Page 37 - DBU Baseball 20-21 Media Guide

DAN HEEFNER–HEAD COACH
each of the past six seasons.
Dan Heefner enters his 17th season with the DBU Baseball team and 14th year as the Patriots’ head coach. Named the 2016 Missouri Valley Conference Dan Callahan Coach of the Year and a two-time recipient of the American Baseball Coaches Association Midwest Region Coach of the Year, Heefner has guided the DBU Baseball program to the NCAA Regional Tournament nine times, including eight of the last nine years. Under Heefner’s leadership, the Patriots are also one of just nine teams in the country to reach the NCAA postseason
DBU was ranked No. 20 in the nation by Collegiate Baseball, marking the third straight year that the Patriots finished the season nationally ranked.
In 2016, DBU won both the Missouri Valley Conference regular-season and tournament titles, and advanced to the Lubbock Regional as the No. 2 seed. The Patriots finished the 2016 season with a 44-19 record, reaching the regional final for the fourth time in the last six years and finished just two wins shy of matching a school-record for the most victories in a single-season. Following their 2016 campaign, DBU was tabbed No. 24 in both the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association and Collegiate Baseball polls.
Heefner guided the Patriots to a historic season in 2015, as DBU won a school-record 46 games and hosted the program’s first-ever NCAA Regional Tournament. The Patriots also held the No. 1 RPI in the nation for eight of the last nine weeks of the regular season and finished the year ranked No. 15 in the country by Perfect Game, a mark that ranks as the highest end of season ranking in school history.
In 2014, DBU competed in their inaugural season as members of the Missouri Valley Conference. Heefner’s club burst onto the scene by winning the MVC Tournament in Terre Haute, Indiana, and received an automatic bid to the NCAA Regional Tournament. The Patriots earned the No. 2 seed at the Fort Worth Regional and finished the season with a 40-21 record, making it the third time in the past four years in which DBU reached 40 wins.
Heefner and the Patriots made it back-to-back trips to the postseason in 2012, as DBU earned a trip to the Waco Regional. For the second straight year, the Patriots advanced to the Regional Championship game and finished the year with a 41-19 record.
In 2011, Heefner guided the Patriots to even more national recognition, as they won the NCAA Fort Worth Regional in a field that included TCU, Oklahoma, and Oral Roberts. Heefner was once again named the ABCA Midwest Region Coach of the Year, as his team competed in the Santa Clara Super Regional against the University of California-Berkley. The Patriots finished the year with a 42-20 record, marking the 33rd consecutive winning season for the program. DBU’s high-powered offense in 2011 ranked in the Top 25 nationally in several different categories, and Jason Krizan set a new NCAA record for doubles in a season.
It did not take Heefner long to make a mark at DBU after being named the sixth head coach in Dallas Baptist University history in July of 2007. In his first year as the DBU Baseball program’s Head Coach, Heefner led the Patriots to several historic milestones. In 2008, DBU earned their first ever NCAA Tournament appearance by receiving a No. 2 seed in the College Station Regional, after finishing the regular season with the 29th best RPI in the nation.
DBU’s at-large bid marked the first time since 1992 that an NCAA Division I Independent team, other than Miami, made the NCAA Tournament, and earned Heefner the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) Midwest Region Coach of the Year Award. Heefner was also named the Independent Coach of the Year, which he received again following the 2009 season. In 2009, the Patriots went 38-17 and finished the regular season with the 36th best RPI in the nation.
During Heefner’s 13 seasons as head coach at DBU, the Patriots have seen numerous players receive individual awards for their success on and off the field. Since 2008, DBU has produced 17 All-Americans, 13 Freshman All- Americans, and three Academic All-Americans, including the 2018 Academic All-America Player of the Year in Devlin Granberg.
Under Heefner’s direction, the Patriots have seen numerous individuals receive top honors in the Missouri Valley Conference including a pair of players who
In 13 years at the helm, Heefner owns a career record of 485-253 and his .657 win percentage ranks 13th best among all active NCAA Division I coaches. Dating back to the 2015 season, when the Patriots hosted the Dallas Regional, Heefner has guided DBU to 229 victories, a mark that ranks as the seventh- highest win total among the nation’s 301 NCAA Division I baseball programs.
During his tenure as the head coach at DBU, Heefner has produced 17 All- Americans, a mark that ranks as the eighth highest total in college baseball dating back to 2009, as well as 13 Freshman All-Americans. Heefner has also coached 58 players that have been selected in the Major League Baseball Draft and seven that have reached the Big League level.
Dating back to the 2011 season, when the Patriots won the Fort Worth Regional and advanced to the NCAA Super Regionals, DBU has won 40 or more games on eight separate occasions. The Patriots are also one of just three teams in the nation to win 40 games or more in each of the last six years, joining Florida State and Louisville.
In 2020, the Patriots posted a 12-4 record before college baseball witnessed the cancellation of the season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. During the 2020 season, DBU was ranked in the Top 25 all five weeks, winning all four of their weekend series including a key series win on the road at then-ranked No. 13 North Carolina.
Prior to the 2020 season, the Patriots are coming off their sixth consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament after earning an at-large bid to the postseason in 2019. As the No. 2 seed at the Lubbock Regional, DBU advanced to the regional finals for the fifth consecutive year, where they eventually fell to then-ranked No. 6 Texas Tech, capping off the 2019 season with a 43-20 record. At season’s end, the Patriots were ranked No. 24 in the nation by D1Baseball.
The 2018 season saw the Patriots reach the postseason as the No. 3 seed at the Fayetteville Regional. After a first round loss to Southern Miss, DBU bounced back with victories over Oral Roberts and Southern Miss before falling to then- ranked No. 4 Arkansas, 4-3, capping off their 2018 campaign with a 42-21 record.
In 2017, DBU won the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament to earn the league’s automatic bid. It marked the third time since DBU joined The Valley in 2014 in which the Patriots clinched the MVC Tournament title. DBU advanced to the Fort Worth Regional as the No. 3 seed and reached the regional finals for the third straight year. The Patriots finished 2017 with a 42-21 record and won 22 of their final 26 games leading up to the NCAA postseason, which was the second best record in the nation over that span. Following the 2017 season,
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