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For Immediate
Release: May 22, 2002 UTPA
HEAD BASEBALL COACH REGGIE TREDAWAY RETIRES
EDINBURG,
TX –The University of Texas-Pan American’s head baseball coach,
Reggie Tredaway, has announced his retirement. Tredaway,
who led the Broncs to a 106-152-1 record in five years as head coach, is
concluding an illustrious career at Texas-Pan American that began when
he starred as a player and continued when he served as an assistant
coach for 23 years under legendary Head Coach Al Ogletree. “Reggie
Tredaway is one of the finest individuals I have ever had the pleasure
of serving with in collegiate athletics,” said UTPA Director of
Athletics William J. Weidner. “He has made an invaluable contribution
to The University of Texas-Pan American, our athletic department and the
Bronc baseball program during his many years of service. His
accomplishments at UTPA as a student-athlete, an assistant coach and as
the head coach of our baseball program are well-respected and
appreciated by everyone who follows Bronc athletics. I am especially
appreciative of the support that I received from Coach Tredaway upon being
named the athletic director at UTPA. He has been an integral part and
valued contributor to the recent rebirth of Bronc athletics.” “Reggie is a man of integrity who has earned the respect of all of our student-athletes, the athletic department and the entire university,” Weidner added. “Reggie has been and will always be a valued member of The University of Texas-Pan American and the Bronc athletic family. We wish Coach Tredaway and his family all the best.” Tredaway’s
teams twice won 30 games in a season, and each time fell just short of
advancing to the NCAA Tournament. His 2000 team posted a 31-19-1 record,
the best for the Broncs in nearly a decade, and included victories
against Texas Tech, Texas A&M, Southwest Texas State, and
Louisiana-Monroe. This season, UTPA was 15-38, but defeated Texas
Christian, 24th-ranked Notre Dame and 22nd-ranked
Texas A&M away from home. “I decided
at this point in time, it was a good time for me to do this,” said
Tredaway. “I felt like I reached a point in my life that I can move on
and pursue other interests. “I’m looking forward to spending time
with my family and grandchildren. I’d like to thank (University
President) Dr. (Miguel) Nevarez and Bill (Weidner) for the opportunity.
I’d also like to say a special thanks to Al Ogletree, who brought me
here and hired me as his assistant. I’d also like to thank all the
baseball alumni, and the people in the community for their support of my
program. I wish the university and the baseball program all the luck and
all the success in the world. A native of Midland, Texas, Tredaway was an All-District and All-Area shortstop at Midland High School before he began his collegiate career at Sul Ross State University, where he played for Coach Ogletree. As a freshman third baseman at Sul Ross, Tredaway led his team to the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics World Series, and earned All-American honors in an era in which there was just a single All-America team, with no divisions. The Lobos eliminated their baseball program after Tredaway’s freshman season. With offers from schools all over the nation, Tredaway chose to follow Ogletree to UTPA. Tredaway earned All-American honors as a sophomore at UT Pan American, then broke his leg as a junior. He returned at the end of the season and homered in the NCAA Regionals against Texas As a senior, Tredaway was credited with the most important hit in Bronc baseball history, tripling with the bases full to help UTPA defeat Texas, 4-0, clinching the regional championship and allowing the Broncs to advance to the College World Series, where they finished fourth. He also made one of the greatest catches in UTPA history, catching a foul ball before colliding with the concrete stands in a 1-0 win against Harvard at the CWS Tredaway
still holds the Bronc single game record with 9 runs batted in, and set
another record by fielding
95 consecutive chances at third base without an error.
After graduation, Tredaway coached at Brownsville High School (now Hanna HS) before returning to UTPA as a graduate assistant and then a full-time assistant. He joined the Bronc staff in the fall of 1974 to assist Ogletree, who retired in 1997 as the winningest active NCAA Division I baseball coach The Broncs made 10 more NCAA Tournament appearances while Tredaway was assisting Ogletree. In that time span, eight players earned All-America honors. During Tredaway’s tenure as head coach, catcher Jesse Gutierrez was named All-American in 2000 Tredaway and the Broncs have established a reputation for developing players who go on to play professionally. Scott Fowler was the Rookie of the Year in the Texas-Louisiana League in 2001, and helped lead the Edinburg Roadrunners to the TLL championship. Levi Frary was drafted by Colorado and pitched for the Tri-City Dust Devils of the Northwest League, while Mike Cox was chosen by the New York Mets and pitched for the Brooklyn Cyclones of the New York-Penn League. In 1999, Omar Ortiz was the first UTPA player ever to be chosen in the first round of the major league baseball draft, being selected by the San Diego Padres. The same season, Joey Cole was chosen by the Mets, while Jason Bottenfield was selected by the Red Sox. In 2000, Gutierrez finished first in the nation in slugging percentage, and second in home runs per game. Tredaway’s athletes have made their marks academically as well as athletically. In five years, 41 Broncs have been named to the Athletic Director’s Honor Roll, or earned Academic All-Conference honors. Tredaway and his wife, Sondra, have been married for 35 years. They have two sons, 34-year-old Kevin, and 28-year-old Chad. Kevin is married to the former Cathleen Inman of La Feria, Texas, while Chad is marries to the former Trista Roberts of Mason, Texas. Chad is the manager of the Edinburg Roadrunners of the Central League, and he led them to the league championship last year in their first season. The
Tredaways have six grandchildren. They are: 15-year-old Brett,
14-year-old Brook, nine-year-old Tyler, eight-year-old Tara,
two-year-old Tanner, and six-month-old Tayton. REGGIE TREDAWAY’S CAREER HIGHLIGHTS
COACHING1975-1997 Assistant Coach, Texas-Pan American 1998
Texas-Pan American
18-32
.360 Totals
Five Seasons
106-152-1
.411 PLAYING1968 Sul Ross State University All-American, NAIA World Series 1969 UT-Pan American All-American 1970 UT-Pan American Starred in NCAA Regionals 1971
UT-Pan American
Helped Lead Broncs to College WS Holds UTPA single game record with 9 runs batted in Drafted by
the Montreal Expos and the Oakland A’s
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