FROM CBB NEWS SOURCE
ARLINGTON, Texas – The University of Texas at Arlington director of athletics Pete Carlon has announced a two-year contract extension for head baseball coach Darin Thomas through the 2012-2013 year.
"This was a recommendation to President Spaniolo who recently approved this contract extension," Carlon said. "We are both very pleased with the direction of our baseball program, especially with Coach Thomas’ leadership and the recent academic performances of the team since he took over as head coach."
Thomas has led the Mavericks to 56 wins in two seasons as head coach, including back-to-back appearances in the Southland Conference Tournament. The influence Thomas has made on the UT Arlington baseball program goes beyond on-field accomplishments, as his program has recorded four straight semesters with over a 3.0 team grade-point average.
Last spring, 20-of-33 baseball student-athletes were named to the Honor Roll with a 3.0 GPA or higher for the semester.
The Mavericks have defeated eight nationally-ranked opponents under Thomas’ guidance, and this past season saw six of his players either drafted or sign a free agent contract with a Major League Baseball organization.
Thomas’ squad led the Southland Conference in ERA, tied for the top fielding percentage in the league and had the SLC batting champion (Matt Otteman, .432 batting average) and strikeout leader (Nathan Long, 104) while Andrew Kainer broke the school and SLC all-time hit streak record with a 36-game streak.
Thomas was named the sixth head baseball coach at UT Arlington on Nov. 15, 2007. Thomas begins his 10th season on the UT Arlington baseball staff this season. He was the associate head coach for six seasons (2002-2007) and spent one season as an assistant coach (2001) for the Mavericks.
