Southwestern Oklahoma State University Men's Baseball

Saunders is in his sixth season as the head coach of the Southwestern Oklahoma State University Baseball team, with a record of 136-102 heading into the 2017 season.   A two-time Great American Conference Coach of the Year, Saunders led the Bulldog Baseball team to new heights in 2016. SWOSU claimed the 2016 GAC Regular Season Championship, the programs first conference championship of the NCAA era, and the Bulldogs were selected to the NCAA Central Regional Championship for the first programs first NCAA postseason berth. SWOSU finished the 2016 season with a record of 34-17, which also established a new school record for wins in the NCAA era.   Saunders, who earned his 100th victory at SWOSU on April 24, 2015 against Northwestern Oklahoma State, has led the Bulldogs to two 30-win seasons and his teams have posted a winning record and advanced to the GAC Tournament four times. He has tutored 24 players who have earned All-Great American Conference status including a record eight players in 2016 and four players who have earned all-region status. Additionally, Saunders has mentored two CoSIDA Academic All-Americans, one Central Region Gold Glove winner and one Major League Baseball draft pick.   The 2016 season saw SWOSU win the programs first conference championship since 1992 as the Bulldogs won the Great American Conference regular season crown with a 22-8 league record. SWOSU was then selected to the NCAA Central Regional, where they went 1-2 and earned the programs first-ever NCAA postseason victory with a 6-3 win over No. 20-ranked Minnesota-Duluth.   At the conclusion of the season, the Bulldogs earned several postseason accolades, including Saunders being named the GAC Coach of the Year for the second time in his career. SWOSU had a record four players named First Team All-GAC in pitcher Jon Chidester, outfielders Korbin Polston and Jacob Spring and designated hitter Zach Barton, while Gunnar Cook and Tanner Dearman were second team selections and Quintin Dougherty and CJ Faddis earned honorable mention. Chidester, Spring and Polston all earned All-Central Region honors, while Polston and Barton were both Second Team CoSIDA Academic All-Americans.   The Bulldogs suffered their first non-winning season under Saunders as they struggled to a 19-27 record, including a 12-18 mark in GAC play in 2015. Despite missing the conference tournament for the first time, the Bulldogs had two players earn all-conference recognition, including starting pitcher Jon Chidester, a first team selection after becoming the first player in league history to be named Pitcher of the Week three times in one season.   His 2014 squad finished with a winning record at 25-23 and entered the GAC Tournament as the fifth seed after tying with Harding for fourth place in the standings. SWOSU was led by senior pitcher Jonathan Johnson, who ranked among the national leaders in complete games and earned second team All-GAC honors after finishing 6-6 with a 2.53 ERA. Johnson was joined on the second team by shortstop Dalton Daniels, who was also named to the Rawlings/American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) Central Region Gold Glove team.   The 2013 edition of SWOSU baseball had one of the most successful seasons for the program as an NCAA Division II member. The Bulldogs completed the season with a 31-16 record and placed second in the Great American Conference with a 21-9 conference record. Saunders was rewarded by being named the 2013 GAC Coach of the Year the first such award of his career as SWOSU remained in contention for their first NCAA Division II postseason bid until the final week of the season.   Starting pitcher Shane Martin and utility player Kevin Cantrell earned All-GAC first team honors at the conclusion of the 2013 season while Calyn Young was a second team choice. Martins accolades continued as he was selected to three All-Central Region teams before being a ninth-round selection of the Philadelphia Phillies in the 2013 MLB Draft.   Saunders first squad at SWOSU finished 27-19 (14-10 GAC) and claimed third place in the Great American Conference standings. The Bulldogs had four players earn All-GAC honors, led by first teamers Andre Yates (second base) and Jeremy Soliday (third base).   SWOSU handed the controls of the Bulldog baseball program to Saunders prior to the 2012 season, after he spent six seasons as the Bulldogs lead assistant.   In 2011, Saunders helped the Bulldogs to a 33-18 record and an appearance in the Lone Star Conference post-season tournament. SWOSU achieved several firsts during the year, including a ranking in the NCAA Division II National Top 25 poll, a victory in the LSC Tournament and defeating top-ranked Emporia State.   Saunders played collegiately at Kansas State University where he was a two-year starter before joining former SWOSU coach Charles Teasleys staff in 2005. A 1999 graduate of Muskogee High School, Saunders began playing collegiately at Connors State and was a member of two nationally-ranked junior college teams with the Cowboys. A native of Muskogee, Okla., Saunders earned his bachelor's degree in Social Science from Kansas State University in 2004 before completing a master's degree in Kinesiology from SWOSU in 2008. He and his wife Elissa (Clayton) reside in Weatherford with their son Isaiah and daughter Olivia.   Saunders Year-by-Year   THE SAUNDERS FILE   Coaching Career: 2012-Present: Southwestern Oklahoma State (Head Baseball Coach)    Record: 136-102 (.571)   2005-11: SWOSU (Assistant Baseball Coach)   Playing Career: Kansas State (2003-04) Connors State (2001-02)   Education: Kansas State University    Bachelors of Social Science, 2004 Southwestern Oklahoma State University    Masters of Kinesiology, 2008 

JR Head enters his third season as head coach of the SWOSU Baseball program in 2027 after being named the eighth head coach in program history and fifth of the NCAA era on May 23, 2024. Through his first two seasons as head coach, Head has continued to build one of the Great American Conference's top offensive teams while producing seven All-GAC selections. SWOSU ranked fourth in the GAC with a .304 team batting average in his debut season in 2025 before climbing to second in the league at .322 in 2026. The Bulldogs also struck out fewer times than any team in the conference in 2026. SWOSU has also been among the GAC's top defensive teams during Head's tenure, committing the second-fewest errors in the conference in each of his first two seasons. Five Bulldogs earned All-GAC honors in 2026, highlighted by First Team selection Landon Meyer, who led the conference in runs scored before earning First Team All-Region recognition. Second Team All-GAC selection Kotaro Wakui led the league in doubles. Meyer was also named SWOSU's Male Athlete of the Year, giving Head's program the award in consecutive years. In Head's first season at the helm in 2025, SWOSU produced two First Team All-GAC selections. Bodi Wallar was a unanimous First Team selection at designated hitter after batting .395, the second-highest average in the GAC, and was named SWOSU's Male Athlete of the Year. Head was elevated to head coach following 10 seasons as an assistant with the Bulldogs. He began as a volunteer assistant in the fall of 2014, served as a graduate assistant from 2016-19 and remained as the program's lead assistant from 2019-24. Working extensively with the offense, Head helped SWOSU finish among the GAC's top three in team batting average four times over his final six seasons as an assistant. His assistant coaching tenure included SWOSU's historic 2016 season when the Bulldogs won the GAC regular-season championship, advanced to the NCAA Division II Central Region Championships and won an NCAA-era record 34 games. Head also helped tutor outfielder Alex Bedard to the program's first GAC Player of the Year award in 2021. Bedard went on to earn All-America honors and was one of two All-Americans Head coached as a Bulldog assistant. Head's ties to SWOSU began as a student-athlete from 2013-14, when he started 74 games in center field. He helped the Bulldogs reach back-to-back conference tournaments, including a second-place GAC finish in 2013, and earned Honorable Mention All-GAC honors as a senior. Head was also a two-time GAC All-Academic Team selection. Prior to SWOSU, Head played two seasons at Northern Oklahoma College-Enid, where he earned All-Region and All-America honors in 2012 and was a two-time National Gold Glove recipient. A native of Midwest City, Oklahoma, Head earned his bachelor's degree in Parks & Recreation Management from SWOSU in 2014 and master's degree in Sports Management in 2018. He is married to Chelsea (Bates) Head, a former member of the Lady Bulldog Basketball program. The couple resides in Weatherford with their daughter, Halle and son, Houston.   The Head File   Coaching Career 2024-present: SWOSU (head coach) 2019-24: SWOSU (assistant coach) 2016-19: SWOSU (graduate assistant coach) 2014-16: SWOSU (volunteer assistant coach) 2014: Weatherford Eagles Prep Summer Team (head coach)   Playing Career 2013-14: SWOSU       Honorable Mention All-GAC       2x Academic All-Conference   2011-12: NOC-Enid       2x Gold Glove winner       2012 NJCAA All-Region       2012 NJCAA All-American   Education Southwestern Oklahoma State University       M.Ed, 2018       B.S., 2014 Northern Oklahoma College-Enid       A.A., 2012