Zack Saunders is in his 13th season as the head coach of the Southwestern Oklahoma State University Baseball team, with a career record of 273-256 heading into the 2024Â season.
In 12 years leading the Bulldogs, Saunders has guided SWOSU to eight 20-win seasons and a top-five finish in the Great American Conference in six different seasons. He has tutored 40 players who have earned All-GAC status and eight players who have earned all-region status. Additionally, Saunders has mentored two All-Americans, three CoSIDA Academic All-Americans, one Central Region Gold Glove winner and two Major League Baseball draft picks.Â
Â
A two-time Great American Conference Coach of the Year, Saunders led the Bulldog Baseball team to new heights in 2016. SWOSU claimed the 2016 GAC Regular Season Championship, the program’s first conference championship of the NCAA era, and the Bulldogs were selected to the NCAA Central Regional Championship for the first program’s first NCAA postseason berth. SWOSU finished the 2016 season with a record of 34-17, which also established a new school record for wins in the NCAA era.
Â
SWOSU handed the controls of the Bulldog baseball program to Saunders prior to the 2012 season, after he spent six seasons as the Bulldogs lead assistant.
Â
In 2011, Saunders helped the Bulldogs to a 33-18 record and an appearance in the Lone Star Conference post-season tournament. SWOSU achieved several firsts during the year, including a ranking in the NCAA Division II National Top 25 poll, a victory in the LSC Tournament and defeating top-ranked Emporia State.
Â
Saunders played collegiately at Kansas State University where he was a two-year starter before joining former SWOSU coach Charles Teasley’s staff in 2005. A 1999 graduate of Muskogee High School, Saunders began playing collegiately at Connors State and was a member of two nationally-ranked junior college teams with the Cowboys.
A native of Muskogee, Okla., Saunders earned his bachelor's degree in Social Science from Kansas State University in 2004 before completing a master's degree in Kinesiology from SWOSU in 2008. He and his wife Elissa (Clayton) reside in Weatherford with their son Isaiah and daughter Olivia.
Â
Saunders Year-by-Year
Â
| Â Season |
W |
L |
% |
W |
L |
% |
 Finish |
| Â 2012 |
27 |
19 |
.587 |
14 |
10 |
.583 |
 3rd/GAC |
| Â 2013 |
30 |
16 |
.652 |
21 |
9 |
.700 |
 2nd/GAC |
| Â 2014 |
25 |
23 |
.521 |
16 |
14 |
.533 |
 T-4th/GAC |
| Â 2015 |
19 |
27 |
.413 |
12 |
18 |
.400 |
 9th/GAC |
| Â 2016 |
34 |
17 |
.667 |
22 |
8 |
.733 |
 1st/GAC |
| Â 2017Â |
18 |
27 |
.400 |
14 |
16 |
.467 |
 5th/GAC |
| Â 2018 |
24 |
24 |
.500 |
17 |
14 |
.548 |
 6th/GAC |
| Â 2019 |
24 |
23 |
.510 |
20 |
13 |
.606 |
 T-4th/GAC |
| Â 2020 |
10 |
8 |
.583 |
7 |
5 |
.556 |
 T-4th/GAC* |
| Â 2021 |
21 |
18 |
.538 |
17 |
16 |
.515 |
 8th/GAC |
| Â 2022 |
19 |
27 |
0.413 |
12 |
20 |
.375 |
 10th/GAC |
| Â 2023 |
22 |
27 |
0.449 |
13 |
20 |
.394 |
 9th/GAC |
| Â Totals |
273 |
256 |
.516 |
185 |
163 |
.531 |
|
*Season Shortened due to COVID-19
THE SAUNDERS FILE
Â
Coaching Career:
2012-Present: Southwestern Oklahoma State (Head Baseball Coach)
  Record: 273-256 (.516)
Â
2005-11: SWOSU (Assistant Baseball Coach)
Coaching Awards:
2013: Great American Conference Coach of the Year
2016: Great American Conference Coach of the Year
Â
Playing Career:
Kansas State (2003-04)
Connors State (2001-02)
Â
Education:
Kansas State University
  Bachelors of Social Science, 2004
Southwestern Oklahoma State University
  Masters of Kinesiology, 2008Â
