Loren Hibbs (born May 17, 1961) is an American baseball coach and former player, most recently serving as the interim head baseball coach for Wichita State for the 2023 season.[1] He previously has served as the head baseball coach at Charlotte.
 Loren Hibbs (49) meets with the umpires and opposing coach at a game in 2010. | |
| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | May 17, 1961 Wellington, Kansas, U.S. |
| Alma mater | Wichita State University |
| Playing career | |
| 1982–1984 | Wichita State |
| 1984 | Everett Giants |
| Position(s) | Outfield |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1985–1992 | Wichita State (asst.) |
| 1993–2019 | Charlotte |
| 2023 | Wichita State (Interim HC) |
| Administrative career (AD unless noted) | |
| 2020-2022 | Wichita State (Dir. of Operations) |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 850–706–4 |
| Tournaments | NCAA: 3–10 |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| 2 Metro Conference Regular season Titles (1994, 1995) 4 Atlantic 10 Regular season Titles (2007, 2008, 2010, 2011) 1 Metro Conference Tournament championship (1993) 1 Conference USA Tournament championship (1998) 3 Atlantic 10 Tournament championships (2007, 2008, 2011) 5 NCAA Regional Appearances (1993, 1998, 2007, 2008, 2011) | |
| Awards | |
| C-USA Coach of the Year (1998) A-10 Coach of the Year (2007) AAC Coach of the Year (2023) | |
Playing career
editHibbs played college baseball for Wichita State. During his time as a player with the Shockers, he was on the all-tournament team at the 1982 College World Series and, in 1982, set the NCAA record for runs in a season.[2] After college, Hibbs played a short time in the San Francisco Giants farm system, appearing in 39 games for the Everett Giants in 1984.[3]
Coaching career
editHibbs served as an assistant with Wichita State from 1985–1992 before being hired by the Charlotte 49ers.[2] At Charlotte, Hibbs won the Metro Conference tournament and an NCAA tournament berth in 1993, the Metro regular season titles in 1994 and 1995, the Atlantic 10 regular season and conference tournament titles in 2007 and 2008, and the Atlantic 10 regular season title in 2010. In 1998 the Niners won a school-record 43 games and reached the NCAA tournament. Charlotte broke the 1998 mark for wins in 2007 with 49 wins, including two wins over NC State in the 2007 NCAA tournament.[4]
On June 14, 2019, Hibbs announced his retirement as head coach of Charlotte baseball to rejoin Wichita State as its director of baseball operations.[5] In December 2022, he was named interim head coach after the resignation of Eric Wedge. Despite taking the reins just months before the 2023 season, he was named the American Athletic Conference coach of the year after leading the Shockers to a 30-25 (13-10 AAC) record, an improvement of a 21-36 overall mark and 9-15 finish in league play in 2022.[6]
On May 30, 2023, Wichita State director of athletics Kevin Saal announced that Hibbs and the rest of the Shockers coaching staff would not be retained for the 2024 season, with the university opting to perform a national search for Wedge's permanent replacement.[7]
Head coaching record
editBelow is a table of Hibbs's yearly records as an NCAA head baseball coach.[4][8][9]
| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Charlotte 49ers (Metro Conference) (1993–1995) | |||||||||
| 1993 | Charlotte | 26–32 | 6–11 | 5th | NCAA Regional | ||||
| 1994 | Charlotte | 31–25 | 12–5 | 1st | Metro Tournament | ||||
| 1995 | Charlotte | 36–21 | 11–7 | T–1st | Metro Tournament | ||||
| Charlotte 49ers (Conference USA) (1996–2005) | |||||||||
| 1996 | Charlotte | 29–30 | 11–13 | 5th | C-USA tournament | ||||
| 1997 | Charlotte | 30–26–1 | 14–12 | 5th | C-USA tournament | ||||
| 1998 | Charlotte | 43–19 | 19–8 | 3rd | NCAA Regional | ||||
| 1999 | Charlotte | 26–26 | 13–14 | 7th | C-USA tournament | ||||
| 2000 | Charlotte | 32–25–1 | 15–11 | 4th | C-USA tournament | ||||
| 2001 | Charlotte | 24–31 | 10–17 | 8th | C-USA tournament | ||||
| 2002 | Charlotte | 19–35 | 9–21 | 11th | |||||
| 2003 | Charlotte | 21–28 | 11–15 | 8th | C-USA tournament | ||||
| 2004 | Charlotte | 20–32 | 9–21 | 10th | |||||
| 2005 | Charlotte | 32–23 | 13–17 | 9th | |||||
| Charlotte 49ers (Atlantic 10 Conference) (2006–2013) | |||||||||
| 2006 | Charlotte | 35–20–1 | 18–9 | T–3rd | A-10 tournament | ||||
| 2007 | Charlotte | 49–12 | 23–4 | 1st | NCAA Regional | ||||
| 2008 | Charlotte | 43–16 | 19–8 | T–1st | NCAA Regional | ||||
| 2009 | Charlotte | 33–22 | 16–11 | T–4th | A-10 tournament | ||||
| 2010 | Charlotte | 40–16 | 20–7 | 1st | A-10 tournament | ||||
| 2011 | Charlotte | 43–16 | 17–7 | 1st | NCAA Regional | ||||
| 2012 | Charlotte | 21–32 | 9–14 | 10th | |||||
| 2013 | Charlotte | 37–23 | 17–7 | T–1st | A-10 tournament | ||||
| Charlotte 49ers (Conference USA) (2013–2019) | |||||||||
| 2014 | Charlotte | 19–31–1 | 10–19 | T–11th | |||||
| 2015 | Charlotte | 19–29 | 11–19 | 10th | |||||
| 2016 | Charlotte | 23–32 | 12–17 | 8th | C-USA tournament | ||||
| 2017 | Charlotte | 34–24 | 18–12 | T-3rd | C-USA tournament | ||||
| 2018 | Charlotte | 34–24 | 17–13 | 4th | C-USA tournament | ||||
| 2019 | Charlotte | 21–31–1 | 11–18–1 | 11th | |||||
| Wichita State Shockers (American Athletic Conference) (2023) | |||||||||
| 2023 | Wichita State | 30–25 | 13–10 | 3rd | American tournament | ||||
| Total: | 850–706–5 | ||||||||
|
National champion
Postseason invitational champion
| |||||||||
Personal
editHibbs's wife, Lisa, is the director of the Athletic Academic Center at UNC Charlotte. His son Tyson Hibbs played for his father as a utility player and pinch runner with the 49ers from 2006 to 2009.[citation needed] He is also the father of two daughters, Erin and Lanie.[10]
References
edit- ^ "https://twitter.com/GoShockers/status/1663557332385828868?s=20". Twitter. Retrieved 2023-05-30.
{{cite web}}: External link in|title= - ^ a b "2012 Wichita State Baseball Record Book". Wichita State Sports Information. p. 79. Archived from the original on 6 February 2012. Retrieved 13 June 2012.
- ^ "Loren Hibbs". Baseball-Reference.com. Archived from the original on 17 September 2013. Retrieved 13 June 2012.
- ^ a b "Charlotte Baseball Year-by-Year Results" (PDF). Charlotte49ers.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 May 2013. Retrieved 13 June 2012.
- ^ "Hibbs Retires After 27 Years; Named WSU Ass't AD". Charlotte49ers.com. UNC Charlotte. 14 June 2019. Retrieved 28 June 2019.
- ^ https://twitter.com/GoShockersBSB/status/1660707245519151113 [bare URL]
- ^ https://twitter.com/GoShockers/status/1663557332385828868 [bare URL]
- ^ Nation, Boyd. "Yearly Conference Standings". BoydsWorld.com. Archived from the original on 21 June 2012. Retrieved 13 June 2012.
- ^ "2013 Atlantic 10 Conference Baseball Standings". D1Baseball.com. Jeremy Mills. Archived from the original on May 31, 2013. Retrieved May 27, 2013.
- ^ "#49 Loren Hibbs". Charlotte49ers.com. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 13 June 2012.