Hendrix College Men's Baseball

In 2026, R.J. Thomas, a Conway, Ark. native and Conway High School alumnus who ranks second in wins in program history by any head coach, enters his 11th season as Hendrix head baseball coach, 13th overall on the program's staff and 16th overall as a head coach. Thomas is in his second stint with the Warriors after spending eight seasons as a coach at Hendrix, serving as an assistant for two years (2005-06) before being elevated to the helm of the program for six (2007-12). Thomas is 102-72 and 45-36 in league play since returning to Hendrix. Under Thomas' leadership, the Warriors clinched back-to-back-to-back top-four finishes in the Southern Athletic Association and hosted three-consecutive SAA first round series in Conway. In 2024, Hendrix reached the SAA championship series versus the hosts, Centre College. Thomas spent four seasons (2018-21) as the Richmond pitching coach on Tracy Woodson's staff. In 2020, Thomas was promoted to associate head coach.  The Spiders were off to one of the hottest starts in the Woodson era in 2021 before a pause in the season due to COVID-19. Thomas's 2021 pitching staff finished the season fifth in the Atlantic 10 with a team 5.21 ERA in 293.2 innings of work. The Spider staff was second in the league by holding opponents to a .248 average against, and was third in the league averaging 9.1 strikeouts per nine innings pitched. Colby Wyatt became the first three-time A-10 Pitcher of the Week recipient for the Spiders since Tim Stauffer in 2003. Wyatt finished the 2021 season holding opponents to a .204 average against. He threw four complete games, as Richmond was 3-1 in A-10 competition in his starts. Jacob Marcus ended the season with a team-best 10.9 Ks per nine innings. Alden Mathes, who was named to the Atlantic 10 All-Freshman Team, held opponents to a .205 average against. In 2020, Thomas' pitching staff recorded 152 strikeouts in just 17 games as the season was canceled due to COVID-19. He utilized four starters through the early stages of the season. The Richmond pitching staff continued to make strides in 2019, earning a 4.54 team ERA in 487.2 innings of work, which included a 7-1 win at No. 17 Georgia Tech in the second game of the season. Fifteen pitchers made at least 10 appearances during the season, as the depth of the Spider staff was a key element. The weekend duo of Tim Miller and Brendan McGuigan started every weekend. Miller led the team pitching 75.2 innings and holding opponents to a .221 batting average. Miller led the team with five wins. McGuigan led the team with 84 strikeouts in 70.0 innings of work, ranking 74th nationally with 10.8 strikeouts per nine innings pitched. Layne Looney returned for another season at Richmond after being drafted in 2018. Looney led the Spiders with five saves during the season, appearing in 22 games. Antonio Balducci led the team with 23 appearances out of the bullpen for the second-straight season. Thomas helped McGuigan earn the A-10 Pitcher of the Week award. Marcus ranked as the seventh-best freshman nationally in strikeouts per nine innings.  In his first full season with the Spider pitchers, Thomas' staff compiled a 3.70 ERA, had two players receive professional contract offers and helped lead the Spiders to the most wins in a single season in the Woodson era. Looney led the Spiders with a 0.60 ERA and was selected in the 19th round of the MLB Draft by the Chicago Cubs before deciding to come back and pitch his senior season with Richmond. Robbie Baker signed a free agent deal with the Boston Red Sox and competed with the Gulf Coast League Red Sox (now Florida Complex League Red Sox) during the summer of 2018. The 3.70 staff ERA ranked fourth in the A-10, while the Spiders struck out an average of 8.51 hitters per game, fourth best in the conference. The Spiders struck out a school-record 471 hitters, led by Baker's 78. Under Thomas' guidance, Looney and Baker each earned All-Atlantic 10 first team honors, and Miller was named to the league's All-Freshman Team. The Spiders were among the top staffs in the nation, ranking 48th nationally in WHIP, 38th in team ERA and 21st in hits allowed per nine innings.  Thomas came to Richmond following a five-year stint (2013-17) as head coach at Southwestern (Texas). During his time at the helm, the Pirates played in five-straight Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) Tournaments and advanced to the title game in 2016. Thomas coached 23 All-SCAC honorees, including 2015 SCAC Player of the Year Will Cates. Off the field, Thomas helped develop donor and restored alumni relationships that helped with several improvements around Rockwell Family Baseball Field. During Thomas's tenure, the Pirates made upgrades to the dugouts, home plate area, laser graded the infield, installed a new irrigation system for the field and assisted with bullpen improvements. His teams also excelled in the classroom, earning the highest team GPA (3.20) in program history in 2017. Prior to his time at Southwestern, Thomas spent eight seasons as a coach at Hendrix, serving as an assistant for two years (2005-06) before being elevated to the helm of the program for six (2007-12). He led the Warriors to three SCAC tournaments, including two appearances in the SCAC Tournament championship game and the 2009 title. Following the 2009 conference tournament championship, Hendrix advanced to the West Regional of the NCAA tournament, and Thomas was named the SCAC Coach of the Year. In 2011, he led the Warriors back to the SCAC Tournament championship game after guiding Hendrix to a second place finish in the SCAC West Division. In six seasons at the helm, Thomas coached 32 All-SCAC selections and outfielder Collin Radack, the eventual SAA Player of the Year and consensus All-American who became a 20th round selection in the 2014 MLB Draft by the Saint Louis Cardinals. Thomas and Radack worked on the same Richmond staff for four seasons, with Radack serving as hitting coach. Thomas also was a warrior as a fundraiser, securing more than $250,000 to build Warrior Baseball Field prior to first pitch of the 2008 campaign. Off the field, Hendrix excelled in the classroom, earning a 3.16 GPA over the eight seasons Thomas spent with the program. While at Hendrix, Thomas also served as assistant director of compliance for two years (2011-12) and athletic facilities construction coordinator in 2007. Thomas pitched for the Warriors in 2000 before transferring to Central Arkansas, where he did not play. Thomas earned a Bachelor of Science in business administration from Central Arkansas in 2004. R.J. and his wife, Stephanie, have two daughters, Sophie and Isabel. What they're saying about R.J. Thomas: "I've known R.J. since I was 15 years old, and in that time, he has never failed to support or push me both on and off the field. Win or lose, in good times or bad, he consistently brings a great attitude that can be seen by everyone around him. R.J. embodies the leadership qualities that we strive to obtain as athletes and human beings, and I'm grateful to call him a coach, mentor and friend while I pursue my professional career." Kyle Schmidt Minnesota Twins minor league catcher "I played for R.J. for only two seasons (at Richmond), but his impact goes far beyond that. Coach Thomas is not only a great coach but also a great mentor and friend. He genuinely cares about each of his players as people first, not just because of their baseball abilities. As a result, it was easy for us to trust him and buy in to his philosophies as a pitching staff. Coach Thomas played a pivotal role in shifting the culture of our program. Individually, he also helped me to smooth over some mechanical inefficiencies, fine-tune my arsenal and improve my mindset on the mound. R.J. is a big reason why I am in the position I am today, living out my dream in the Seattle Mariners organization, and I owe a lot to him. Any program would be lucky to have R.J. the coach, and the person." Brendan McGuigan Seattle Mariners minor league pitcher "R.J came in as the pitching coach my last year at Richmond, and I couldn't have been more fortunate to have had that year with him. From day one, he had a huge impact on my baseball career and has continued to be a part of it long after my time at Richmond finished. During my time with R.J., he would regularly set aside time to work with each player, even if that meant staying late or coming out early, and during that time, you could tell he genuinely cared about helping and making you better. Hendrix is lucky to have a coach that cares as much as he does on and off of the field." Robbie Baker Former Boston Red Sox minor league pitcher "As a Hendrix baseball alumnus, but most importantly a friend and former colleague of R.J., I could not be happier to hear that he is returning to Conway.  R.J. is one of the best leaders and coaches that I've been around, and I could not be more excited to see what the future holds for Warrior baseball!" Collin Radack '14 Richmond hitting coach and former Saint Louis Cardinals minor league and Hendrix outfielder

Keegan Burney enters his second season with the Hendrix Warriors baseball program in 2026. Burney's pitching staff helped Hendrix to a top-four finish in the SAA in 2025. Sophomore right-hander Dylan Kalmus and junior lefty Aiden Leggett earned All-SAA honors after leading the staff to a 6.32 season ERA. The duo combined for 108 strikeouts, with Kalmus recording a 3.23 ERA and 1.21 WHIP. Before coming to Hendrix, Burney served as the Director of Pitching Development at Wright State University for three seasons. His day-to-day responsibilities included data collection, movement assessment, throwing programs, and daily implementation of the program’s technologies. During his time at Wright State, the Raiders won three Horizon League regular season championships, two Horizon League conference tournament championships, and appeared in two NCAA regional tournaments. Wright State finished ranked in the top-50 national marks in walks allowed per nine innings, shutouts, and strikeout-to-walk ratio. In 2022 and 2023, Wright State broke the strikeout record, recording 524 strikeouts over 61 games in 2023 and 490 strikeouts in 57 games in 2022. Prior to joining Wright State, Burney spent four seasons with Miami University Hamilton, serving as the Pitching Coach and Recruiting Coordinator for three of those seasons. Burney also spent five years working in the Hamilton Joes organization, starting with youth player development, working his way up to serve as the Great Lakes Summer Collegiate League team Pitching Coach, where he helped guide the Joes to a GLSCL Championship in 2021. Burney has also served as the Throwing Program Coordinator for the Ohio Baseball Science Academy in West Chester, Ohio. Burney was responsible for the creation and implementation of personal corrective movement exercises, evaluation, and player development for over 1,100 athletes, ranging from eight-year-olds to professional pitchers. Burney has completed certifications for Rapsodo Pitching, Driveline Baseball Foundations of Pitching, and PitchAI Introduction to Biomechanics. During his coaching career, Burney has trained or coached 8 pitchers and 12 total players who went on to sign professional baseball contracts, the latest being Jake Shirk, who was drafted in the 19th round by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 2024 draft. Burney earned his Bachelor's degree in Recreation, Tourism, and Sport Management from Lindsey Wilson College in 2015. Burney resides in Conway with his wife Hannah, and their three kids, Gabe, Finn, and Luna.

Nick Wagner enters into his first season as assistant coach with the Hendrix baseball program in 2025 after a successful five-year stint as an assistant coach with Claremont-Mudd-Scripps. There, Wagner helped lead CMS to its winningest season ever in 2024 (32-15), including its first NCAA bid since 1996, as well as an 18-6 SCIAC season in 2023, setting a new program standard for most league wins.  Wagner came to CMS after most recently serving as the head coach at Polytechnic High School, which he led to a runner-up finish in the CIF Division 5 tournament. A year prior in 2018, he was an assistant coach with a Polytechnic team that won the CIF title, while concluding his third year as a professional player in the Independent League.  Before working for Polytechnic, Wagner had two years of collegiate coaching experience at California Miramar University in San Diego, while simultaneously playing professionally. He helped Cal Miramar to the 2017 NCBA Division 2 West Region title in his second year with the Fighting Falcons.  Wagner was a collegiate baseball player for four years, playing two years at Cal Poly Pomona in 2012 and 2013, before transferring to Holy Names University in Oakland in 2014 and 2015, where he started 81 of 87 games over two years. He was an NCAA Division II Athletic Directors Association Academic Achievement Award winner as a senior.  Originally from Glendora, California, Wagner was a player on the 2010 Glendora High School CIF Championship team and earned All-Sierra League Honorable Mention honors. He was also a two-time Sierra League All-Academic honoree.