Baseball Coaching Staff

HEAD COACH & ASSISTANT ATHLETIC DIRECTOR - Robin Harriss

903.233.3721 
robinharriss@letu.edu  

 

  Robin Harriss, who was named Assistant Athletic Director on November 13, 2009, has been gradually building the YellowJacket Baseball program in his first two years at the helm.  Entering his fifth season, Harriss has yet to have a break out season in terms of wins and losses, but he is doing the little things that will lead to wins. 

  Harriss has shown himself to be an excellent defensive coach as his teams have improved dramatically in each of his first two seasons.  Prior to Harriss coming on board for the 2007 season, the program had five straight seasons with a fielding percentage below .925.  In 2007, the Jackets posted a .933 fielding percentage and then set a school record in 2008 with a .951 fielding percentage.

  Harriss brought in his first full recruiting class in 2008 and saw immediate dividends as four freshmen earned everyday starting jobs and another was in the starting pitching rotation.  He has had four players earn all-conference honors, five named the conference player of the week and 13 ASC Academic Honor Roll members. In 2010, Harriss helped guide Logan Smith to the ASC Freshman of the Year honors, while having six players named ASC Academic Honor Roll members.

  Harriss is a 1995 graduate of Texas Tech University where he earned All-Southwest Conference and SWC tournament team honors during his senior season.  He signed with the Cleveland Indians organization out of college and played or coached at the professional level for the next eight years reaching AAA during the 1997 and 1999 seasons.  During his first three years of minor league ball he led the entire organization in throwing out potential base stealers and earned South Atlantic League all-star honors during the 1995 season.

 As a coach, Harriss has had similar success.  Before heading to the college ranks, he managed for a season in the minor leagues with the Greenville Bluesmen.  Then, he moved onto Bacone College where he served as an assistant coach for two years before becoming the head coach for a year.  During his three seasons, BC won at least 45 games each year.  As the head coach, BC was ranked as high as 17th in the nation in NAIA, the highest in school history and finished the year ranked 20th.  He then moved onto Oklahoma State University where he worked with the catchers for a year.  Last year, Harriss was the top assistant at Dartmouth College in charge of recruiting and hitting.  

 At Dartmouth, Harriss helped take the Big Green from last place in the Ivy League in 2005 to second place in 2006.  Dartmouth defeated three NCAA Division I playoff participants, including Pepperdine, the 20th ranked team in the country.  Under Harriss’ tutelage, the Big Green improved their team batting average from .267 in 2005 to .286 in 2006 and were second in the conference in on base percentage. 

 In his coaching career, Harriss has had over 40 players drafted into major league organizations.  He coached three conference players of the year at Bacone and had five all-Ivy League selections this past year at Dartmouth.  He has also coached in the Cape Cod League (Wareham Gatemen) and in the Texas Collegiate League (Granbury Generals).  

 Harriss and his wife, Misti, reside in Longview with their son, Winn and daughter, Adalee.  He is originally from San Angelo, Texas and attended Lubbock Christian University and Frank Phillips Junior College before graduating with an Exercise and Sport Sciences degree from Texas Tech.  He earned a master’s degree in College Teaching from Northeastern State University in 2003 and also teaches in the Kinesiology Department at LeTourneau. 

School	Year	Record
Bacone College	2002	45-16
Bacone College	2003	46-15
Bacone College	2004	46-17
LeTourneau University	2007	11-28
LeTourneau University	2008	11-25-1
LeTourneau University	2009	14-22
LeTourneau University	2010	11-29
Career	7	184-152-1

ASSISTANT COACH - Aaron Gentry

903.233.3736
aarongentry@letu.edu

    

  Aaron Gentry joined the LeTourneau University baseball coaching staff in May 2007.  He brings a wealth of knowledge gained from his extensive playing and coaching career. 

  Gentry, an Oklahoma native, most recently was a volunteer assistant coach at Rogers State University.  Before beginning his coaching career at RSU, Gentry was an accomplished infielder.  In 1993, he earned all-state honors at Claremore (Okla.) High School while leading them to the 4A State Championship.  He was drafted by the Cleveland Indians after his senior season, but chose to continue his playing career at the University of Arkansas.  He later starred at Labette (Kan.) Community College and Berry (Ga.) College before being drafted again in the 12th round by the St. Louis Cardinals in 1997.

  In 2009, Gentry's hard work and dedication to LeTourneau as helped guide Nick Mihalco was named the ASC East Freshman of the Year. One year later, Logan Smith earned that same honor.

He spent three years as a player in the Cardinals organization before returning home to Oklahoma.  Gentry assisted the RSU program from 2004-07.  He has earned a bachelor's degree in behavioral and social science and has a Master's degree in counseling psychology.  Gentry and wife, Lauren, who is the head women's golf coach at LeTourneau, married in the fall of 2009 and currently lives in Longview.