Will Bolt Head Baseball Coach wbolt@texarkanacollege.edu

Coach Bolt enters his third season with the Texarkana College Bulldogs. In 2009, the Bulldogs had one of the most prolific seasons in school history. The 2009 squad finished with an overall record of 40-15 and clinched the school’s sixth conference championship in the last nine years. The season culminated with a #21 national ranking and a runner up finish in the Regional Tournament, falling just one game short of the NJCAA College World Series. A school record 8 Bulldogs in all were chosen to the all-conference team, including NJCAA All-America selections David Allday and John Stilson. For his efforts, Allday was also named the Region XIV East Player of the Year. Working as the Bulldogs hitting instructor, Texarkana finished as the league leader in 8 of the 9 major offensive categories (Batting Avg. Slugging Pct., Doubles, Triples, Homeruns, Runs, RBI, and Walks). 2009 also saw six Bulldogs sign NCAA Division I Letters of Intent at the conclusion of their TC careers, bringing the total to 12 in Bolt’s two seasons at the helm. Of the 12 Division I signees, 8 have signed with NCAA powers in the Big XII and SEC conferences (Kansas State, Missouri, Oklahoma, Ole Miss, Texas A&M, and Texas Tech).

In his first season at TC, the Bulldogs reached the Regional Tournament for the eighth time in the program’s last nine seasons with an overall record of 33-23. Six Bulldogs were chosen to the All-Conference team, as Gip Hendrix took home Region XIV East Freshman of the year and Justin Coats was awarded a spot on the Region XIV All-Region team. In all, the Bulldogs were first or second in the conference in 7 major offensive categories including leading the conference in batting average (.351) and doubles (78). At the conclusion of the 2008 season, two Bulldogs were drafted as RHP Justin Fowler (33rd round) was taken by the Atlanta Braves, and OF/1B David Phillips (45th round) was selected by the New York Mets. 2008 also saw six sophomores sign National Letters of Intent with Division I institutions.

Coach Bolt was a 4-year starter at shortstop and second base at the University of Nebraska (1999-2002). During his playing career, Bolt played an instrumental role in helping Nebraska to four NCAA Regionals, three Super-Regionals and back to back trips to the College World Series. Bolt was the Minneapolis Regional MVP as a sophomore, hitting .545 and helping the Huskers win their first Regional tournament in school history. Bolt finished his career holding six Nebraska school records, including games played (251), games started (242), at-bats (922), hits (281), doubles (56), and assists (639), and finished his career ranked among the top five in several other categories. His 639 assists were the most in Big XII history. In the classroom, Bolt was a two-time academic All-Big XII honoree and graduated in 2003 with a degree in Communication Studies. In 2006, Bolt received his Masters of Education, also from the University of Nebraska.

Coach Bolt comes to TC with impressive coaching credentials. In 2005, as an assistant coach at his alma-mater, Nebraska, the Huskers had their most prolific season in school history with a record of 57-15. The Huskers swept the Big XII tournament and Regular Season titles and made a trip to the 2005 College World Series. Working primarily with the infielders and assisting with the hitters, Bolt tutored two top10 round draft picks, including #2 overall pick and Golden Spikes award winner Alex Gordon. With Bolt overseeing the infielders, the Huskers finished the season with a school record .975 fielding percentage.

Bolt moved on to coach at Texas A&M University where in 2007 he helped engineer one of the biggest turnarounds in NCAA history. The 2007 squad finished with a record of 48-19 and won the school’s first ever Big XII Tournament title, as well as the school’s first NCAA Regional title since 1999. Bolt again mentored some of the best infielders in Division I baseball, as two more of his infielders, Brandon Hicks and Blake Stouffer were drafted in the top five rounds of the MLB draft. Both players also garnered All-American status as Stouffer led the nation in RBI with 85 and Hicks set a Big XII conference record with 235 assists. The 2007 Aggie squad finished the year with a .314 batting average and a school and Big XII record 151 stolen bases.

Education: University of Nebraska-Lincoln B.S. 2003
                    University of Nebraska-Lincoln Masters of Education 2006

Coaching Career: 2003-2005 University of Nebraska Assistant Coach
                               2005-2007 Texas A&M University Assistant Coach
                               2007-present Texarkana College Head Coach (73-38 record)

Personal: A native of Conroe, Tx, Bolt and his wife Lauren were married on July 30, 2005. The Bolts have a son, Jaxon William, born October 8, 2009.

Brad Flanders Assistant Baseball Coach bflanders@texarkanacollege.edu

Coach Flanders enters his second season as Assistant Coach with the Bulldogs. Coach Flanders handles the Pitching Staff and serves as the first base coach. He is also entering his first season as the Bulldog’s recruiting coordinator.

With a depleted staff last season, the Bulldogs compiled a 33-23 record, making a regional appearance for the 8th time in the 9 years. Three Bulldog pitchers continued on to D1, Jason Chowning (Oklahoma), Cory Hill (New Mexico State), and David Phillips (Ole Miss). Freshman Right hander Justin Fowler was drafted in the 33rd Round by the Atlanta Braves and will be a large part of the Bulldog success in 2009.

Coach Flanders was a two time all conference catcher at Hutchinson Community College. He was also named to the Junior college All-American Team in 2002 as well as All Region. Coach Flanders then went to the University of Missouri where he was an All Conference Catcher. His senior season, he was mentioned on the “Watch List” for the Johnny Bench Award (top collegiate catcher in the nation) in 2004.)He helped contribute to NCAA regional births in 2003 and 2004. After his playing days at Missouri, Coach Flanders played professional baseball in the Northern League. His professional career was highlighted with a player of the week honors during the 2005 season. During that stretch he hit over 400 with 3 homeruns and a walk-off homerun against Sioux City Explorers.

Coach Flanders graduated in 2005 with a degree in Agriculture from Missouri. He is a native of Smithville, Missouri.

Lance Harvell Assistant Baseball Coach lharvell@texarkanacollege.edu

Coach Harvell enters his first year with Texarkana College after spending the past two seasons as a Graduate Assistant at Texas A&M. During the 2009 season, he was the teams Strength and Conditioning coach. In 2008 he served as the pitching assistant, helping the Aggies to a Big 12 regular season Championship, NCAA Regional Championship, and an NCAA Super Regional berth.

Coach Harvell was an All-Conference and All-Region catcher at Richland Community College in Dallas, TX. In 2003 and 2004 he led his team to back-to-back NJCAA National Championships, hitting .351 with 16 doubles and 2 homeruns in ’04. Coach Harvell then moved on to Texas A&M where he walked on as a catcher in 2005 and 2006.

Coach Harvell graduated from A&M in 2006 with a B.S. in Sport Management and earned his Master’s degree in the same field in 2009. Coach Harvell and his wife Courtney are both natives of College Station, TX.