Todd Holland begins his 10th season as UAFS head baseball coach.
Holland, who is a native of Crystal, Minn., is the fifth head coach in the history of the program – Shelby Breedlove (1963-64), Lawrence “Squeaky” Smith (1965), Bill Crowder (1966-1998), Dale Harpenau (1999-2014).
He has compiled a 506-447 win-loss record as an NCAA Division II head coach.
This past season Holland led the Lions to a 13-9 overall record until the season was canceled due to COVID-19 virus spread.
In 2019, Holland guided the Lions to a 27-19 overall finish and a third-place finish in the Heartland Conference. UAFS earned its seventh appearance in the Heartland Conference Tournament in eight seasons as an active NCAA Division II member.
Also, one of Holland's recruits, three-year starting right fielder Logan Allen, was drafted by the Tampa Bay Rays in the 14th round of the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft.
In 2018, Holland guided the Lions to a 32-19 overall finish and a runner-up finish in the Heartland Conference. UAFS earned its sixth appearance in the Heartland Conference Tournament in seven seasons as an active NCAA Division II member.
The Lions were ranked in the Collegiate Baseball Division II and NCBWA Division II Top 25 during the season, peaking at No. 16 in the NCBWA Division II Top 25. UAFS also received its first-ever No. 1 ranking in the NCAA Division II South Central Region and became the first UAFS program in any sport to earn a No. 1 region ranking.
In 2017, Holland guided the Lions to their best season ever as a NCAA Division II program.
The Lions finished a program-best 35-22 overall -- setting the single-season record for wins -- and 18-6 in Heartland Conference play. The Lions finished runner-up in the Heartland Conference, earning their first-ever bid to the NCAA Division II National Tournament. The Lions finished runner-up in the South Central Region Tournament.
In his second season, Holland guided the Diamond Lions to a 24-21 overall record and a 13-14 mark in the Heartland Conference.
During his first season, Holland guided the Diamond Lions to a 28-21 overall record and a 15-10 mark in Heartland Conference play. UAFS finished fourth in the conference and earned a berth in the conference tournament as the No. 4 seed. The Diamond Lions went 1-2 in the tournament, finishing third.
He had four players earn First Team All-Conference honors, one player earn Second Team All-Conference honors and five players named to the All-Heartland Conference Gold Glove Team.
Prior to joining the UAFS staff, Holland was head baseball coach at Cameron University in Lawton, Okla., where he compiled an overall record of 317-238. Cameron competes in the NCAA Division II’s Lone Star Conference.
During his tenure at Cameron, Holland turned the Aggies into one of the premier and most-respected programs in the South Central Region. In 2011, Aggie Chase Larsson was named the Rawlings National Player of the Year after belting 29 homers in 49 games in an Aggie uniform.
In the 2010 season, Holland led the Aggies to a 29-19 mark and an upset over No. 18 ranked Angelo State. He also coached Thomas Dicker and Alex Lyons to an Academic All-Conference honor. Lyons and Logan Grimes captured All-Conference honors, while Nate Valdez and Lyons were named All-Region.
Holland was selected to succeed longtime Aggie head coach Ron Ihler in the summer of 2003 after spending the previous season as Ihler's assistant coach.
He served the 2004 season as interim head coach and was officially named the head coach of the Cameron baseball team following a 2004 season, which produced the Aggies’ first winning season in more than a decade.
Holland followed that successful debut with another winning season in 2005, earning Co-Lone Star Conference North Division Coach of the Year honors in the process. In his first two years at the helm of the Aggie program, Holland directed several individuals who have received postseason recognition, including 2005 All-America honorees Derrick Mihecoby and Greg Patton.
Holland rejoined the Aggie program in 2003 after spending time in uniform as a player and assistant at Cameron from 1997-99. A career .400 hitter in two seasons with the Aggies, Holland currently owns Cameron single-season school records for total hits (80) and doubles (25). As a senior with the Aggies in 1998, he hit .428 and had a slugging percentage of .743, earning second team All-South Region and first team All-Lone Star Conference honors.
In his first season as the Aggies' head coach in 2004, Holland guided Cameron to its first winning season in more than a decade, finishing with a 26-19 record while competing in the extremely competitive Lone Star Conference North Division. Five Cameron players earned all-conference honors that season, including first team All-LSC North selections Steve Clark and Allen Mitchell.
Holland and his wife Jennifer, who is Enrollment Generalist and Deputy Title IV Coordinator at UAFS, have two daughters, Rylie and Carsyn, and a son, Cooper.
