Hall of Fame
EKU’s baseball coach for 22 years (1980-2001), Jim Ward won 628 games as the Colonel skipper. Even more impressively, he ranks among the all-time leaders with 939 career victories. He won 311 games in 11 seasons at Stetson University where he was inducted into their Baseball Hall of Fame.
Ward led Eastern to five Ohio Valley Conference regular-season titles and four OVC tournament titles. The Colonels made four NCAA Regional appearances (1984, 1985, 1986 and 1989) under his direction. In his second year at the EKU helm, Ward’s Colonels led the nation in biggest turnaround, winning 26 more games than the previous season.
A member of the OVC Hall of Fame, Ward was a five-time league Coach of the Year (1982, 1987, 1988, 1989 and 2000). He mentored five OVC Players of the Year and 64 All-Conference performers. Four of his student-athletes were named All-Americans and 29 of his players signed contracts to play professional baseball.
The Cincinnati, Ohio native earned his bachelor’s degree from Ohio University in 1961 and his master’s degree from Eastern Kentucky University in 1967.
