Ben Buck begins his second season at West Texas A&M as assistant baseball coach/pitching coach and recruiting coordinator after a school-record 37-21 season in 2014 and the program's first berth in the NCAA Tournament. Buck began his duties July 15, 2013.
In 2014, the Buffs had their best season in school history as Buck coached senior Dylan James to multiple All-America accolades and to a school-record 126 strikeout performance which ranked third nationally. James was the LSC Pitcher of the Year and his 9-3 record tied the school-record for wins in a season (Justin Kuks, 2012 and Jason Patrick 1995). James earned All-South Central Region Tournament honors, as well as LSC Tournament accolades. Junior closer Paul Lujan broke the school-record for saves in a season with nine.
Buck comes to WT from Regis University where he served as top assistant for head coach Dan McDermott for the past two seasons. He served as pitching coach as he helped lead Regis to its second NCAA Regional berth in 2012 in school history. Buck’s staff had a 4.64 ERA and tied the school record holding opponent batters to hit just .285. He also had a player, Steven Brault, drafted in the 11th round last year by the Baltimore Orioles.
A native of Denver, Buck came to Regis from Lamar Community College in Lamar, Colo. While there, he contributed to 152 wins as pitching coach/recruiting coordinator. Lamar won two Region IX Championships, two Empire Conference titles and two District appearances. Buck had the privilege to coach two players selected in the MLB Draft, four All-Americans and over 25 all-region selections, while placing over 30 sophomores to four-year institutions.
Buck spent his first two seasons of his collegiate playing career at Lamar CC (2001-02) and left Lamar as the all-time leader with 18 career saves. He helped guide LCC to 106 wins and a No. 3 final ranking, along with a third place finish at the JUCO World Series in 2002. That year, Buck finished the season with a 1.06 ERA, which is good for second all-time in a season in school history, and nine saves, which was third in the nation, along with just 11 walks in 26 innings.
He continued his career at the University of Utah where he primarily was a closer. Buck appeared in 26 games as a junior and had 22 strikeouts in 29 innings. As a senior, he appeared in 35 games and started nine. He finished his career with 61 appearances, 117 innings pitched, 71 strikeouts and seven wins. During his senior year, Buck led the Utes with six wins.
Buck then pitched professionally for the Mid-Missouri Mavericks in 2004, an independent Frontier League club affiliated with the Milwaukee Brewers.
“We are excited to have Coach Buck at WT,” Vanderburg said. “He has a lot of experience in the areas we are looking for, and he is quite familiar with the region, while having done an outstanding job with every pitching staff he has been with. I know our pitching staff will excel under him. His resume speaks for itself as he helped Regis to a regional berth for just the second time in school history.”
He resides in Canyon with his wife, Candice.
