Arkansas Tech Baseball Camps
Head Coach Dave Dawson
Dave Dawson enters his 14th year as the head coach of the Arkansas Tech baseball program in 2022-23.
Under Dawson's tutelage, the Wonder Boys program has soared to new heights. His career record at Tech sits at 380-269, earning him the all-time winningest baseball coach title in Arkansas Tech history. He has led Tech to 12-consecutive conference tournament appearances, six 30-win seasons, and in 2014, Dawson was named the Great American Conference Coach of the Year after the Wonder Boys won their first outright conference title since 1992.
Since 2010, Dawson has coached three conference player of the year award winners, 71 all-conference selections, and five all-Americans. During the 2014 season, the Wonder Boys set a program record with 44 wins, including a record 22-game win streak, on the way to their first NCAA postseason appearance in program history. Dawson was named the Natural State Baseball Coach of the Year.
Dawson came to Tech after spending the four seasons (2006-09) as the head baseball coach at Kansas Wesleyan University in Salina, Kan. In his four seasons at KWU, Dawson led the Coyotes to back-to-back regular season KCAC titles in 2008 and 2009 and compiled a 118-91 record, including winning a school-record 40 games in 2009.
In addition, he led KWU to two KCAC Baseball Tournament titles in 2007 and 2009 and helped the school advance to the championship round of the 2009 NAIA World Series Opening Round and achieve the school's first-ever national ranking in the NAIA Top 25 Baseball Poll. Along with all of KWU's accomplishments in 2009, Dawson also led the team to a school-record 26-game winning streak and also helped the team to a batting average of .366, which was sixth-best in the NAIA. In his tenure at KWU, Dawson was named KCAC Coach of the Year three times (2006, 2008 & 2009), was named the Region IV Coach of the Year in 2008, coached 38 All-KCAC performers, including 13 first-team honorees and also coaches four NAIA All-Americans and had two players win Rawlings Gold Glove Awards.
Prior to working at KWU, Dawson spent two seasons (2004-05) as an assistant coach at the University of Saint Mary. At Saint Mary, he was in charge of recruiting and served as the team's hitting coach and infield defense coach. While at Saint Mary, the team won the 2005 KCAC Baseball Tournament title.
During the summer of 2005, Dawson served as an assistant coach for the MBSL Royals of the Ban Johnson League in Shawnee Mission, Kan. The MBSL Royals was a select group of college baseball players. Before going to Saint Mary's, Dawson spent seven years as a high school baseball coach and six summers as an American Legion Baseball coach.
He started his high school coaching career at Higbee High School in Higbee, Mo., in 1997 and then spent six years (1998-03) as the head baseball coach at Piper High School in Kansas City, Kan. From the summer of 1998 through 2003, he spent severed as the head coach of the American Legion Post 199 team in Kansas City.
Dawson began his coaching career as an assistant at his alma mater, Ottawa. In his one season (1997) as an assistant at Ottawa, Dawson was in charge of recruiting and helped the Braves win the 1997 KCAC Conference title.
Dawson lettered for four seasons at Ottawa University (Ottawa, Kan.) from 1992-96. As a player, he was named a three-time All-KCAC All-Conference performer as a catcher and served as the team's captain in both 1995 and 1996. He holds the school's all-time career walks record with 72.
A native of West Plains, Missouri, Dawson is married to the former Janene Binns of Leoti, Kan. The couple have two children, Cole and Blake.