Pete Hughes is out as OU baseball coach
For the fourth time in 12 years, Oklahoma is searching for a baseball coach. An athletic department source confirmed to SoonerScoop.com that Hughes resigned after four seasons on Monday.
Hughes sought a long-term contract extension as he was entering the final year of his original deal that began in the 2014 season. OU wasn’t willing to give him one.
The coaching change was first reported by D1Baseball.com.
The Sooners went 35-24 this past season and finished third in the Big 12 Conference with a 12-11 mark.
Hughes guided the Sooners to NCAA Tournament for the first time since Sunny Golloway’s final season in 2013 this past season. Overall, Hughes went 128-107-1 during his four seasons.
However, OU’s conference record over those four seasons (44-51) and never finishing higher than third in the Big 12 standings were a sore point with fans.
His record against Oklahoma State inflamed the fan base further. OU went 0-3 against Cowboys this season dropping the Bedlam mark to 5-14 over four seasons of midweek, conference series and Big 12 tournament games.
The Sooners won the Big 12 tournament in 2013 — Golloway’s final season before going to Auburn.
Under Hughes, the Sooners went a combined 5-8 over his four seasons in the Big 12 tournament. They failed to reach the championship game in each of those seasons. Last month, OU went 0-2 in the event for the first time since 2005.
The lack of NCAA tournament berths stained Hughes’ tenure. OU failed to make the field in his first three seasons. It had missed out just once in 10 seasons before Hughes’ arrival.
However, Hughes’ off-the-field focus on community service bought him time with OU’s administration. Hughes’ 19 Ways Foundation raised thousands of dollars in Norman Community and the ALS Foundation.
Hughes seemed assured of gaining a significant contract after OU won 22 of its first 27 games, claiming series wins over Long Beach State, Baylor and Texas Tech. But OU was a Jekyll-and-Hyde team over the final six weeks. It dropped 10 of 12 games during a three-week span that ultimately doomed its hopes of winning the Big 12 title. Consecutive series wins over West Virginia, Kansas State and TCU revived those hopes.
However, OU saved its worst for last. It closed the regular season with back-to-back losses to Oklahoma State, which needed both wins to qualify for the Big 12 tournament. Texas and TCU outscored OU by a combined 17-8 in the two Big 12 tournament losses.
The Sooners entered the NCAA tournament as a No. 2 seed and knocked Xavier, 7-2, in the opening game of the Louisville Regional.
The Cardinals scored 10 runs in the last two innings of an 11-1 loss on June 3. OU’s season ended with 11-0 loss to the Musketeers on June 4. The Sooners gave up eight runs in the first inning of that game.
Where OU turns now is up to athletic director Joe Castiglione. Non-revenue sports thrive in Norman. Just in the last few weeks, softball continued its national dominance with its second straight national championship. Men’s golf claimed its first national title since 1989 in May. Men’s and women’s gymnastics both won national titles earlier this spring.
In May, OU announced $10 million in renovations for L. Dale Mitchell Park. In 2016, OU spent $925,005 on baseball. Only Texas, TCU and Texas Tech devoted more money to baseball than the Sooners. Those schools all paid their heath coaches significantly more than the $385,000 Hughes made this season.