College Baseball Now

Josh Holliday, Oklahoma State Cowboys

12.01.2017 - By Bill BallewPlay

Download our free app to listen on your phone

Download on the App StoreGet it on Google Play

Josh Holliday returned home to Stillwater in 2012 and has led the Oklahoma State Cowboys back to national prominence over the past five seasons.

Holliday was named the 15th head coach of the Oklahoma State Cowboys program on June 8, 2012. The OSU alumnus and native of Stillwater had served the previous three seasons as an assistant coach at Vanderbilt and established himself as one of the nation’s top assistant coaches and recruiting coordinators over the previous decade.

“I’m very honored and very humbled to be given an opportunity to come back to OSU and return to a place that has meant so much to me and my family over the past 30-plus years,” Holliday said. “I’m excited about the unique opportunity to build a future with a program that celebrates and recognizes its proud history, embraces the current players and works towards a future that everyone will be proud of and unite behind.

“Our goal is going to be to approach every day with a tremendous amount of pride and discipline in becoming the best we can be in every facet of our lives, as coaches, as players and anyone involved with our kids. We’re going to work to win each day, and over the course of time we’re going to work to win a national championship. We’re going to do that together and do it in a way that enhances our players’ lives academically, socially and athletically. I hope that plan of attack and approach is going to train our players with an approach that will stay with them the rest of their lives.”

Since taking over the reins, Holliday has guided the Cowboys to five straight NCAA Tournament appearances, the program’s first-ever regular season Big 12 Conference championship, a Big 12 Tournament Championship in 2017, a pair of NCAA Super Regional berths, and a return to the College World Series for the first time since his playing days in 1999.

In 2016, the Oklahoma State Cowboys made their 20th College World Series appearance. Holliday became one of only 17 people in NCAA history to reach the CWS as both a player and head coach after playing for OSU teams in 1996 and 1999 that advanced to Omaha.

Holliday, who was named the 2016 ABCA/Diamond Midwest Regional Coach of the Year, guided OSU to a 43-22 overall record, and the Cowboys finished the season ranked No. 4 in the final national polls.

OSU’s 41 wins in 2013 was its most since 2008, and the Cowboys’ second-place finish in the Big 12 Conference was also its be...

More episodes from College Baseball Now