BASEBALL 2018 CRUBASEBALL 1 CRUBASEBALL 1 CRUSADEROATH The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) developed a Student-Athlete Oath for the 2009-2010 academic and athletic year. The oath outlines the expectations accepted by all UMHB Student-Athletes and also details the pride those student- athletes feel to be a part of Cru Athletics. Student-athletes began using the oath for the first time in the fall of 2009 and it became a prominent and permanent part of the UMHB Student- Athlete experience. The Cru Student-Athlete Oath is listed below: The Crusader Oath As Crusader Student-Athletes we pledge to: Pursue excellence in the classroom and in competition; Support our fellow student-athletes and other members of the Crusader student body; Be fair, open, and honest; holding ourselves to highest standards of sportsmanship and integrity; Be positive role models within our community; Glorify Christ through our actions and abilities; Honor and embrace the privilege of wearing Purple, White, and Gold. Wherever we go and forever, we represent the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor. Go CRU! 2 CRUBASEBALL 2 CRUBASEBALL CRUSADERBASEBALL Table of Contents UMHB Quick Facts Student-Athlete Oath .....................................................2 Location ..........................................................Belton, Texas Contents & Quick Facts...................................................3 Enrollment ....................................................................3,300 Head Coach Ben Shipp ...................................................4 Founded .........................................................................1845 Assistant Coaches .............................................................5 Nickname .................................................................The Cru 2018 UMHB Roster ...........................................................6 Colors ............................................... Purple, Gold & White Cru Returners ......................................................................7 President ................................................Dr. Randy O’Rear Cru Newcomers ................................................................15 Director of Athletics .................................. Randy Mann UMHB Sports Medicine ................................................26 Athletics Phone .......................................(254) 295-4618 2017 Stats ...........................................................................27 UMHB Administration ..................................................28 Head Coach ........................................................Ben Shipp This is UMHB ......................................................................29 Alma Mater ................................ Mary Hardin-Baylor ‘80 2018 UMHB Schedule ...................................................30 UMHB Record ...................................386-355-1(17th Yr.) Assistant Coach .............................................. Nate Shipp Lettermen Ret./Lost ................................................16/14 Credits Starters Ret./Lost ..........................................................9/0 The 2018 UMHB Baseball Program is a publication of 2017 Record .......................................... 22-18 (13-5 ASC) the UMHB Sports Information Office. Photos provided Stadium .....................................................Red Murff Field by David Morris, Andrew Zavoina, the NCAA and the Capacity ............................................................................700 UMHB Sports Information Department. Sports Information ......................................... Jon Wallin SID Phone ..................................................(254) 295-4611 SID Fax .........................................................(254) 295-4274 You can follow the UMHB Baseball Team on the In- SID Address ............................................ UMHB Box 8363 ternet all season long. Visit www.cruathletics.com ..................................................................900 College Street and follow our social media accounts. .....................................................................Belton, TX 76513 ............................................................ Sarah Harborth, Asst. .........................................................................(254) 295-5585 .........................................................................(254) 295-4274 ...................................................................... UMHB Box 8010 ..................................................................900 College Street .....................................................................Belton, TX 76513 CruSports @CruBaseball @CruSports @CruSports CRUBASEBALL 3 CRUBASEBALL 3 COACHSHIPP Ben Shipp returned to head baseball coach in May of 2012 after spending the previous 18 years as Vice-President for Athletics and guided the Cru to a 21-21 overall record and the team’s first ASC Tournament berth in three years. Shipp has guided the Cru to seven overall conference tournament berths in his career (three HOT Tour- naments and four ASC Tournaments). He is 99-106 in five years in his second stint as UMHB’s head baseball coach. UMHB has also earned back-to-back Team Academic Excellence Awards from the American Baseball Coaches Association. Shipp became the first full-time athletic director at the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor in December of 1996. Coach Shipp had been serving as the school’s athletic director since June of 1995, while also serving as the head coach of the Cru baseball team. His promotion to full-time athletic director status coincided with the University’s decision to make the transition to NCAA Division III status. Not only did Shipp oversee that successful transition, he also saw the UMHB athletic department grow with the addition of football, women’s soccer, and women’s golf. UMHB now competes in a total of 12 varsity sports. He was promoted to Vice President for Athletics in August of 2002. Shipp served on the NCAA Division III Baseball National Committee from 2010-2014 and was Chairman of that committee from 2013-14. He oversaw the change of the tournament from a traidi- tional eight-team bracket to pool play leading to a two-of-three Championship Round. Under Shipp’s guidance as Vice-President for Athletics, UMHB won 27 conference championships, had 130 All-Americans and 38 Academic All-Americans. Coach Shipp was also the Crusaders head baseball coach from 1986-1996. He coached UMHB to a 277-249-1 record in that time, and Coach Shipp is the winningest head coach in UMHB history, with a current record of 386-355-1. Coach Shipp also coached the Crusaders to a runner-up finish at the 1992 NAIA World Series and coached two NAIA All-Americans in that time as well. UMHB also won the Heart of Texas Conference championship in 1994. Coach Shipp is a 1980 graduate of the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor, where he was a three-year letterman for the Crusaders baseball team. Coach Shipp coached on the high school level at Cameron Yoe High School and Calhoun High School in Port Lavaca before returning to his alma mater in 1986. Coach Shipp is married to the former Donna Hacker. They have two sons, Kyle, and Nate. Kyle was a four-year letterman and starting catcher for the Cru baseball team and also spent time as an assistant baseball coach at UMHB. Kyle returned to the coaching staff as a volunteer assistant in 2017. Nate is a graduate of Southwestern University, where he was a four-year letterman for the Pirates baseball team. He now serves as an assistant coach at UMHB. Ben and Donna also have two grandchildren. 4 CRUBASEBALL 4 CRUBASEBALL ASSISTANTCOACHES Nate Shipp - Assistant Coach Nate Shipp was promoted to full-time assistant coach in June of 2014 after spending the previous two seasons as a graduate assistant at UMHB. The Cru went 47-38 in his two seasons as a graduate assistant and advanced to the ASC Championship Tournament in both of those campaigns. Shipp graduated from Southwestern University with a degree in kinesiology in May of 2012 and was a four-year letterman for the Pirates baseball team. He was a two-time All-SCAC selection at Southwestern University and also earned a spot on the SCAC Student-Athlete Academic Honor Roll. Shipp spent one year at Tarleton State University before transferring to Southwestern. Nate is a native of Belton and is the son of Cru head coach Ben Shipp. He and his wife, Taylor, were married in July of 2015. Kyle Shipp - Volunteer Assistant Coach Kyle Shipp returns to the Cru as a volunteer assistant coach after taking a few years off from coaching. This is Shipp’s second stint as assistant coach for the Cru. He started his coaching career at Southwestern University in Georgetown where he worked with the Pirate catchers and also served as the team’s hitting coach during his last two seasons. Southwestern had catchers lead the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference in runners caught stealing twice in the last five years under his direction. Shipp is a 2007 graduate of UMHB and was a four-year letterman for the Cru baseball program. He was a four-year starter at catcher and a three-time American Southwest Conference Academ- ic All-Conference selection. Shipp earned UMHB Male Senior Athlete of the Year honors in the spring of 2007 and was voted Scholar-Athlete of the Year. He also won the Fred Jacoby Award, presented by the ASC and representing leadership, sportsman- ship and academic excellence.