Wayne Graham spent 38 seasons as a collegiate head coach, leading Rice University leading to the school’s first national championship in 2003 and leading San Jacinto College to five NJCAA World Series titles from 1985-90. He finished with a head coaching record of 1,946-654-2 (.748), including 10 seasons as a high school coach.
At Rice, Graham amassed a 1,173-528-2 (.689) record from 1992-2018 to go along with seven College World Series appearances and the 2003 title. It was the school’s first team national championship in any sport. Beginning in 1995, Rice appeared in 23 consecutive NCAA Regionals and advanced to the Super Regionals 10 times following the adoption of the format in 1999. His Owls also captured 21 conference championships as part of three different conferences, including 20-straight from 1996-2015.
Graham coached 39 different Rice players to a total of 56 All-America awards and 136 former players were drafted by professional teams. The 14 Rice draft picks in 2007 tied the college record for the most players selected from one school in a single year. Some of Graham’s former players at Rice include MLB All-Stars Lance Berkman, Anthony Rendon and Brock Holt as well as current Rice head coach José Cruz Jr.
A native Houstonian, Graham’s coaching career began at Scarborough (Texas) High School. In nine seasons at Scarborough and one at Spring Branch, Graham’s teams compiled a 98-13 (.883) district record and won seven district titles.
After 10 seasons of high school ball, Graham moved on to San Jacinto College in 1981, where he proceeded to turn the Gators into a junior college powerhouse. Following a pair of conference titles in 1982 and 1983, Graham’s Gators made seven-straight NJCAA World Series appearances from 1984-90. After a runner-up finish in 1984, his teams captured three consecutive national titles from 1985-87. The Gators once again came back from a runner up finish in 1988 to claim another pair of national titles in 1989 and 1990.
Named the Junior College Coach of the Century by Collegiate Baseball, Graham completed his 11-year tenure at San Jacinto with a 675-113 (.857) record and five National Coach of the Year awards. His uniform number (37) was retired by San Jacinto and he was inducted into the NJCAA Hall of Fame in 1995.
Graham’s coaching career was preceded by an 11-year professional playing career that included stints as a third baseman and outfielder with the Philadelphia Phillies and New York Mets. Graham played two seasons at the University of Texas under legendary coach and ABCA Hall of Fame member Bibb Falk.
Graham’s success led to his induction into the Texas Baseball Hall of Fame in 2003, and he was named one of Houston’s 38 Sports Legends in 2004. In addition, he was inducted into the Texas Sports Hall of Fame in 2005 and the College Baseball Hall of Fame in 2012.
