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Claremore - A new chapter was added to the storied coaching career of Rogers State University Head Baseball Coach Ron Bradley over the weekend.The Hillcats skipper was honored as the Oklahoma College Baseball Coach of the Year at the Oklahoma Baseball Coaches Association’s annual coaches’ clinic in Oklahoma City, Okla. It marks the first honor bestowed upon Bradley as a college coach after receiving nearly every conceivable award during his 21 years of coaching at the high school level.
Bradley led RSU to a 35-16 record in 2008 and a fourth place finish in the Sooner Athletic Conference. The Hillcats notched wins over two Top 25 programs and qualified for the SAC postseason tournament in just their third season of competition.
Bradley shared the award with Oral Roberts Head Coach Rob Walton who guided the Golden Eagles to a 48-14 record and an NCAA Regional berth in 2008. Walton was also named the head coach of Team USA Baseball last summer and led the National Team to a Gold Medal. Walton is a two time recipient of the OBCA’s College Coach of the Year award. The award is voted upon by the board of the OBCA and this is just the second time in the 34 history of the award co-coaches of the year have been named.
“I’ve known Ron for a very long time,” said John Schwartz, executive director of the OBCA for the past 43 years. “He’s an extremely good coach and an outstanding person. We’re very proud of him.”
Bradley is a member of the OBCA Hall of Fame, class of 2003. He began his collegiate coaching career at RSU in 2004 after compiling one of the most successful high school baseball coaching resumes in Oklahoma history. His career accomplishments include four state championships in four different classifications (2A, 4A, 5A, 6A), one state runner-up, and eleven regional championships. He tallied nearly 500 career victories in his 21 years as a head coach at the high school level and holds the unique distinction of winning the first baseball state championship at West Fork (Ark.), Claremore (Okla.), and Jenks (Okla.) high schools.
Bradley has been selected Oklahoma Coach of the Year three times by The Daily Oklahoman and Tulsa World. He has also been honored with two National Region Coach of the Year Awards and is now a five time OBCA Coach of the Year.
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