Former Rice baseball coach Wayne Graham, who coached 14 future MLB first-round picks, has died. He was 88.
"I am deeply sorry to hear about the passing of a man who had a significant impact on my life," former major league player and current Rice head coach Jose Cruz Jr. said in a statement. "His encouragement to push us beyond any and all limits has been a valuable lesson that I carry with me and strive to apply as I follow in his footsteps.
"The example of being committed to greatness no matter what others thought was possible was evident here at Rice, and his accomplishments here are and will always be a source of joy for all Owls. He will always be celebrated, remembered, and missed. Rest in peace, Coach Wayne Graham. My heartfelt condolences to Tanya and the family."
Graham coached the Owls from 1992-2018.
Coach Wayne Graham was one of the Best of the Best!
A baseball lifer! Great Coach, but far better teacher of the game! Gave us young men life lessons to carry with us forever.
I will miss Coach, and his funny stories we had together over the years.
A Winner!
Thanks for…
— Roger Clemens (@rogerclemens) September 4, 2024
"He took over a program that had only seven winning seasons in the previous 78 years. Graham led Rice to a 1,173-528-2 record and the school's first ever postseason berth in 1995. Under Graham, Rice went to the College World Series seven times and won the 2003 National Championship.
"Dozens of Graham's players went on to play in the big leagues, including Lance Berkman and Anthony Rendon. Rice had 14 players selected in the first round during Graham's tenure, including 1997 No. 1 overall pick Matt Anderson, and three of the top eight picks in 2004: Philip Humber (No. 3 overall), Jeff Niemann (No. 4), and Wade Townsend (No. 8)."
Former players and coaches flooded social media with tributes to Graham, who was in Austin, Texas, at the time of his death.
