HOUSTON — Wayne Graham, who coached the Rice baseball team to seven College World Series and the 2003 national championship, has died. He was 88.
The university announced that Graham died Tuesday night in Austin. No cause of death was given.
Graham took over a struggling Rice program in 1992 and won 1,173 games in 27 seasons. He led the Owls to 23 consecutive NCAA Tournaments from 1995-2017, including 11 super regionals. All of the Owls' CWS appearances came from 1997-2008.
Graham's 2003 team won two of three games against Stanford in the CWS finals to give Rice its first national title in a team sport.
“What Coach Graham accomplished during his time at Rice is truly remarkable,” said Rice Athletic Director Tommy McClelland. “He built a program that was the envy of college baseball for nearly three decades. I am grateful to have been able to spend time with him last fall and thank him for all he did for Rice baseball and our University. He set the standard for excellence within our athletic programs and his legacy will never be forgotten.”
Graham was born in Yoakum, Texas, and played two seasons in Texas before an 11-year career in the Philadelphia Phillies and New York Mets organizations. He was a longtime coach at San Jacinto Junior College, where seven-time Cy Young Award winner Roger Clemens starred before transferring to Texas.
“Coach Wayne Graham was one of the best of the best. A lifelong baseball player! A great coach, but an even better game teacher! He gave us young men life lessons that we will carry with us forever,” Clemens wrote in a social media post.
Coach Wayne Graham was one of the best of the best!
A lifelong baseball player! A great coach, but an even better teacher of the sport! He gave us youngsters life lessons that we can carry with us forever.
I will miss Coach and the fun stories we shared together over the years.
A winner!
Thanks for…
— Roger Clemens (@rogerclemens) September 4, 2024
Rice had five National Players of the Year and 19 first-round picks in the Major League Baseball amateur draft, including No. 1 overall pick Matt Anderson in 1997. In 2004, pitchers Philip Humber, Jeff Niemann and Wade Townsend were selected third, fourth and eighth as Rice became the first school to have three players selected in the first round.
