overall Record    Big 12 Record (Finish)     Postseason
2016         24-29                     10-14 (6^th)                          
2017         34-23                     12-12 (4^th)                           NCAA Houston Regional (3^rd)
2018         37-21                     13-11 (5^th)                           NCAA Stanford Regional (3^rd)
2019         35-19                     14-8 (2^nd)                            NCAA Los Angeles Regional (3^rd)
2020         10-6                       N/A                                     COVID-19 shortened season
2021         31-20                     11-13 (t-5^th)                       
2022         26-28                     7-17 (8^th)
Totals      197-146                 67-75
 
BAYLOR ALL-TIME COACHING RECORDS
Name                         Years                             Overall                   Pct.
Steve Smith               1995-2015 (21)              744-523-1               .587
Mickey Sullivan         1974-94 (21)                  649-428-6               .602
Steve Rodriguez      2016-22 (7)                    197-146                  .574
Dutch Schroeder       1962-73 (12)                  196-165-1               .543
Morley Jennings        1928-39 (12)                  120-78-2                 .605
Frank Bridges            1920-27 (8)                    95-73                      .565
A.E. Jones                 1946-50, 53 (6)              81-51                      .614
Lloyd Russell             1940-41, 58-61 (6)         72-58-1                   .553
Ralph Glaze              1910-13 (4)                    54-27                      .667
Boyd SoRelle            1954-57 (4)                    48-45-1                   .516
C.P. Mosley               1914-19 (6)                    47-60                      .439
L.F. Burleson             1906-08 (3)                    25-34                      .423
R.N. Watts                 1903-04 (2)                    13-18                      .438
Lee Carroll                 1905 (1)                          12-7                        .631
Vic Bradford              1951 (1)                          10-10                      .500
Chuck Devereaux      1952 (1)                          9-6                          .600
E.J. Mills                    1909 (1)                          9-12                        .421
Floyd Crow                1942 (1)                          8-8                          .500
J.C. Ewing                 1902 (1)                          5-9                          .357
Totals                        1902-2022                      2,394-1,758-12       .576