Dan Heefner is an American college baseball coach who has been the head coach of

Dallas Baptist Dallas Baptist University (DBU) is a Christian liberal arts university in Dallas, Texas. Founded in 1898 as Decatur Baptist College, Dallas Baptist University currently operates campuses in Dallas, Plano, and Hurst. History Dallas Baptist ...

since the start of the 2008 season. Under Heefner, the Patriots have reached ten NCAA tournaments, including a Super Regional in 2011. An

Olivet Nazarene Olivet Nazarene University (ONU) is a private Nazarene university in Bourbonnais, Illinois. Named for its founding location, Olivet, Illinois, ONU was originally established as a grammar school in east-central Illinois in 1907. In the late 1 ...

graduate, Heefner played two years of baseball for the Tigers after transferring from

Northern Iowa Iowa () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wiscon ...

Coaching career

Northern Iowa

Heefner began his coaching career at

(UNI), where he worked under head coach Rick Heller from 2002 to 2003. The Panthers had a 30-win season in 2003 and made the MVC tournament in both seasons. Heefner earned his master's degree from the university in 2003.

Creighton

After UNI, Heefner spent the

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

at Creighton under head coach

Ed Servais Edwin Servais (born c. 1958) is an American college baseball coach and small-ball connoisseur, currently the head coach at Creighton University, a member of the Big East Conference in NCAA Division I. He has held the position since July 2003, and ...

. In Servais' first season as head coach, the team went 35–24 and finished second in the MVC.

Dallas Baptist

Heefner was named an assistant at independent

under Eric Newman for the 2005 season. When Newman left to become an assistant at Nebraska after the 2007 season, Heefner was promoted to head coach. In his first season as head coach,

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

, the Patriots qualified for their first NCAA tournament with a 37–17 regular season. They were the first independent other than Miami (FL) to do so since Cal State Northridge in

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. As the second seed at the Houston Regional, they went 0–2, losing 9–5 games to Houston and Illinois–Chicago. The Patriots again made NCAA tournament in 2011 and 2012, both 40-win seasons. They made their deepest run in 2011. As the third seed in the Fort Worth Regional, the team won its opening games against

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...

and host

TCU TCU may stand for: Education * Tanzania Commission for Universities, regulatory body for Universities in Tanzania * Texas Christian University, a private university in Fort Worth, Texas ** TCU Horned Frogs, the athletic programs of the school * Tok ...

to advance to the regional finals. There, it dropped its first game against Oral Roberts but defeated the Eagles in a decisive game seven to advance to the Super Regionals against fellow three seed California. There, the Patriots were swept in two games. After playing in the Western Athletic Conference in 2013, Dallas Baptist reached the NCAA tournament in

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, its first season in the Missouri Valley Conference. It went 36–18 (14–7 MVC) in the regular season, tying for second in the conference. It won the MVC tournament, defeating

Illinois State Illinois State University (ISU) is a Public university, public university in Normal, Illinois. Founded in 1857 as Illinois State Normal University, it is the oldest public university in Illinois. The university emphasizes teaching and is reco ...

in the title game. The Patriots then went 0–2 at the Fort Worth Regional.

Head coaching record

Below is a table of Heefner's yearly records as a collegiate head baseball coach.

References