Ranger Baseball Coaches Joe Phillips Head Baseball Coach Joe Phillips is in his 20th season as head coach of his alma-mater, Northwestern Oklahoma State University. In 19 seasons at the helm of the Ranger baseball program, he has compiled a 444-491 career record and has won more games at Northwestern than any other coach in the Rangers’ athletic history. Last season, Phillips led Northwestern to a 13-26 record and to its 10th consecutive postseason appearance. Since Northwestern joined the Sooner Athletic Conference in 2001, the Rangers have made the postseason conference tournament each season, a feat that only one other conference team has experienced. In his 19-year stint as the Rangers’ head coach, he has turned in 10 winning seasons and has posted six seasons with more than 30 wins, including owning the program’s best season in 2001 with a 49-12 record. He has coached five all-Americans and has produced numerous professional prospects during his stay in Alva. Born and raised in Arkansas City, Kansas, Phillips has been a part of the Ranger baseball program since he arrived on campus in 1982. He played two seasons for the Rangers (1982-83), after completing two seasons at Cowley County (Kan.) Community College. The power-hitting first baseman started both seasons for Northwestern and holds the team record for most home runs in a game with three. After completing his eligibility as a player, Phillips turned to the coaching ranks where he began as a graduate assistant coach in 1984. He remained in that capacity until the summer 1988, when he was named the head coach. During the 2001 season, Phillips led the Rangers to several season bests. The squad set a record for most wins in a season with 49 and led the NAIA in batting average (.393) and runs scored (595). That same year, Northwestern achieved its highest NAIA national ranking, being rated seventh in the country. In his tenure, Phillips has coached five NAIA All-Americans, including two-time first-team All-American and Northwestern Sports Hall of Famer Tom Zanca. He also has produced three NAIA Academic All-Americans. Phillips obtained his bachelor’s degree in health and physical education in 1984 from Northwestern and later earned a master’s degree in education in 1988. Joe, and his wife, Tanya, have two sons, Jake (20), a sophomore at Northwestern Oklahoma State, and Pete (17) and a daughter, Taryn (14). James Hoffman Student Assistant Coach James Hoffman is a new face to Rangers baseball and begins his first season as a student assistant coach. Last season, he was the head coach at Cherokee High School and led the Chiefs to a 16-14 overall record. Before arriving at Northwestern in the spring of 2003, Hoffman spent a semester at Northern Oklahoma College in Tonkawa. Hoffman was a three-sport athlete at Buffalo High School, playing baseball, football and basketball all four years. He also competed in track during his freshman and sophomore years. He is a December 2006 graduate, receiving his bachelor’s degree in health and physical education with a minor in Spanish. Hoffman is currently working on his master’s in education administration. Ryan Hermann Student Assistant Coach Ryan Herrmann also begins his first year on the Ranger coaching staff and returns to Northwestern after having pitched two years. Hermmann threw for the Rangers in 2003 and 2004 after transferring from Oklahoma State. During his first season as a Ranger (2002), Herrmann defeated every Sooner Athletic Conference team at least once and led the team in strikeouts with 59. It his two-year stint, he posted a 13-7 record on the mound while throwing 26 innings. He struck out 96 batters in 134 innings. For the last two years Hermann has served as a camp instructor at the famous Chandler Baseball Camp in Chandler, Okla. Herrmann will graduate in May with a bachelor’s degree in health and physical education.