FROM CBD NEWS SOURCE
COLLEGE STATION, Texas – Texas A&M University officials announced Friday that Aggie baseball head coach Rob Childress has agreed to a contract extension through the 2015 season.
Childress is entering his sixth season at the helm of the Texas A&M baseball program where he has enjoyed consistent success and maintained the school’s great tradition of winning on the baseball diamond.
“Coach Childress has done an excellent job maintaining and building upon the standard of excellence that the Texas A&M baseball program has achieved,” Director of Athletics Bill Byrne said. “He does a tremendous job at developing our student-athletes for play not only on the baseball diamond but also for their lives after their playing days are complete. We are excited about the future of Texas A&M baseball as our facilities improvement will give us one of the finest ballparks in the country and I can think of no better person to lead our program than Rob Childress.”
The 2008 Big 12 Coach of the Year has helped the Aggies surpass the 40-win plateau three times in the last four seasons. Texas A&M has also claimed a trio of Big 12 Championships under Childress’ watch, including last season’s title at the league’s postseason tournament. The Aggies captured a pair of NCAA Regional Championships to advance to Super Regionals in 2007 and 2008. In addition, A&M has boasted one of the nation’s top pitching staffs in each of his five seasons in Aggieland, ranking second in the Big 12 in earned run average.
After being named the 19th coach in school history on June 21, 2005, following a successful run as an assistant coach at Nebraska, Childress has turned the Aggies around on the diamond by compiling a 199-113-2 record in his five seasons and tying a school-record by leading the squad to four consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances. Texas A&M enters the 2011 campaign in a position to leave a new bench mark in the program’s history if it can make the postseason for a record fifth consecutive year with a team that is receiving numerous preseason accolades, including a No. 8 preseason ranking by Collegiate Baseball.
“I am deeply appreciative of the opportunity and support that Texas A&M and our administration has given me,” Childress said. “This extension is more of a reflection of all the hard work and dedication that our entire coaching staff and student-athletes have put in to make us successful. Along with having the best fans in the country, Texas A&M has a great tradition of success on the baseball diamond. We are looking forward to continuing that success during the upcoming season and into the future.”
As one of the country’s top pitching coaches, Childress has been instrumental in helping a multitude of his former players enjoy success not only at the collegiate level but go on to reach the professional ranks. Under his tutelage, 38 pitchers were drafted or signed as free agents over the last 13 seasons. In the last five years, nine Aggie pitchers have been selected in the first 12 rounds of the Major League Baseball draft.
Over the past 10 seasons, Childress has coached 11 first-team All-Big 12 pitchers and 10 Freshman All-America hurlers. In fact, Childress has coached three Big 12 Pitchers of the Year, three Big 12 Newcomers of the Year and a Big 12 Freshman of the Year. Not included in that group is Brooks Raley, who as one of the nation’s top two-way players in 2009 earned first-team all-conference accolades, and second-team All-America honors and Barret Loux, who became the 6th overall pick of the 2010 MLB Draft after earning All-America honors for the Aggies in 2010.
Childress will lead his Aggies on the diamond to begin his sixth season in College Station on Feb. 18 when Texas A&M opens the 2011 campaign by hosting LeMoyne at Olsen Field.
