Wayne Leon Graham is a former major-league baseball player and the college baseball

College baseball

College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. Compared to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a less significant contribution to cultivating professional players, as the minor leagues primarily...

 coach

Coach (sport)

In sports, a coach is an individual involved in the direction, instruction and training of the operations of a sports team or of individual sportspeople.-Staff:...

 of the Rice Owls baseball

Rice Owls baseball

The Rice Owls baseball team is the interscholastic baseball team representing Rice University in Houston, Texas. The Rice Owls have been a regular fixture in the NCAA Tournament, participating in every tournament since 1995 including a victory in the 2003 College World Series, the first national...

 team in Houston, Texas

Texas

Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...

.

Playing career

Graham attended Reagan High School

Reagan High School (Houston)

John H. Reagan High SchoolPrincipal AdministratorConnie BergerFounded1927School typePublic school Religious affiliationNoneLocationHouston, Texas, United StatesEnrollment1,683 students...

 in Houston and played college baseball at the University of Texas

University of Texas at Austin

The University of Texas at Austin is a state research university located in Austin, Texas, USA, and is the flagship institution of the The University of Texas System. Founded in 1883, its campus is located approximately from the Texas State Capitol in Austin...

, where he played two seasons under coach Bibb Falk

Bibb Falk

Bibb August Falk was an American left fielder in Major League Baseball who played for the Chicago White Sox and Cleveland Indians ....

.

Graham then played 11 years as a professional with the Philadelphia Phillies

Philadelphia Phillies

The Philadelphia Phillies are a Major League Baseball team. They are the oldest continuous, one-name, one-city franchise in all of professional American sports, dating to 1883. The Phillies are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League...

 and New York Mets

New York Mets

The New York Mets are a professional baseball team based in the borough of Queens in New York City, New York. They belong to Major League Baseball's National League East Division. One of baseball's first expansion teams, the Mets were founded in 1962 to replace New York's departed National League...

 organizations, including brief major-league stints in 1963 and 1964. He was named Texas minor league player of the year in 1962 after hitting .311 for Dallas-Fort Worth. Graham was called up to the Phillies in 1963 and played in 10 games under manager Gene Mauch

Gene Mauch

Gene William Mauch was an American professional baseball player and manager. He played in Major League Baseball as a second baseman for the Brooklyn Dodgers , Pittsburgh Pirates , Chicago Cubs , Boston Braves , St...

. One year later, Graham appeared in 20 games for the Mets under legendary Casey Stengel

Casey Stengel

Charles Dillon "Casey" Stengel , nicknamed "The Old Perfessor", was an American Major League Baseball outfielder and manager. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in ....

.

High School

When his playing career ended, Graham returned to the University of Texas to earn a Bachelor of Science degree in physical education in 1970, and he later added a Master's Degree in education at the University of Houston

University of Houston

The University of Houston is a state research university, and is the flagship institution of the University of Houston System. Founded in 1927, it is Texas's third-largest university with nearly 40,000 students. Its campus spans 667 acres in southeast Houston, and was known as University of...

 in 1973.

His coaching career began at Scarborough High School

Scarborough High School (Texas)

George Cameron Scarborough High School is a secondary school located at 4141 Costa Rica in Houston, Texas, United States with a ZIP code of 77092...

 in Houston. Graham coached for nine seasons at Scarborough and one year at Spring Branch High School before moving on to coach junior college baseball at San Jacinto College

San Jacinto College

San Jacinto College is a community college in the Greater Houston area in the U.S. state of Texas. Established in 1961, San Jacinto College originally consisted of the areas of Channelview ISD, Deer Park ISD, Galena Park ISD, La Porte ISD, and Pasadena ISD. The College now also serves Sheldon ISD,...

 in Pasadena

Pasadena, Texas

Pasadena is a city in the U.S. state of Texas within the metropolitan area. It is the second-largest city in Harris County, 17th-largest in Texas, and 162nd largest in the United States. The area was founded in 1893 by John H. Burnett of Galveston....

, near Houston.

San Jac

Beginning in 1981, Graham turned San Jac into the nation's most dominant JUCO baseball team. After regular conference titles in Graham's first few seasons, the Gators became a dominant force in 1984 when they began a run of seven consecutive 50-win seasons and berths in the NJCAA World Series in Grand Junction

Grand Junction, Colorado

The City of Grand Junction is the largest city in western Colorado. It is a city with a council–manager government form that is the county seat and the most populous city of Mesa County, Colorado, United States. Grand Junction is situated west-southwest of the Colorado State Capitol in Denver. As...

, Colorado

Colorado

Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...

.

After losing in the 1984 championship game, San Jac won three consecutive titles from 1985-87. After falling short again in 1988, the Gators went back-to-back in 1989-90. Those five national titles in six years eventually led to Graham being named Junior College Coach of the Century by Collegiate Baseball.

In his 11 seasons at San Jac, Graham earned five national coach of the year awards and produced countless professional players, most notably Roger Clemens

Roger Clemens

William Roger Clemens , nicknamed "Rocket", is a former Major League Baseball pitcher who broke into the league with the Boston Red Sox, whose pitching staff he would help anchor for 12 years. Clemens won seven Cy Young Awards, more than any other pitcher. He played for four different teams over...

 and Andy Pettitte

Andy Pettitte

Andrew Eugene Pettitte is a retired American left-handed Major League Baseball starting pitcher.In his major league career, he played for the New York Yankees from 1995–2003. He then signed with the Houston Astros, and played for them from 2004 through 2006. In 2007, Pettitte rejoined the Yankees...

.

Rice

Graham took over at Rice in 1992. He inherited a program that had tallied only seven winning seasons in 78 years of Southwest Conference play, and had only finished above fourth place once. As at San Jac, he turned the program into a national powerhouse. A program that had never before qualified for the NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament

NCAA Division I Baseball Championship

The NCAA Division I Baseball Championship tournament is held each year from May through June and features 64 college baseball teams in the United States, culminating in the College World Series....

 has made 17 consecutive tournament appearances (1995–2011) and won 16 consecutive regular-season or tournament conference championships (1996–2011) in three different conferences (Southwest Conference, Western Athletic Conference

Western Athletic Conference

The Western Athletic Conference is an American collegiate athletic conference, which was formed on July 27, 1962, making it the sixth oldest of the 11 college athletic conferences currently participating in the NCAA's Division I FBS...

, Conference USA

Conference USA

Conference USA, officially abbreviated C-USA, is a college athletic conference whose member institutions are located within the Southern United States. The conference participates in the NCAA's Division I in all sports...

). Rice has also been to the College World Series

College World Series

The College World Series or CWS is an annual baseball tournament held in Omaha, Nebraska that is the culmination of the NCAA Division I Baseball Championship, which determines the NCAA Division I college baseball champion. The eight teams are split into two, four-team, double-elimination brackets,...

 seven times (1997, 1999, 2002, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2008). Graham's crowning achievement was the 2003 College World Series

2003 College World Series

The 2003 College World Series was held June 13 through June 23, 2003 in Omaha, Nebraska. Eight NCAA Division I college baseball teams met after having played their way through a 64-team bracket to play at historic Rosenblatt Stadium. In the first best-of-three championship series since 1948, Rice...

, in which Rice won its first national championship in any sport. Not one to rest on his laurels, Graham quipped during a post-game interview, "We want to do it again."

One year later, Graham once again presided over history, as three Rice pitchers were drafted in the first eight picks of the 2004 Major League Baseball Draft

2004 Major League Baseball Draft

The 2004 First-Year Player Draft, Major League Baseball's annual amateur draft, was held on June 7 and 8. It was conducted via conference call with representatives from each of the league's 30 teams...

, the only time three teammates have ever been selected in the first round.

Graham's Rice teams have produced first-round picks Jose Cruz, Jr.

José Cruz, Jr.

José Luis Cruz, Jr. is a retired Major League Baseball outfielder. Over his nine year playing career, Cruz played for eight different teams. Standing 6'0" tall and weighing 210 pounds, Cruz was a right-handed switch hitter...

 (1995), Matt Anderson

Matt Anderson

Matthew Jason Anderson is a Major League Baseball relief pitcher who is currently a free agent.-Early life and college career:...

 (1997), Lance Berkman

Lance Berkman

William Lance Berkman is an American professional baseball outfielder and right fielder with the St. Louis Cardinals of Major League Baseball....

 (1997), Bubba Crosby

Bubba Crosby

Richard Stephen "Bubba" Crosby is a former Major League Baseball outfielder who played with the Los Angeles Dodgers and the New York Yankees...

 (1998), Danny Driver (1999), Kenny Baugh (2001), Jon Skaggs (2001), David Aardsma

David Aardsma

David Allan Aardsma is an American professional baseball pitcher with the Seattle Mariners of Major League Baseball. He is the first player alphabetically in the list of all-time Major League Baseball players, having displaced Hank Aaron upon his MLB debut....

 (2003), Philip Humber

Philip Humber

Philip Gregory Humber is a Major League Baseball pitcher for the Chicago White Sox.-Early life:Humber attended Carthage High School in Carthage, Texas...

 (2004), Jeff Niemann

Jeff Niemann

Jeffrey Warren Niemann is a Major League Baseball starting pitcher for the Tampa Bay Rays.-College:...

 (2004), Wade Townsend

Wade Townsend

Wade Daniel Townsend is a Minor League Baseball pitcher who is currently a free agent. He was the Tampa Bay Rays' first-round draft pick out of Rice University in 2005, signing for a $1.5 million bonus...

 (2004, 2005) and Joe Savery

Joe Savery

Joseph Cain Savery is a pitcher for Philadelphia Phillies of Major League Baseball.-Amateur career:A 2004 graduate of Lamar High School, Savery was a 4 year starter and letterman for the Lamar Redskins under Jorge Garza. During his tenure at Lamar, he earned first team all-state and first team...

 (2007). Eight of those players have been pitchers, and Graham is known for developing players that went undrafted out of high school, such as Niemann and Townsend.

Graham was also largely responsible for Rice's on-campus baseball stadium, Reckling Park

Reckling Park

Reckling Park is the baseball stadium at Rice University in Houston, Texas, USA. It serves as the home field of the Rice Owls baseball team. The stadium was built on the site of Cameron Field, Rice's home from 1978-99, in time for the 2000 season...

, being built in 2000. The facility seats more than 5,000 fans and is one of the finest in the country.

Now in his 70s, Graham is one of the most quotable coaches in baseball. He won his 800th Division I game during the 2009 season and has more than 1,400 wins as a collegiate head coach. He has never had a losing season in 38 years as a high school or college coach.

Head Coaching Records

Year	Team	Record	Win %	Postseason
1981	San Jacinto	43-7	.860	Region XIV South champion
1982	San Jacinto	42-12	.777	Region XIV South champion
1983	San Jacinto	47-10	.824	Region XIV South champion
1984	San Jacinto	50-11	.819	Region XIV South champion NJCAA runner-up
1985	San Jacinto	54-7	.885	Region XIV South champion NJCAA champion
1986	San Jacinto	53-12	.815	Region XIV South champion NJCAA champion
1987	San Jacinto	52-9	.852	Region XIV South champion NJCAA champion
1988	San Jacinto	63-9	.875	Region XIV South champion NJCAA runner-up
1989	San Jacinto	61-10	.859	Region XIV South champion NJCAA champion
1990	San Jacinto	62-11	.850	Region XIV South champion NJCAA champion
1991	San Jacinto	47-15	.758	Region XIV South champion
1992	Rice	29-26	.527
1993	Rice	36-18	.667
1994	Rice	34-21	.618	SWC Tournament
1995	Rice	43-19	.694	SWC Tournament NCAA Regional
1996	Rice	42-23	.646	SWC Tournament champion NCAA Regional
1997	Rice	47-16	.746	WAC Tournament champion College World Series (T-7th)
1998	Rice	46-17	.731	WAC Tournament champion NCAA Regional
1999	Rice	59-15	.797	WAC Tournament champion College World Series (T-5th)
2000	Rice	43-23	.652	WAC co-champion NCAA Regional
2001	Rice	47-20	.701	WAC champion NCAA Super Regional
2002	Rice	52-14	.788	WAC champion College World Series (T-7th)
2003	Rice	58-12	.829	WAC champion NCAA Champion
2004	Rice	46-14	.767	WAC champion NCAA Regional
2005	Rice	45-19	.703	WAC champion NCAA Super Regional
2006	Rice	57-13	.833	C-USA Tournament champion College World Series (T-3rd)
2007	Rice	56-14	.800	C-USA Tournament champion College World Series (T-3rd)
2008	Rice	47-15	.758	C-USA Regular Season champion College World Series (T-7th)
2009	Rice	47-18	.723	C-USA Tournament champion NCAA Super Regional
2010	Rice	40-23	.635	C-USA Regular Season champion NCAA Regional
1981-91	San Jacinto	574-113	.836	5 NJCAA titles, 7 WS appearances
1992-2008	Rice	787-299	.725	1 NCAA title, 7 CWS appearances
Total	27 seasons	1,314-397	.768