Thomas, UTA Agree To 4-Year Contract Extension To Remain Baseball’s Head Coach
6/16/2019 5:00:00 PM | Baseball
ARLINGTON, Texas – Coming off a year in which the UT Arlington baseball team exceeded preseason expectations, head coach Darin Thomas has agreed to a four-year contract extension to remain at the helm of the Mavericks into the next decade.
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"We're excited to have Coach Thomas remain the leader of our program," said Director of Athletics Jim Baker. "He has consistently produced a winning team on the field, has had players drafted to pursue professional playing careers every year he's been our head coach and has placed an emphasis on student-athlete success in the classroom. That was highlighted once again by the baseball team earning the Academic Achievement Award this spring for the highest two-semester cumulative GPA (3.2) of any men's team in the department."
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The second-winningest coach in program history, Thomas – who has been at the helm of the program since 2008, but served as an assistant coach from 2001-07 – has guided UTA to 30+ wins in three of the last four seasons. This past year the Mavs posted a 32-26 overall record, marking the 25th time in program history that UTA has won 30+ games. He also led the Mavs to back-to-back conference championships and an NCAA appearance earlier this decade.
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"I would like to thank President Karbhari and AD Jim Baker for the opportunity to continue to lead this program," said Thomas. "I'm excited about the future of UTA Baseball and I am ready to help this program continue to strive for championships in the Sun Belt Conference."
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The Mavs, who went into the final weekend of Sun Belt Conference play this spring with a shot to take the West Division Regular Season Championship after being predicted to finish 4th returning just three starters from 2018, finished league play with a 17-12 record. The Mavs went on to defeat Sun Belt Tournament host and eventual SBC Champion Coastal Carolina in game one, before falling to ULM and the Chants to end the season.
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This past season UTA also defeated a pair of ranked opponents (#17 Baylor, #19 TCU), picked up the 1,400th win in program history (Mar. 30; 9-7 win over South Alabama), secured Thomas' 350th career win (May 22; 9-8 (10 inn.) win over Coastal Carolina) and had the 64th player in program history selected in the MLB Draft, as senior right-hander Andrew Gross was taken by the Tampa Bay Rays in the 39th round with the 1,178th overall pick. It represented the 11th-straight year UTA has had at least one player drafted.
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In addition, out of the 10 UTA players who have played in the Major Leagues, Thomas has coached seven: Daniel Ortmeier (2000-02), Ryan Roberts (2002-03), Mark Lowe (2002 & 2004), Hunter Pence (2003-04), Adam Moore (2006), Dillon Gee (2005-07) and Michael Choice (2008-10).
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Thomas arrived at UTA following nine years as an assistant coach at Seward County Community College, where he assisted National Junior College Athletic Association Hall of Fame Coach Galen McSpadden.
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FOLLOW THE MAVS
For the latest news on UTA Baseball, log on to UTAMavs.com or stay connected to the Mavs on social media. Follow the Mavericks on Twitter @UTAMavsBSB.
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"We're excited to have Coach Thomas remain the leader of our program," said Director of Athletics Jim Baker. "He has consistently produced a winning team on the field, has had players drafted to pursue professional playing careers every year he's been our head coach and has placed an emphasis on student-athlete success in the classroom. That was highlighted once again by the baseball team earning the Academic Achievement Award this spring for the highest two-semester cumulative GPA (3.2) of any men's team in the department."
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The second-winningest coach in program history, Thomas – who has been at the helm of the program since 2008, but served as an assistant coach from 2001-07 – has guided UTA to 30+ wins in three of the last four seasons. This past year the Mavs posted a 32-26 overall record, marking the 25th time in program history that UTA has won 30+ games. He also led the Mavs to back-to-back conference championships and an NCAA appearance earlier this decade.
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"I would like to thank President Karbhari and AD Jim Baker for the opportunity to continue to lead this program," said Thomas. "I'm excited about the future of UTA Baseball and I am ready to help this program continue to strive for championships in the Sun Belt Conference."
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The Mavs, who went into the final weekend of Sun Belt Conference play this spring with a shot to take the West Division Regular Season Championship after being predicted to finish 4th returning just three starters from 2018, finished league play with a 17-12 record. The Mavs went on to defeat Sun Belt Tournament host and eventual SBC Champion Coastal Carolina in game one, before falling to ULM and the Chants to end the season.
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This past season UTA also defeated a pair of ranked opponents (#17 Baylor, #19 TCU), picked up the 1,400th win in program history (Mar. 30; 9-7 win over South Alabama), secured Thomas' 350th career win (May 22; 9-8 (10 inn.) win over Coastal Carolina) and had the 64th player in program history selected in the MLB Draft, as senior right-hander Andrew Gross was taken by the Tampa Bay Rays in the 39th round with the 1,178th overall pick. It represented the 11th-straight year UTA has had at least one player drafted.
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In addition, out of the 10 UTA players who have played in the Major Leagues, Thomas has coached seven: Daniel Ortmeier (2000-02), Ryan Roberts (2002-03), Mark Lowe (2002 & 2004), Hunter Pence (2003-04), Adam Moore (2006), Dillon Gee (2005-07) and Michael Choice (2008-10).
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Thomas arrived at UTA following nine years as an assistant coach at Seward County Community College, where he assisted National Junior College Athletic Association Hall of Fame Coach Galen McSpadden.
Â
FOLLOW THE MAVS
For the latest news on UTA Baseball, log on to UTAMavs.com or stay connected to the Mavs on social media. Follow the Mavericks on Twitter @UTAMavsBSB.
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Players Mentioned
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