List of Nebraska Cornhuskers head baseball coaches
This list of Nebraska Cornhuskers head baseball coaches shows the coaches or managers who have led the University of Nebraska–Lincoln's baseball program in a permanent or interim capacity. Nebraska has had twenty-six full-time head coaches and has been led by Will Bolt since 2020.
History
[edit]In its early years, Nebraska's program cycled through head coaches, most of whom led the program for a single year. The Cornhuskers competed as an independent until 1929, when John Rhodes led the team to the MVIAA championship. W. W. Knight, hired forty-four years after the program's first season of competition, was Nebraska's first head coach to hold the position for more than three years.
After decades of heavy coaching turnover, the hire of Tony Sharpe in 1947 brought stability to the program for the first time; Sharpe and his successor John Sanders led Nebraska for a combined fifty-one years. However, this consistency did not translate to on-field success, as the two coaches combined for just three NCAA Tournament appearances. NU's first national success arrived with the hire of Dave Van Horn in 1998, who took the program to its first College World Series appearances in 2001 and 2002. When Van Horn resigned to return to his alma mater Arkansas after the 2002 season, assistant Mike Anderson succeeded him and led NU to a program-record fifty-seven wins and another College World Series appearance in 2005.
Coaching history
[edit]| No. | Coach[a] | Tenure | Overall | Conference[b] | Accomplishments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | C. D. Chandler | 1889–1891 | 4–5 (.444) | ||
| 2 | Charles Stroman | 1892–1893 | 3–2–1 (.583) | ||
| 3 | Eddie N. Robinson | 1897 | 8–5–1 (.607) | ||
| 4 | F. B. Ryons | 1898 | 6–4 (.600) | ||
| 5 | Mike Henderson | 1901 | 9–11 (.450) | ||
| 6 | Geo P. Shidler | 1902 | 17–8 (.680) | ||
| 7 | J. H. Bell | 1904 | 10–3 (.769) | ||
| 8 | S. S. Eager | 1906 | 5–12–1 (.306) | ||
| 9 | Ducky Holmes | 1907 | 5–11–1 (.324) | ||
| 10 | Billy Fox | 1908–1909 | 16–26–2 (.386) | ||
| 11 | Paul J. Schissler | 1919–1921 | 20–14 (.588) | ||
| 12 | Owen Frank | 1922 | 12–4 (.750) | ||
| 13 | Scotty Dye | 1923[c] | 4–4 (.500) | ||
| 14 | Earl Carr | 1923[c] | 2–8 (.200) | ||
| 15 | William G. Kline | 1924–1925 | 18–15 (.545) | ||
| 16 | John Rhodes | 1929–1930 | 12–12–1 (.500) | 17–10 (.630) | 1x MVIAA champion |
| 17 | W. H. Browne | 1931 | 2–10 (.167) | 2–8 (.200) | |
| 18 | W. W. Knight | 1933–1941 | 38–92 (.292) | 24–61 (.282) | |
| 19 | Adolph J. Lewandowski | 1942 | 3–11 (.214) | 3–6 (.333) | |
| 20 | Frank Smagacz | 1946 | 9–7 (.563) | 9–5 (.643) | |
| 21 | Tony Sharpe | 1947–1977 | 399–389–6 (.506) | 240–260 (.480) | 2x MVIAA champion |
| 22 | John Sanders | 1978–1997 | 767–453–1 (.629) | 239–221 (.520) | 1x Big Eight champion |
| 23 | Dave Van Horn | 1998–2002 | 214–92 (.699) | 83–50 (.624) | 2x College World Series 1x Big 12 champion 3x Big 12 tournament champion 1x National coach of the year |
| 24 | Mike Anderson | 2003–2011 | 337–196–2 (.632) | 125–116–1 (.519) | 1x College World Series 2x Big 12 champion 1x Big 12 tournament champion |
| 25 | Darin Erstad | 2012–2019 | 267–193–1 (.580) | 111–77–1 (.590) | 1x Big Ten champion |
| 26 | Will Bolt | 2020–present | 137–97–1 (.585) | 72–43 (.626) | 1x Big Ten champion 2x Big Ten tournament champion |
Notes
[edit]- ^ Coaching information not available from 1899, 1900, 1905, 1907, or 1912. Nebraska did not field a team in 1903, from 1913 to 1918, from 1926 to 1928, in 1932, or from 1943 to 1945.[1]
- ^ Nebraska competed as an independent until 1929.
- ^ a b Scotty Dye and Earl Carr each separately coached part of the 1923 season.
References
[edit]- ^ a b "Nebraska Baseball History and Records". Nebraska Athletics. Retrieved 16 April 2025.