New Mexico Highlands University Men's Baseball

Hunt embarks on his second season in charge of the New Mexico Highlands baseball program. In his first season in 2015, the Cowboys finished 21-25 overall and 15-21 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference. For their successes in the classroom, Nick Gonzales, Andrew Ratterman and Morgan McCasland were named First Team Academic All-Conference while Matthew Chavez was named the RMAC Academic Baseball Playern of the Year. Chavez repreated as CoSIDA Academic All-America First Team while Ratterman was selected to the third team. In the field, Omar Garcia and Chavez received All-Conference nods while the duo also received numeorus All-Region honors.   Hunt was currently in his second stint and third season with Highlands, and was serving as the Associate Head Baseball coach in both the 2005 and 2014 seasons.    Hunt also served as the associate head coach and served as the team's hitting coach for Highlands during the 2005 season. That year, the Cowboys finished 38-18 had a team batting average of .368, with .558 slugging percentage and .449 on base percentage; .960 fielding percentage in first 54 games. The Cowboys were the 2005 RMAC Tournament Champions, and received a bid to the NCAA Regional Tournament.   Hunt, who is in his 24th year of coaching, began his time as a player/coach for the Reno Silver Sox Baseball Club in the California League in 1991. Besides associate head coaching positions at Edmonds CC (1993), Butte College (1994-96) and Shasta College (2001-04), he served as an associate scout/coach for the San Francisco Giants from 1992-2004.   After his year stint with the Cowboys, he was the head coach at El Paso CC from 2005-2009 and had a record of 112-110-2. During his time in Texas, his teams posted strong offensive numbers, in 2008 Hunt's club put up some impressive totals: Conference/Overall: .384/.358, Slugging: .673/.589, On Base Pct: .460/.437. His El Paso club earned a NJCAA Division 1 Region V playoff berth that year.  He also served as both the pitching/hitting coach and assistant field manager for the Yuma Scorpions of the Golden Baseball League in the summers of 2007 and 2008, in which his 2007 club finished second in the GBL in Batting and third in ERA.   Before rejoining Highlands coaching staff, he served as the hitting coach for the Traverse City Beach Bums from 2010-2013. As the hitting coach, he oversaw one of the most productive offenses in the Frontier League. In his first three years in Traverse City, the Beach Bums have had 12 Offensive All-Stars, posted 9 franchise records and had 31 appearances in the Top-3 of the league leaderboards at the end of the respective seasons. In 2010 Hunt helped lead Traverse City (59-45)to its first Frontier League Championship series against the River City Rascals, during his 4 seasons in Traverse City the club made the playoffs in three of four seasons.  2012 saw the Hunt's biggest offensive year with the Beachbums in which his hitters helped propel the team to a (64-32) best record in the regular season.   Overall during Hunt's time with Traverse City he helped manager Gregg Langbehn guide the team to a 183-134 record.   His collegiate playing career began in 1985 as a utility player at DeAnza CC in Cupertino Ca. He also played collegiately at Butte College (1986-87) and NAIA power house Lewis Clark State College (1987-89). While at Butte, he helped the Roadrunners to a California JUCO state championship appearance. While playing at Lewis Clark State, under Hall of Fame Coach Ed Cheff the warriors were NAIA National Champions Hunt's seasons of 1988 and 1989. In 1990, he played in minor league baseball as a catcher and utility player for the Bend Bucks of the San Francisco Giants organization.   Hunt received his Bachelor's degree in 1994 in physical education, exercise physiology and kinematics from Cal State University-Chico. He also received his Master's degree from the same institution in physical education with an emphasis in biomechanical analysis in 2001.   Shannon is married to Dawn and they have one son, Willem. Named Head Baseball Coach at New Mexico Highlands in November 2014,  Shannon Hunt  embarks on his second season in charge of the New Mexico Highlands baseball program. In his first season in 2015, the Cowboys finished 21-25 overall and 15-21 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference. For their successes in the classroom,  Nick Gonzales ,  Andrew Ratterman  and  Morgan McCasland  were named First Team Academic All-Conference while  Matthew Chavez  was named the RMAC Academic Baseball Playern of the Year. Chavez repreated as CoSIDA Academic All-America First Team while Ratterman was selected to the third team. In the field,  Omar  Garcia  and Chavez received All-Conference nods while the duo also received numeorus All-Region honors.   Hunt was currently in his second stint and third season with Highlands, and was serving as the Associate Head Baseball coach in both the 2005 and 2014 seasons.    Hunt also served as the associate head coach and served as the team's hitting coach for Highlands during the 2005 season. That year, the Cowboys finished 38-18 had a team batting average of .368, with .558 slugging percentage and .449 on base percentage; .960 fielding percentage in first 54 games. The Cowboys were the 2005 RMAC Tournament Champions, and received a bid to the NCAA Regional Tournament.   Hunt, who is in his 24th year of coaching, began his time as a player/coach for the Reno Silver Sox Baseball Club in the California League in 1991. Besides associate head coaching positions at Edmonds CC (1993), Butte College (1994-96) and Shasta College (2001-04), he served as an associate scout/coach for the San Francisco Giants from 1992-2004.   After his year stint with the Cowboys, he was the head coach at El Paso CC from 2005-2009 and had a record of 112-110-2. During his time in Texas, his teams posted strong offensive numbers, in 2008 Hunt's club put up some impressive totals: Conference/Overall: .384/.358, Slugging: .673/.589, On Base Pct: .460/.437. His El Paso club earned a NJCAA Division 1 Region V playoff berth that year.  He also served as both the pitching/hitting coach and assistant field manager for the Yuma Scorpions of the Golden Baseball League in the summers of 2007 and 2008, in which his 2007 club finished second in the GBL in Batting and third in ERA.   Before rejoining Highlands coaching staff, he served as the hitting coach for the Traverse City Beach Bums from 2010-2013. As the hitting coach, he oversaw one of the most productive offenses in the Frontier League. In his first three years in Traverse City, the Beach Bums have had 12 Offensive All-Stars, posted 9 franchise records and had 31 appearances in the Top-3 of the league leaderboards at the end of the respective seasons. In 2010 Hunt helped lead Traverse City (59-45)to its first Frontier League Championship series against the River City Rascals, during his 4 seasons in Traverse City the club made the playoffs in three of four seasons.  2012 saw the Hunt's biggest offensive year with the Beachbums in which his hitters helped propel the team to a (64-32) best record in the regular season.   Overall during Hunt's time with Traverse City he helped manager Gregg Langbehn guide the team to a 183-134 record.   His collegiate playing career began in 1985 as a utility player at DeAnza CC in Cupertino Ca. He also played collegiately at Butte College (1986-87) and NAIA power house Lewis Clark State College (1987-89). While at Butte, he helped the Roadrunners to a California JUCO state championship appearance. While playing at Lewis Clark State, under Hall of Fame Coach Ed Cheff the warriors were NAIA National Champions Hunt's seasons of 1988 and 1989. In 1990, he played in minor league baseball as a catcher and utility player for the Bend Bucks of the San Francisco Giants organization.   Hunt received his Bachelor's degree in 1994 in physical education, exercise physiology and kinematics from Cal State University-Chico. He also received his Master's degree from the same institution in physical education with an emphasis in biomechanical analysis in 2001.   Shannon is married to Dawn and they have one son, Willem.

New Mexico Highlands University named Steve Jones its head baseball coach, marking a return to the program for Coach Jones, on June 19, 2025. He led the Highlands baseball squad for 17 years and was inducted into the H-Club Hall of Honor in 2019. Jones's NMHU teams qualified for the RMAC conference tournament 15 times and qualified for NCAA Division 2 Regionals six times, hosting the NCAA Central Regional in 2010. Jones's NMHU teams won two RMAC conference championships and three RMAC conference tournament championships. His teams reached the finals of the RMAC conference tournament championship game six times. "Every time I visit Las Vegas, it feels like it is home. It's a dream come true to return to NMHU and lead our program again, Coach Jones said. "My heart has always been in Las Vegas and New Mexico Highlands University, and I'm ecstatic to have the opportunity to return. I want to thank the administration – President Woolf and Athletic Director Scott Noble. I appreciate that they recognize our achievements at NMHU and I look forward to pursuing those again." Consistency has been the theme of Coach Jones's career, averaging over 30 wins per year in 26 years as a head coach at the Division 2 and NAIA levels. Jones has an overall record of 806 wins and 583 losses, ranking him 14th amongst active NAIA Head Coaches. His teams have qualified for the postseason in 24 of 26 years. NMHU Athletic Director Scott Noble said, "The Athletic Department is extremely excited to see the return of Coach Jones to Cowboy Country. His success both on and off the field speaks for itself, and I have no doubt that Coach Jones will continue his winning ways at NMHU." Jones spent this previous spring as an assistant coach at LSU Shreveport and was a part of a collegiate record-breaking 59-0 season and an NAIA National Championship. Previously, as the Head Baseball Coach at Texas A&M University-Texarkana, his teams won 256 games over a nine-year span. The Eagles qualified for the postseason each year. In the Eagles' inaugural season, they posted a record of 33 wins and 20 losses with trips to the Association of Independent Institutions Conference Tournament and the opening round of the NAIA National Tournament.

Scott Waterman was named head men's basketball coach at New Mexico Highlands University in June 2026. Waterman arrived at Highlands after serving as Special Assistant to the Head Coach at the University of New Mexico during the 2025-26 season. He helped guide the Lobos to a 26-win campaign, a berth in the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) semifinals, and a school-record 3,004 points scored. Prior to joining the New Mexico staff, Waterman spent six seasons as head coach at Academy of Art University in San Francisco, where he became the program's all-time winningest coach and established the Urban Knights as one of the premier NCAA Division II programs in the West Region. During his tenure at Academy of Art, Waterman compiled a 96-71 overall record and guided the program to four consecutive seasons of at least 20 victories. He led the Urban Knights to the 2022 Pacific West Conference Tournament Championship, the program's first two NCAA Division II Tournament appearances, and the 2024 PacWest regular season championship. Waterman was named Pacific West Conference Coach of the Year twice, earning the honor in both 2021-22 and 2023-24. In 2023, he guided Academy of Art to the NCAA Division II Tournament Second Round and the program's first NCAA postseason victory in school history. Under Waterman's leadership, Academy of Art established numerous program records, including wins in a season, scoring average, steals, rebounds, scoring margin, and defensive statistics. His teams became known for their up-tempo style of play and defensive intensity, consistently ranking among conference leaders in scoring and steals. Before becoming head coach at Academy of Art, Waterman served as Associate Head Coach at Dominican University of California from 2017-19. During his time with the Penguins, he helped the program earn National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Team Academic Excellence honors while mentoring multiple All-PacWest performers. Waterman also gained Division I experience as Director of Basketball Operations at Dartmouth College during the 2016-17 season. Prior to Dartmouth, he spent three seasons as Associate Head Coach at Pomona-Pitzer Colleges, where he helped guide the Sagehens to national regional rankings and coached multiple All-SCIAC selections. From 2007-13, Waterman served on the staff at Cal State Fullerton, first as Director of Basketball Operations before spending five seasons as an assistant coach under Big West Coach of the Year Bob Burton. During his tenure, the Titans advanced to the NCAA Tournament and later earned a berth in the CollegeInsider.com Tournament (CIT). Waterman began his collegiate coaching career at Long Beach State, serving first as a graduate assistant before being elevated to assistant coach. He was part of the 49ers staff that captured the Big West Tournament championship and advanced to the NCAA Tournament in 2007. A native of Lake Forest, California, Waterman earned a bachelor's degree in kinesiology from Occidental College in 2002. A former team captain for the Tigers, he later earned a master's degree in kinesiology from Long Beach State in 2004. Waterman Coaching Experience 2026-present: Head Men's Basketball Coach, New Mexico Highlands University 2025-26: Special Assistant to the Head Coach, University of New Mexico 2019-25: Head Coach, Academy of Art University 2017-19: Associate Head Coach, Dominican University of California 2016-17: Director of Basketball Operations, Dartmouth College 2013-16: Associate Head Coach, Pomona-Pitzer Colleges 2008-13: Assistant Coach, Cal State Fullerton 2007-08: Director of Basketball Operations, Cal State Fullerton 2006-07: Assistant Coach, Long Beach State 2002-06: Graduate Assistant/Operations Roles, Long Beach State

Lindsay Fearing begins her second season as Assistant Head Women’s Basketball Coach at New Mexico Highlands in 2023-24, after helping lead the Cowgirls to a 14-14 finish in her first season in Las Vegas.  Fearing came to NMHU after four years as the Head Coach at Central Wyoming College from 2018-22 where she saw a number of her players move on to four year programs.  Prior to Central Wyoming, Fearing was an Assistant Coach at Gillette College from 2016-18. She began her coaching career at Lead-Deadwood High School in South Dakota. On November 9th, 2024, Fearing earned her first career win when her Cowgirls beat Western New Mexico 80-60 in Durango, Colorado.  She recorded her first Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference victory on December 7th, 2024, in a 74-73 overtime win over Colorado School of Mines. Her collegiate playing career began at Casper College where she helped her team to back to back Region IX Championships.  She then played a year at the University of Arizona before playing her final year at Black Hills State. Fearing earned her Bachelors of Science in Psychology with a Minor in Coaching from Black Hills State University and a Masters in Athletic Administration from Concordia University-Nebraska.