SAN MARCOS, Texas – Texas State Director of Athletics Larry Teis announced Thursday that after 20 seasons, Ty Harrington is retiring as Texas State’s head baseball coach after he led the Bobcats to their first Sun Belt Conference championship in 2019.
“I chaired the search committee when Ty was hired 20 years ago,” Texas State athletics director Larry Teis said. “Ty mentioned to me six weeks ago that he has been a head coach all his life and wanted to try something new. I tried to talk him out of retirement then and did so up until the end.
“He has been a great ambassador for Texas State, and not just the Athletics Department, but the University as well. It will be very different in the dugout at Bobcat Ball Park. We wish him, Leila, and the girls the best as they enter life without baseball in their future.”
Harrington has served as head coach at Texas State since 2000, and leaves as the program’s all-time winningest coach with a career record of 657-516-2. He ranks 46th among active NCAA Division I coaches. He ends his career with 16 winning seasons and a career record of 355-231 (.606 winning percentage) against conference opponents while the Bobcats played in three different conferences in his tenure (Southland, WAC and Sun Belt).
“This has been an incredible 20-year journey filled with inspiring players and people, great teams, memorable wins, a University that is a rising star, loyal fans and an incredible community,” Harrington said. “Most of all, I have lasting personal relationships that I will cherish forever. Each player and team has had a significant impact, made an impression and enriched my life. I hope in some form or fashion that I have had some positive impact on their lives.”
This season, Harrington was named the Sun Belt Conference Coach of the Year after leading the Bobcats to a 36-20 overall record and their first Sun Belt championship with a 20-10 mark. Texas State had a 3-3 record against Top 25 teams and finished the season with a 4-4 mark against teams in the RPI top 50.
It was the third time that Harrington has been named Coach of the Year and fourth conference championship that the Bobcats have won under his direction. He was named the Southland Coach of the Year in both 2009 and 2011 after leading Texas State to a school record 41 victories each season.
The Bobcats also won Southland titles in 2009, 2010 and 2011. He led Texas State to three appearances in NCAA Division I Regionals.
He has produced three conference players of the year, four conference hitters of the year and five conference pitchers of the year, including this season’s Sun Belt Pitcher of the Year Connor Reich.
He also coached 88 all-conference selections, 16 all-region honorees, 10 All-Americans and four CoSIDA Academic All-Americans. This season, Reich and Jaxon Williams earned All-Sun Belt First Team, while Nicholas Fraze and Jaylen Hubbard earned Second-Team honors.
Harrington also coached 53 players who were drafted by Major League Baseball teams, including five selections in 2011, 2012 and 2016. They include current major league players Paul Goldschmidt of the St. Louis Cardinals and Austen Williams of the Washington Nationals.
“Coaching 20 years at one university is a great career in modern collegiate athletics,” Harrington said. “I am proud of the success, progress and current direction of the program. I look forward to watching its continued growth in the future.”
