Hankins Steps Down as Baseball Coach

CHICKASHA, Okla. – Tuesday morning, the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma announced that Tyle Hankins will be stepping down from his position as the head coach of the baseball program to pursue other opportunities.

Tyle Hankins took over as Head Coach in the summer of 2021, when Mike Ross became the Athletic Director at USAO. Hankins joined the Drovers in 2019 as assistant coach and was vital to one of the most successful stretches in program history. In his time as head coach at USAO, the Drovers have put together a win-loss record of 163-97 (.627) and he led the squad to the 2025 SAC Tournament championship, as well as four consecutive NAIA Baseball National Championship tournament appearances (22, 23, 24, 25). Hankins has helped guide 31 players to All-SAC selections, 12 SAC Gold Glove awards, one SAC Newcomer of the Year, one SAC Pitcher of the Year, and two NAIA All-American selection.

As an assistant coach, he has helped lead the Drovers to back-to-back SAC regular-season titles, as well as back-to-back SAC Tournament championships.

In addition to his work at USAO, Hankins has coached in some of the most competitive college summer leagues in the nation. For three seasons, he was an assistant coach for the wildly popular Savannah Bananas in Georgia. In 2021, Hankins was an assistant coach for the Cotuit Kettleers, of the prestigious Cape Cod Baseball League, and in the summer of 2019, he coached for the Florence Redwolves in South Carolina.

Prior to coming to USAO, Hankins was an assistant coach at Northwestern Oklahoma State University, where he served as the Rangers hitting coach for two seasons. Prior to that, he worked at Southwestern Oklahoma State University and at East Central University.

Hankins graduated from East Central University with a bachelor's in history and a master's in sports administration. He played three years for the Tigers and was named to the Great American Conference All-Academic team as a senior.

The USAO athletic department will now begin a nationwide search for the next head coach.

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