Bobby Garza is entering his fifth season (2022) as head baseball coach at Texas Wesleyan. He served the previous four seasons as an assistant coach before taking over as interim head coach for the final 39 games of the 2018 season.
In his first four seasons, Garza has compiled a record of 116-58 (.66) while leading the team to an NAIA National Tournament Opening Round appearance in 2019. He has coached a pair of All-Americans including 2018 NAIA Player of the Year Kiki Menendez as well as 20 All-Conference players and seven NAIA Scholar-Athletes.
Last season, (2021) Garza led the Rams to an overall record of 27-16 while still navigating the landscape of college athletics during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Rams posted a sparkling 15-6 record in Sooner Athletic Conference play to finish third in the SAC standings. The team featured six All-Conference selections led by 1st-team recipients, Greyson Barrett, Kaden Brown, Jalen Evans and Nelson Vera. Morgan McCloud and Jose Sosa were named 2nd-team All-SAC. Brown (SS) and Brayden Bahnsen (CF) received SAC Gold Glove awards. Nine Rams were named Academic All-Conference while Ellis Boyer, Craig Mattes and Sosa were named SAC Scholar-Athletes.
In his first full season at the helm (2019), the Texas native led the team to an NAIA National Tournament Opening Round bid and one of the program's most successful seasons in school history with 46 wins, the third highest total in program history. The team also shattered the single season strikeouts record with 521, 100 more than the previous record set in 2013. Parker Robinson was named 2nd-team NAIA All-American after going 6-1 with a 2.12 ERA and 81 strikeouts in 63.2 innings of work. Five Rams were named All-SAC while Robinson, Mark Schreiner and Brooks Wallace were all named NAIA Scholar-Athlete.
While serving as interim head coach for the bulk of the 2018 season, Garza guided the Rams to an historically impressive offensive season with a .345 AVG, 71 HR's and 384 RBI. That effort was paced by NAIA Player of the Year, SABR Metroplex College Player of the Year, and SAC Player of the Year Kiki Menendez who led the nation with a school record 26 home runs. Menendez also set school records with a .466 batting average (3rd NAIA), a .995 slugging percentage (1st NAIA), 89 hits and 190 total bases (1st NAIA). His 84 RBI (T2nd NAIA), was seven shy of the school record of 91. He also had a school-record 21-game hitting streak.
Since joining the program in 2014, Garza has led the team to three NAIA National Tournament Opening Round appearances going 4-6 (2-2 as a head coach) in those games. During his tenure, the program has seen 2 NAIA All-Americans, 11 NAIA Scholar-Athletes and 40 All-Conference selections.
In his entire coaching career, eighteen of his players have gone on to play professional baseball.
Garza had an extensive and successful coaching career prior to joining the Texas Wesleyan program. He served as Assistant Head Baseball Coach and Recruiting Coordinator for eight seasons at Northwood University, and prior to that coached at Dallas Baptist University and First Baptist Academy High School in Dallas.
At Northwood he helped recruit and develop 40 All-Conference players, five Conference Players of the Year, and seven All-Americans.
In 2013, he helped lead the Knights to the Avista NAIA World Series in Lewiston, ID, and a No. 3 national ranking. The Knights also won a pair of Red River Athletic Conference Championships during his tenure.
Garza, a catcher and product of Texas City High School, played at Dallas Baptist University. He also played baseball and football at Tyler Junior College.
Garza and his wife, Stephanie, reside in Cedar Hill.
Garza at Texas Wesleyan
2021: 27-16 (15-6 SAC)
Garza led the Rams to an overall record of 27-16 while still navigating the landscape of college athletics during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Rams posted a sparkling 15-6 record in Sooner Athletic Conference play to finish third in the SAC standings. The team featured six All-Conference selections led by 1st-team recipients, Greyson Barrett, Kaden Brown, Jalen Evans and Nelson Vera. Morgan McCloud and Jose Sosa were named 2nd-team All-SAC. Brown (SS) and Brayden Bahnsen (CF) received SAC Gold Glove awards. Nine Rams were named Academic All-Conference while Ellis Boyer, Craig Mattes and Sosa were named SAC Scholar-Athletes.
2020: 18-12 (5-3 SAC)
The 2020 season will forever be remembered across the sports landscape as a year of what might have been. The Rams held an overall record of 18-12 and a 5-3 mark in Sooner Athletic Conference play when the COVID-19 pandemic cut the season short. The Rams had taken an SAC series from Southwestern Christian, won the opener of a series against then 10th ranked Oklahoma City, and had just taken a doubleheader from Mid-America Christian on Thursday March 12 before the season was halted on Friday. The team was ranked 17th in the Preseason NAIA Coaches' Poll and received votes in the first regular season poll released on March 10. Gabriel Sequeira, Tanner Amaral, Michael Higgins and Jesse Ramirez were named All-SAC. Sequeira was 6-0 with a 2.11 ERA and an NAIA best 82 strikeouts in eight appearances. His 82 strikeouts led the NAIA by a margin of 13 over Columbia's Chris Wall. Amaral batted .405 and received the conference's gold glove at catcher. Higgins blasted 10 home runs, ranking 12th in the NAIA. Ramirez went 5-1 with a 1.77 ERA that ranked fourth in the SAC. Eleven Rams were named Academic All-SAC and five were named SAC Scholar-Athletes.
2019: 46-16 (20-7 SAC)
In his first full season at the helm (2019), Garza led the team to an NAIA National Tournament Opening Round bid and one of the program's most successful seasons in school history with 46 wins, the third highest total in program history. The team also shattered the single season strikeouts record with 521, 100 strikeouts over the previous record set in 2013. Parker Robinson was named 2nd-team NAIA All-American after going 6-1 with a 2.12 ERA and 81 strikeouts in 63.2 innings of work. Five Rams were named All-SAC while Robinson, Mark Schreiner and Brooks Wallace were all named NAIA Scholar-Athlete.
2018: 25-14 (13-8 SAC) *Garza coached the final 39 games of the season
Garza took over as Interim Head Coach on March 3, and led the Rams to a final season record of 36-16. The team featured NAIA Player of the Year, SABR Metroplex College Player of the Year, and SAC Player of the Year Kiki Menendez who led the nation with a school record 26 home runs. Menendez also set school records with a .466 batting average (3rd NAIA), a .995 slugging percentage (1st NAIA), 89 hits and 190 total bases (1st NAIA). His 84 RBI (T2nd NAIA), was seven shy of the school record of 91. He also had a school-record 21-game hitting streak. Five Rams were named All-SAC, while Julio Ibara and Tres Underwood received NAIA Scholar-Athlete recognition.
