The 2015-16 Texas baseball campaign ended over this past weekend, which also ended the era of Augie Garrido as the Longhorns head coach.
It was announced on Monday that Garrido would be stepping down as head coach and accepting the Special Assistant to the Athletics Director position. Garrido’s contract extension that he signed in the summer of 2014 would have been up after the 2017 season.
This season, the baseball team ended with a 25-32 overall record and a 10-14 conference record. The Longhorns made a run in the Big 12 tournament after losing in the opening round but came up short against TCU in the semifinals. Texas actually forced a game two in the semifinals after beating the undefeated Horned Frogs in the first game. TCU went on to beat West Virginia for the Big 12 tournament title.
Garrido coached for 48 years, including 20 years at the University of Texas. He leaves the head coach position holding the record for college baseball’s all-time wins – 1,975 victories. The Fresno State graduate has won five national titles – the first baseball coach to win national titles with two different schools, Cal State Fullerton and Texas. Under Garrido, Texas won two national titles – the first one in 2002 and again in 2005, marking six total national titles for the Longhorns’ baseball team.
Texas baseball struggled this year, dropping four out of its eight conference series, including getting swept twice – against Oklahoma State and West Virginia. Once conference play started, the Longhorns only won three out of its seven non-conference Tuesday night games. Texas recorded its first losing season since 1998.
Garrido’s head coaching job with Texas comes to an end with an 824-427-2 record. Besides two national championships, Garrido led Texas to seven Big 12 conference championships and five Big 12 tournament titles. The Longhorns finished as the runner-up in the College World Series twice under Garrido and two third place finishes as well. In 2004 – a runner-up year for the Longhorns – Garrido won 58 games; the most in a single season during his career at Texas. He earned at least 50 wins six times during his entire 20-year stint.
The California native played at Fresno State, appearing in the 1959 College World Series. Garrido is one of 11 to play and coach in the College World Series. After graduating from Fresno State in 1961, Garrido played six seasons in the Cleveland Indians minors. He retired in 1966 to start his coaching career, which began at Sierra High School in California. Garrirdo’s collegiate coaching career started three years later at San Francisco State. Texas hired Garrido in 1996 from Cal State Fullerton, marking the Texas baseball team’s fourth head coach since 1911.
Garrido coached a total of 129 college players who went on to play professionally, including 102 Longhorns. He has produced 15 first-round picks, including Huston Street, the 2005 American League Rookie of the Year, who was drafted No. 40.
Garrido finishes his head-coaching career with Texas after earning the Ellis Island Medal of Honor from the National Ethnic Coalition of Organizations in May and will be inducted into the National College Baseball Hall of Fame in July.
