Longtime Rice Baseball Coach Wayne Graham Dead at 88

Source: Rice coach Wayne Graham stands in the Rice baseball offices surrounded by a shelves full of trophies including the 2003 College World Series trophy, Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2014. (Karen Warren/Houston Chronicle via Getty Images)

HOUSTON — Legendary Texas baseball and longtime Rice University coach Wayne Graham died Tuesday at the age of 88, according to the Houston Chronicle. Graham served as the head coach of the Rice Owls from 1992 to 2018.

Graham coached the Owls for 26 seasons, with his crowning achievement winning the 2003 College World Series Championship. It was the first National Championship in any sport for the university. Prior to his tenure at Rice, the baseball program had seven winning seasons to its name over 78 years of Southwest Conference play.

Rice hadn’t made a NCAA Division I tournament prior to Graham taking over the program. By the time he left, he’d led the Owls to 20 consecutive regular season or tournament conference championships between 1996 and 2015, 23 consecutive tournament appearances between 1995 and 2017 and seven College World Series between 1997 and 2008. His only losing season as a high school and college coach occurred in 2018.

Prior to his time at Rice, he turned San Jacinto College‘s baseball program into a powerhouse as well, capturing five NJCAA World Series championships. He also spent a combined 10 seasons coaching at Scarborough High School and Spring Branch High School.

Graham also had a brief stint as a professional baseball player in the MLB, playing third base for the 1963 Philadelphia Phillies and 1964 New York Mets over 30 games.

He finished his coaching career with a 1,173-528-2 record, a 2012 College Baseball Hall of Fame induction, the 1999 Baseball America Coach of the Year award and a 10-time conference Coach of the Year.

Longtime Rice Baseball Coach Wayne Graham Dead at 88  was originally published on houstonseagle.com