Steve Goodheart is a retired American

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional pl ...

coach, who served as head coach of the

Southern Arkansas Muleriders baseball The Southern Arkansas Mulerider baseball team represents Southern Arkansas University in NCAA Division II college baseball. SAU has competed in the Great American Conference (GAC) since 2011. Prior to joining the GAC, SAU competed in the National ...

team from 1981–2003. During his career he led SAU to a 764–406–5 record, making him the second winningest coach all-time among Arkansas college baseball coaches. Goodheart trails only retired

University of Arkansas The University of Arkansas (U of A, UArk, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Fayetteville, Arkansas. It is the flagship campus of the University of Arkansas System and the largest university in the state. Founded as Arkansas ...

coach

Norm DeBriyn Norm DeBriyn (born October 31, 1942) is an American former baseball coach at the University of Arkansas. He led the Arkansas Razorbacks baseball team for 33 years, beginning in 1970. During his tenure, which ended after the 2002 season, DeBriyn's t ...

's 1,161 wins.

Playing career

Goodheart came to SAU, then known as Southern State College, from

Great Falls, MT Great Falls is the List of cities and towns in Montana, third most populous city in the U.S. state of Montana and the county seat of Cascade County, Montana, Cascade County. The population was 60,442 according to the 2020 census. The city covers ...

and was a four-year letterwinner for the Muleriders. During his playing career at SAU, Goodheart was a part of two

AIC AIC may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Alice in Chains, American rock band * Alice in Chains: AIC 23, a 2013 mockumentary * Anime International Company, a Japanese animation studio * Art Institute of Chicago, an art museum in Chicago Busin ...

Championship teams (1974 & 1975) and was an All-Conference player in 1975. Goodheart was an AIC All-Star in both 1975 and 1976.

Coaching career

College Assistant & High School Coaching Career

Following his playing career, Goodheart got his start as a student assistant coach at SAU for the 1977 season, during which Muleriders won their third AIC Championship in four years. After one year as a student assistant at SAU, Goodheart moved to Camden (Ark.) Fairview High School where he served as the head baseball coach during the 1978 season. After one year at Camden Fairview, Goodheart moved to the

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it was the first university in the Arizona Territory. T ...

to serve as a graduate assistant under National College Baseball Hall of Famer

Jerry Kindall Gerald Donald Kindall (May 27, 1935 – December 24, 2017) was an American professional baseball player and college baseball player and coach. He was primarily a second baseman in Major League Baseball (MLB) who appeared in 742 games played over ...

. During Goodheart's two seasons in Tucson, the Wildcats compiled an 88–46–1 record and won the

1980 College World Series The 1980 NCAA Division I baseball tournament was played at the end of the 1980 NCAA Division I baseball season to determine the national champion of college baseball. The tournament concluded with eight teams competing in the College World Series, ...

title.

Southern Arkansas Muleriders

After the 1980 season, Goodheart was hired by his alma mater to replace Dr. Jack Harrington as the head coach of the Muleriders. Goodheart retired in 2003 as the winningest coach in school history. Goodheart won 19 championships during his career at SAU. As head coach, his Muleriders were AIC champions in 1983, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1994, and 1995. Three of his SAU teams made appearances in the NAIA World Series (1983, 1987, 1991). The 1987 team finished third in the World Series with a record of 46–7. Goodheart's teams also won six district titles and 2 area titles. According to a press release when Goodheart was elected into the Southern Arkansas University Sports Hall of Fame: :“More than 50 of Goodheart’s former players have signed to play professional baseball. He has coached 54 first-team All-AIC players, 26 first-team NAIA District 17 players, five NAIA All-Area players, 12 NAIA Southwest Region selections, 17 NAIA All-Americans, one NAIA Academic All-American, two Cliff Shaw Scholar-Athlete Award winners, 33 All-Gulf South Conference choices, 10 NCAA All-South Central Region selections, and two NCAA All-Americans.” Perhaps the most important accomplishment of Goodheart's career was overseeing SAU's transition from NAIA to the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

ranks. Not only were Goodheart's teams able to make the jump, the teams proceeded to win at an even higher level.

Head coaching record

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Goodheart, Steve Living people Southern Arkansas Muleriders baseball coaches Southern Arkansas Muleriders baseball players Year of birth missing (living people)