History of Gunter Baseball

Gunter Tigers have been to the Texas State Baseball Tournament 7 times.

America’s favorite pastime, for the small town of Gunter in the Lonestar state, began in 1978. The program has helped to make Gunter one of the most successful and noticeable high school baseball programs in North Texas, with two state championships and multiple District titles. Baseball is, what some might argue, what put Gunter, TX, on the map as an athletic powerhouse in state of Texas.

Head Coach Russell Hunter started the baseball program in 1978, with the added weight of coaching three others sports: an assistant for football, head boy’s basketball, and head girl’s basketball. After Coach Russell, and top player Derek Byrd, had led the team to its first State Tournament appearance, Russell retired in 1985, and Scott Wortham stepped up to the plate to take over as the boy’s head baseball coach. He was followed by Kevin Darwin, who led the Tigers to the State Tournament appearance, with dominant players: Kevin Powers, Kevin Bounds, Tommy Hunter, and Kelly Shackelford.

Joe Koesel started as the head coach of the Gunter Tigers in 1992 and left in 1996, winning a State Championship with the Tigers in 1994. Coach Koesel went an amazing 119-29 during his stint with the Tigers.

In 1997, Coach Kevin Worthy took over the program as head baseball coach and won a State Championship in 1998. Coach Worthy’s record was an incredible 178-39-1.

 Gunter Tigers 2 State Championships 1994 & 1998

 

Todd Hogan is one of the most winningest coaches in Gunter Baseball history. He won 305 games while only losing 85 in his 10 year coaching career at Gunter, and coached 3 of the 5 Division I players to come through Gunter.

Kerry Clement is currently in his first year as head coach of the Tigers, although he has been an assistant coach at Gunter since 1998 under both Coach Kevin Worthy and Coach Todd Hogan. Before coming to Gunter, Clement had been a head coach for 12 years at both Tom Bean High School and Bowie High School.

The Gunter Tigers have come a long way since their founding in 1978, and have had the benefit of quality coaches and dedicated players to set the tone for the years to come. Come catch the fever today!

Written by: Francisco Figueroa (11th Grade), Jake Oblas  (11th Grade), Toby Hampton  (11th Grade), Cade Ferrell  (11th Grade)

Gunter State Baseball Tournaments: 7

1985, 91, 94 (* Gunter over Trinidad 9-4) as 1A

1997, 98 (* Gunter over Rosebut-Lott 7-0), 2000, 01 as 2A

Years	Head Coach
1978-1985	Russell Hunter
1985-1988	Scott Wortham
1988-1990	Steve Carroll
1990-1992	Kevin Darwin *
1992-1997	Joe Koesel
1997-2004	Kevin Worthy *
2004-2014	Todd Hogan
2014-Present	Kerry Clement

State Tournament Records / Mentions:

Stolen Bases One Game: 2A 3 – David Grimes (Gunter), 2000

Triples: 1A 2 Joe Westman (Gunter), 1994

Batting Average:

2A Tomas Torres (Gunter, 1998) .600

1A Matt Johnson (Gunter, 1994)  .833

Notable Alumni	College Attended
Russell “Rusty”  Hunter	University of North Texas
David Grimes	University of Nebraska Omaha
Stuart Slakey	University of South Carolina
Jake Arrington	Sam Houston University
Brandon Pierce	University of Nebraska

Written by:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cade Ferrell  (11th Grade)