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Western Illinois University Athletics

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Terry Davis

Western Illinois University Athletic Director Paul A. Bubb named Terry Davis as the university's new head baseball coach in July of 2023. Davis becomes the ninth coach in the history of the program.
 
Davis and the new coaching staff have already made an impact on the recruiting front by securing the #7 Ranked JC Recruiting Class in the Country according to the JBB. This marks the eleventh ranked recruiting class by various publications that Davis has been a part of as an Assistant and now Head Coach.
 
Davis, comes to Western Illinois after most recently serving as an assistant baseball coach and recruiting coordinator at Washington State in the PAC-12.
 
On the field in 2022 Davis assisted in guiding WSU to its third winning season in a row for the first time since the 2008-10 campaigns. The Cougars accomplished many notable achievements on the field including the first series sweep of Arizona State in program history, two Top 10 road series wins for the first time in program history (#9 Arizona, #10 Oregon), the first series win versus USC since 2014, and the first win over a Top 5 team in the country since 2014 (#4 Oregon State). Other highlights on the field included setting a Home Opening Series Attendance Record and earning the first win over an SEC opponent since 2012 (Texas A&M).
 
The 2021 season saw Davis assist in guiding WSU to its first winning season since 2015 and the most Pac-12 Conference wins since 2014 after posting conference series wins at Utah, at California, against No. 8 Oregon and Washington. With Davis leading the recruiting charge, the Cougars signed their second-straight nationally ranked recruiting class for the 2022 season including the best junior college class in the country according to JBB baseball. In the classroom, WSU posted a program-record 3.09 GPA in the fall semester as 30 players recorded a GPA of 3.0 or higher and 17 players earned Pac-12 Spring Academic Honor Roll honors.
 
Also on the field in 2021, Washington State led the Pac-12 and was fifth in the country in doubles-per-game (2.4), second in the conference in hitting (.302), third in extra-base hits (101) and third in scoring (7.2 runs/g) while pacing the league with 74 doubles in conference games. First baseman Kyle Manzardo was named to the All-America First Team by Collegiate baseball, earning All-America honors for the second straight season while the Cougar pitching staff finished fifth in the Pac-12 in strikeouts-per-game (9.3) and recorded the second-most strikeouts (437) in program history.
 
The Cougars produced three draft picks in 2021 led by two-time All-American Manzardo who was selected in the second round and No. 63 overall by the Tampa Bay Rays, the highest Cougar draft pick since 1991. Manzardo was joined by Zane Mills (4th round, St. Louis) and Brandon White (12th round, Miami) to give WSU three draft picks in the first 12 rounds for the first time since 1977. Three players earned All-Pac-12 Conference honors in 2021 as Manzardo and designated hitter Tristan Peterson were named the All-Pac-12 team while catcher Jake Meyer received honorable mention, the first Cougar catcher to earn all-conference honors since 2013.
 
Davis’ first season with the Cougars was limited to just 16 games due the COVID-19 pandemic but saw WSU post impressive numbers on and off the field. In the classroom, 22 players posted a fall semester GPA of 3.0 of higher and the team combined for a 3.05 team GPA, the highest team GPA in program history. On the field, WSU posted series wins over Rutgers and Niagara, finished the season third in the Pac-12 Conference in hits, home runs and hit-by-pitches and tied for second in the country in sacrifice bunts.
 
On the recruiting front in his first season with the Cougars, Davis helped WSU sign the fifth-ranked junior college recruiting class led by a Preseason Junior College Two-Way Player of the Year and also signed four of the Top-10 high school prospects in the state of Washington. Davis helped the Cougars produce a nationally-recognized 2021 recruiting class, signing the No. 29 class in the country according to Collegiate Baseball, rated ahead of conference foes Oregon State, Oregon, California and Washington, along with SEC members Texas A&M and Kentucky.
 
In the 2020 Major League Baseball Draft, Davis saw one of his former players make history as New Mexico State infielder Nick Gonzales, the 2020 Collegiate Baseball Newspaper National Player of the Year, was selected as the seventh overall pick by the Pittsburgh Pirates, becoming the highest drafted player in program history. For the Cougars, with the MLB Draft limited to just five rounds, WSU senior lefthander A.J. Block signed a free agent contract with the Kansas City Royals. Throughout his coaching career, Davis has helped 50 players sign professional contracts and coached 20 MLB draft picks, including 4 players currently on MLB Roster, along with eleven All-Americans.
Davis was part of a historic three-year stretch for the Aggies who collected 113 wins during that span and signed three straight nationally recognized recruiting classes including the final two with Davis as the lead recruiter.
 
Over those three seasons, the Aggies went 113-61 overall and 55-20 in the Western Athletic Conference, capturing the league regular season title in 2018 and 2019. In 2018, New Mexico State qualified for the NCAA postseason, winning the WAC conference tournament title.
 
The offense, with Davis playing a large role, spent the majority of 2019 leading the country in eight offensive categories. NMSU boasted a final batting average of .356, surpassing the previous school record of .355 (1988), shattered the single-season triples record (34) and finished one hit by pitch shy of tying the school record (119), which was set in 2018. The Aggies concluded the regular season leading the country in batting average, runs, runs per game, hits, triples, on base percentage, slugging percentage and hit by pitch and were among the nation’s Top-10 in home runs, walks and sacrifice flies.
Individually, Davis helped guide position players Joey Ortiz, Nick Gonzales, Tristan Peterson and Tristen Carranza to historic seasons. Ortiz set single-season school-records for hits (106), runs (85) and triples (10) en route to WAC Player of the Year honors, just the second WAC Player of the Year in program history. Ortiz also became the career leader in triples (18) and was a semifinalist for the Brooks Wallace Award (best shortstop in the country) and Dick Howser Award (best player in the country). Gonzales, a semifinalist for the Howser Award and the Golden Spikes Award (national player of the year) started the season on a terror and never let up en route to batting .432 with 16 home runs and 80 RBI. Gonzales finished the season Top 10 in the country in seven offensive categories (average, hits, runs, RBI, total bases, on base percentage and slugging percentage) under the tutelage of Davis. Peterson enjoyed a breakout season in his first year in the Crimson and White, batting .400 with 20 home runs and 90 RBI as the first basemen flourished with Davis' teaching, ranking among the Top-10 in the country in RBI, slugging percentage and on base percentage. Lastly, Carranza capped off a marvelous career batting .371 with 18 home runs and 73 RBI, a personal best in all three categories. The senior outfielder tied the school record with 21 hit by pitches, previously set by himself the season prior. 

Defensively, Davis saw the Aggies collect an impressive .974 fielding percentage, a year after breaking the single-season school record with a .977 clip in 2018. At seasons end, NMSU placed six players on the All-Conference list with Ortiz earning Player of the Year honors.

Off the field, Davis and the program earned the NMSU Athletics Community Service Award for the fourth straight year in 2019 and set the program attendance record for the fourth time since 2015.

Davis helped guide the Aggies to a historic season in 2018, leading the team to a 40-22 overall record, a 17-7 mark in Western Athletic Conference play, the first WAC Tournament title in program history and just the fourth Regional appearance in the history of the program. 2018 marked just the second time in program history in which the team recorded 40 wins and reached an NCAA Regional.

Along the way in 2018, NMSU shattered three team records and five individual records, establishing single-season team records for hit by pitch (119) and team fielding percentage (.977). The Aggies placed seven on the All-Conference list at the end of the regular season with three players claiming All-American honors led by Nick Gonzales who earned WAC Freshman of the Year honors, the first Aggie to receive the honor in program history in the WAC. Gonzales captured Freshman All-American honors from three different publications (Collegiate Baseball Newspaper, NCBWA and Perfect Game/Rawlings) while pitcher Kyle Bradish became the highest drafted player in program history when the Los Angeles Angels selected him in the fourth round.

As an assistant in 2017, Davis helped coach a squad that finished 35-22 overall and 19-5 in Western Athletic Conference play. With Davis' help, the NMSU offense ranked in the top-25 nationally in multiple categories including second in triples (31), fourth in batting average (.322), seventh in slugging percentage (.501), eighth in scoring (7.9 runs per game), 12th in on-base percentage (.403), 17th in runs (453) and 18th in hits (650).

Prior to NMSU, Davis was the hitting coach and recruiting coordinator at Bellarmine University (2014-16) in Kentucky where he helped the Knights to a pair of Great Lakes Valley Tournament berths, coached six first-team All-GLVC selections including a Player of the Year (Austin Crutcher). Davis also coached 10 seasons at St. Catharine College (2004-13) as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator where he helped produce 28 All-Mid-South Conference selections and 10 players who went on to play professional baseball. Davis was instrumental in the development of 10 Patriots who moved on to play professional baseball, including the program's first ever big leaguer. 
 
In the summers, Davis was an active camp director at the University of Kentucky and for Prep Baseball Report Kentucky. Davis also served as a group leader for Demarini/Top 96 Showcases throughout the United States. In 2009, he served as the head coach of the Fulton Railroaders, and led the team to a third place finish in the KIT League.
 
As a player, Davis helped Spalding University to the 2002 NAIA World Series and the program's first ever 50 win season. Davis then earned his bachelor's degree from St. Catharine College in sports leadership.
 
Davis married his wife, Natalie in 2012 who is a native of Fulton, Ky. and owns a finance degree from the University of Tennessee.
 
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