18  Sunny Golloway Position: Head Coach Experience: Fourth Year at OU

In two years at the helm, Sunny Golloway has guided the Sooners to 79 victories and top 20 rankings in each season. In 2007, OU was one hit away from playing for the its first Big 12 Championship since 1997 and in 2006, Golloway became the second coach in NCAA Division I history to guide his club to a Super Regional Appearance in his first year at the helm. The 2006 season was highlighted by the Sooners 45-22 overall mark, a third-place finish in the Big 12, and an NCAA regional title.

OU finished the 2007 season with a 34-24 overall record. Six Sooners were selected in the 2007 MLB Draft and eight received All-Big 12 recognition from the league's coaches. In addition, Aaron Baker was named a freshman All-American and Aaron Ivey was named CoSIDA's Academic All-American of the Year for baseball.

Including eight seasons (1996-2003) as the head coach at Oral Roberts and the record at OU's helm, Golloway is 426-208 (.672). That percentage ranks in the top 20 nationally among active head coaches with a minimum of five years of experience

In his first full year as the head coach, Golloway guided the Sooners to a 45-22 mark, a third-place finish in the Big 12, an NCAA regional title and the program's first appearance in a Super Regional (format originated in 1999).

The Sooners run in 2006 was the best in Norman since the 1994 and 1995 teams made back-to-back appearances in the College World Series. OU was one win away from reaching the program's 10th appearance in Omaha after Golloway became just the second coach in NCAA Division I history to guide his club to a Super Regional Appearance in his first year at the helm.

Not only did the Sooners enjoy a top ten ranking for three weeks during the regular season, but they finished the year ranked No. 9 (Baseball America) and led the nation in fielding percentage with a .983 mark (second highest in school history behind the 1951 National Championship team, .986).

Golloway was named the eighth head baseball coach at the University of Oklahoma on July 15, 2005. His appointment was made after successful stints on the Sooner staff as an assistant and interim head coach, and a strong eight-year run as the head coach at Oral Roberts.

In 2005, Golloway was elevated from associate head coach to interim head coach on May 1, when Larry Cochell resigned. Golloway rallied the program to a 12-6 mark down the stretch and led the Sooners to a berth in the NCAA Tournament.

When Golloway took over the Sooners in 2005, the team was 23-20 with a seventh-place Big 12 mark of 7-11.The team won its last three Big 12 series to move its overall record to 35-26 and its Big 12 mark to 14-13, good for a fifth-place finish.

Golloway, an assistant coach at OU from 1992-1995, returned to OU from Oral Roberts prior to the 2004 season. In his first season back, he helped direct a win in the prestigious Kia Klassic as the Sooners became a fixture in the nation's top 25 rankings again, recorded the program's highest finish (second place) in Big 12 Conference history and made a return to the NCAA Tournament, hosting of a regional tourney.

As an assistant on the accomplished OU coaching staffs of the early 1990s, Golloway made three trips to the College World Series, including the 1994 National Championship run.

At ORU, Golloway posted a mark of 335-156 record (.682). He coached 16 All-Americans, three Freshman All-Americans and 26 of his ORU players were been drafted or signed professional contracts. He was honored four times as Mid-Continent Conference Coach of the Year by his peers (1998, 1999, 2000, 2002).Golloway also twice garnered Coach of the Year acclaim from the Oklahoma Baseball Coaches Association in 1998 and 2001 and was nominated again in 2003 for the fourth time in his career.

Among his many other laurels as the ORU head coach, Golloway shaped the successful careers of 34 all-conference selections, four conference Players of the Year and Pitchers of the Year and one conference Newcomer of the Year.

In his final six seasons at Oral Roberts, Golloway was responsible for turning the Golden Eagles into one of the nation's winningest programs. The program flourished under Golloway's guidance and tallied 277 wins in that time, an average of more than 46 victories per season, and a .731 winning percentage.

Golloway and the Golden Eagles dominated the Mid-Continent Conference after joining the league in 1998, winning six consecutive regular season and tournament titles, and advancing to six consecutive NCAA Regionals. ORU was an amazing 85-5 in conference play over his last four seasons.

Golloway's strongest postseason run with Oral Roberts came at the end of the 2002 season. The Golden Eagles, fresh from winning their fifth consecutive Mid-Continent Conference Tournament title, stunned 14th-ranked and home-standing Wichita State in the opening round of NCAA Regional play.

ORU then knocked off the Shockers again the next night, before falling to Arkansas in the Regional final. The national media and baseball coaching community took notice as the Golden Eagles ended the season ranked No. 21 by Collegiate Baseball and 20th by the NCBWA.

Golloway is a former Team USA assistant and head skipper of several collegiate summer teams. In the summer of 2002, he was selected to serve as pitching coach for USA Baseball's National Team. Under his direction, the team recorded the lowest ERA in its history.

Golloway also helped lead Team USA to a silver medal at the first-ever FISU World Championships in Messina, Italy. The National Team also won the championship at Haarlem Baseball Week in The Netherlands

During his first stint in Norman, Golloway helped guide the Kenai Peninsula Oilers of the Alaska Baseball League to consecutive National Baseball Congress World Series championships in 1993 and 1994.As a result of his successes in those back-to-back years, he was named the NBC Coach of the Year in 1993 and 1994.

Counting the Sooners' national championship in `94, Golloway won an amazing three national championships in one calendar year.

Coaching for several successful teams has given Golloway the opportunity to help mold many outstanding players. Among those who have come under Golloway's tutelage are current Major Leaguers Mickey Callaway, Ryan Christenson, J.D. Drew, Braden Looper, Greg Norton, Russ Ortiz, Doug Mientkiewicz and Mark Redman.

Although born in Springfield, Mo., Golloway grew up in Stillwater, Okla., and graduated from Stillwater High School in 1979. He attended Northeastern Oklahoma A&M Junior College in Miami, Okla., for one year before transferring to Oklahoma Christian College where he received his bachelor's degree in 1984.

He has done graduate work at the University of Central Oklahoma and the University of Oklahoma. Golloway and his wife, Charlotte, live in Norman. The couple has three children: Sunni Kate, 23, Taylor, 17, and Callen, 7.