MUSKOGEE, Okla. – SWOSU Head Baseball Coach
Zack Saunders is one of eight individuals who have been selected for induction into the Muskogee Athletic Hall of Fame in the Class of 2016.
The induction for the Hall of Fame will be next Thursday, October 13th, in conjunction with Muskogee High School's home football game against Sand Springs. An awards presentation and reception will be held prior to the game and the Hall of Fame Class of 2016 will be recognized at halftime of the football game. In order to be eligible for induction, athletes must have been out of school for at least five years and they should have been a distinguished athlete or coach with moral and ethical attributes.
Saunders was a four-year member of the Roughers baseball team, graduating from Muskogee HS in 1999. He then continued his career at Connors State College, playing two seasons for their nationally-ranked baseball team before moving on to Kansas State University, where he played third base and catcher for the Wildcats from 2003-04. In his time at KSU, Saunders batted .240 with 80 hits, including 16 doubles and 10 home runs, with 12 RBI and 34 runs scored. He also was named the Big XII Player of the Week on April 22, 2003.
Upon graduation from Kansas State, Saunders returned to his native state to serve as a graduate assistant at SWOSU under Charles Teasley beginning in 2005. After six seasons as an assistant coach to Teasley and Scott Selby, Saunders was named the head coach of the Bulldogs prior to the 2012 season and he has led the Bulldogs to a winning record four times in five years and he has an overall record of 136-102. A two-time GAC Coach of the Year, Saunders and the Bulldogs are coming off the program's best season as an NCAA Division II institution after winning the 2016 Great American Conference Championship and advancing to their first-ever NCAA Regional Tournament before finishing the season with a 34-17 record.
"I got the phone call from Muskogee a few weeks back and I really thought it was a joke at first," Saunders said of when he learned about his selection. "I was blown away and I'm still trying to wrap my head around the whole deal, but I'm really honored and humbled to be inducted into the Muskogee Athletic Hall of Fame. This honor is the product of having great people around me, including coaches from little league to high school to college along with the colleagues I have had the chance to work for and with. I would also like to thank Bill Huddleston, who is very active with the Hall of Fame and has done great work to help recognize the efforts of people from Muskogee."
Saunders is joined in the Muskogee Hall of Fame Class of 2016 – the 12th induction class – by Michael Butler, Lynwood Wade, Mychael McWhorter, Elmer "Sardine" Mayes, John Perry, Hal Sands and Vince McSpadden.
