Tigers name new baseball coach
ARKADELPHIA — Luke Howard has been named the new head baseball coach at Ouachita Baptist, the university announced Thursday.
Howard is leaving King University, a Division II school in Bristol, Tenn., and a member of Conference Carolinas, where he has been the associate head coach for the past seven years. The Tornado competes in a conference with three teams that were ranked in the final American Baseball Coaches Association Top 30 Poll.
“We are extremely excited about Coach Howard becoming our baseball coach and leading our program,” Ouachita Baptist Athletic Director David Sharp said. “His work ethic, character and experience recruiting quality student-athletes fits well with the vision we have for Ouachita baseball.”
Howard was a three-year letterman pitcher for the Purdue Boilermakers, completing his collegiate career lettering for Ohio University. He was a three-sport athlete in Springboro, Ohio, and he is a member of the Springboro High School Athletic Hall of Fame.
“First and foremost, I would like to thank God for this opportunity,” Howard said. “His guiding hand has been ever present during this entire process. Secondly, my wife, who has supported my coaching journey every step of the way and is the best mom to our two sons.”
Howard has had stints at the University of Cincinnati, Murray State University and was an assistant coach at Ouachita for three years. While the recruiting coordinator at Ouachita Baptist, he helped recruit four players who went on to sign professional contracts, including Davis Ward (St. Louis Cardinals) and Keegan Ghidotti (Baltimore Orioles).
“I have been blessed to work with coach Howard for the last seven years,” said Tornado head coach Blaine Brown. “Our program has seen unbelievable success because of his recruiting efforts and his development of players. He has a knack for getting the most out of his players.
“(He) is a tireless worker on the recruiting trail and his genuine personality shines throughout the process. His leadership of our players in
the classroom, on the field and in the community guided our efforts of maintaining a team cumulative GPA of over 3.0 for nine consecutive semesters, and our teams have won the Conference Sportsmanship Carolinas Award Baseball four of the last seven years.” Howard looks to do more than just lead the Tigers on the field. He said his vision includes teaching “young men how to succeed and prepare for the game of the life. “I will instill a culture of well-rounded young men,” he explained. “It is my goal that