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The\n\u201cNight of Champions Gala\u201d ceremony, held at the Raising Cain River Center Ballroom\noverlooking the Mississippi River in downtown Baton Rouge, was telecast live on\nCox Sports. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Simmons\nis the winningest coach in junior college baseball history with 1,804 wins. He\nled his teams to an unprecedented 13 trips to the NJCAA World Series, where\nthey returned home as runners-up four times. His teams won 16 NJCAA Region II\ntitles and 13 NJCAA District championships.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He\ncoached 41 NJCAA All-Americans, and more than 200 of his players signed\nprofessional baseball contracts, with 43 of those playing in the major leagues.\nSimmons was named Oklahoma Baseball Coaches Association Coach of the Year eight\ntimes during his career and was inducted into the NJCAA Hall of Fame in 1997.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s\na great honor to be here and to be recognized with all the other great guys\nthat are here to get this reward,\u201d Simmons said. \u201cI\u2019m really just thankful for\nall my players in the past that worked hard and were able to get me this\nhonor.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
During\nan on-stage interview during the induction ceremony, Simmons commented on the\nsupport he and his program received over the years from Seminole State College\nand the community of Seminole. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Seminole\nState College President Lana Reynolds said Simmons\u2019 induction in the College\nBaseball Hall of Fame focused the national spotlight on his career and the\ninstitution. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
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\u201cCoach\nSimmons built a powerhouse baseball program at Seminole that is known\nthroughout the country. This award\nbrings national attention to his legendary accomplishments \u2013 and in doing so,\nbrings such positive attention to Seminole. We are very proud of him and\ncongratulate him on this well-deserved recognition,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Saturday\u2019s\nceremony began with a \u201cWalk of Legends\u201d that included former College Baseball\nHall of Famers. Coaches and several members of the 2019 Little League World\nSeries Champions from River Ridge, Louisiana, were also introduced and\ninterviewed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Several special national baseball awards were also presented during the evening.\u00a0\u00a0 Erik Bakich from the University of Michigan was named the \u201cSkip Bertman National Coach of the Year.\u201d Adley Rutschman of Oregon State, was presented the Dick Howser Trophy as \u201cNational Player of the Year.\u201d\u00a0 The \u201cJohn Olerud Two-way Player of the Year\u201d award went to Aaron Schunk of the University of Georgia.\u00a0 Mississippi State University\u2019s Ethan Small was named \u201cNational Pitcher of the Year\u201d and Grae Kessinger from the University of Mississippi was the \u201c2019 Brooks Wallace Shortstop of the Year.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
A \u201cNational Collegiate Umpire Award\u201d was presented to Jon Bible. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Former Seminole State College Trojan Baseball Coach Lloyd Simmons was honored Nov. 2 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana with induction into the College Baseball Hall of Fame. Simmons was recognized, alongside Mike Martin, former head coach at Florida State University and five former college players. Players included University of Texas\u2019 Dave Chalk, Florida A&M\u2019s Andre Dawson, … Continue reading Simmons Inducted into College Baseball Hall of Fame<\/span>