Ray Birmingham Position: Head Coach Experience: First Year

University of New Mexico athletics director Paul Krebs introduced Ray Birmingham as the school's 11th head baseball coach on June 20, 2007. Birmingham joined with UNM after 18 seasons as the head baseball coach at New Mexico Junior College in Hobbs.

Birmingham, 52 and a New Mexico resident for nearly his entire life, has a sparkling 818-328-2 (.713) record in 20 seasons as a collegiate head coach. He was 765-255-2 (.750) at NMJC, winning a national title in 2005 and finishing second in 2007. Birmingham's teams were on a streak of 17 consecutive winning seasons and the Thunderbirds were a gaudy 378-88-2 (.805) since 2000. So successful was Birmingham at NMJC that the school held ceremonies on Feb. 2, 2008, to dedicate the newly renovated baseball field that bears his name. He has compiled an overall record of 1,014-368-2 in his career in amateur baseball, including high school and American Legion competition.

"Ray is certainly the right fit to lead the New Mexico baseball program," said Krebs. "He has a lot of ties to our state and his success at New Mexico Junior College is extremely impressive. He is a tireless worker who will bring energy to the Lobo program."

After posting a 53-73 record in two seasons (1988-89) at the College of the Southwest in his hometown of Hobbs, Birmingham became the first skipper of the baseball program at New Mexico Junior College in 1990. The T-birds went 22-30 in his first year, but did not have a losing season over the next 17 seasons. They were nationally ranked 14 times, including five appearances in the Top-10.

"There is a lot of responsibility in this job; to the University of New Mexico, to the city of Albuquerque and to the state of New Mexico," said Birmingham. "I'm proud to accept that responsibility and begin a new era in UNM baseball. We'll put together a great staff. Lobo baseball will become an exciting program, but it will take the help of a lot of people throughout the state to make it happen. I want to build one big team with all of us involved."

Under Birmingham's leadership, New Mexico Junior College became known for its hitting prowess with six former players leading the country in batting and six teams hitting over .400. The Thunderbirds hit .416 as a team in 2007. The 2005 NMJC national championship team hit .411 during the regular season and .400 in postseason play. In 2001, the Thunderbirds displayed one of the most impressive offensive machines in college baseball history, batting .438 as a team. NMJC led the country in home runs (122) in 1998.

Birmingham has had 114 of his players drafted and sent over 200 young men on to four-year institutions, including 31 All-Americans.

Of course, Birmingham was more than just the baseball coach at New Mexico Junior College. He wore a lot of hats. Birmingham taught physical education classes and helped coordinate curriculum for the department. He also initiated and led the development and execution of the $1 million expansion of the baseball field.

Birmingham's coaching career began at Las Cruces (N.M.) Mayfield High School where the Trojans won the Class AAAA state championship in 1981 and had three No. 1 rankings through 1983. Birmingham came to NMJC in the fall of 1983, serving as the public relations officer and assistant to legendary basketball coach Ron Black. The Thunderbirds posted three consecutive 20-win seasons, including the school's first conference championship in 1987.

Birmingham moved to College of the Southwest in 1987 to guide its beginning baseball program. In 1989, the Mustangs reached No. 25 in the NAIA national rankings, won 33 games and advanced to the regional finals before losing to Dallas Baptist.

Birmingham has coached or spoken at numerous clinics throughout the United States and South America. He has been published in the American Baseball Coaches Association Journal and worked professionally for the Cleveland Indians, Oakland A's and Kansas City Royals. Birmingham led the NJCAA all-star team to four wins in five games over the Chinese All-Stars in Beijing, China in 2004. In 2006, Birmingham was selected as the head coach of the NJCAA all-star team when China returned to the United States to play a U.S. team.

Despite national championships, international victories and jaw-dropping numbers on the diamond, Birmingham is most proud of his former NMJC players. Closer Brendan Donnelly (1990-91) won Game 6 for the Anaheim Angels in the 2002 World Series, and became the first T-Bird with an MLB championship ring. A year later, Armando Almanza (1992-93) was a member of the World Champion Florida Marlins. In the summer of 2003, Donnelly was the winning pitcher in the Major League Baseball All-Star game in Chicago. During the past few seasons, Birmingham also watched proudly as former NMJC players Jose Flores (1992-93) and Mike Vento (1997) participated in the MLB playoffs with Oakland and the New York Yankees, respectively.

Birmingham is a 1973 graduate of Hobbs High School. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism Education from New Mexico State in 1978 and later received a master's degree in Education Administration from College of the Southwest.

Birmingham has three sons: Josh, 28, a former NCAA World Series participant at the University of Nebraska, played for his father at NMJC and is now a lawyer in Texas; Bryan, 25, a golf professional at San Angelo (Texas) Country Club; and Nick, 8.

Ray Birmingham Year-by-Year Collegiate Coaching Record