Rick Heines named new Head Baseball Coach
University of Health Sciences and Pharmacy in St. Louis (UHSP) Department of Athletics has announced Rick Heines as the new head coach for the Eutectic Baseball Team. Heines joined the Eutectic program as an assistant coach in the Fall of 2023, and has been promoted to head coach following the departure of program-founding Head Coach Jared Franklin (2022-23).
Heines most recently spent 11 years coaching the NCAA Division III Texas Lutheran University (TLU) Baseball team. He took over the reins of the TLU Bulldogs in 2020-21 and went on to amass an 87-43 record over three seasons as head coach. Heines led the program to two Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) championships (2021, 2023), an NCAA Regional Championship, and a National Championships qualification in that time. After the program's first outright SCAC regular season championship in 2023, Heines was named SCAC Coach of the Year, capping off his Bulldog career.
Texas Lutheran reached the 25-win mark in all three seasons under Heines with a high mark of 30 in 2021. His Bulldog players earned a total of 34 All-SCAC honors, six All-West region honors, and one All-American award over three years with Heines at the helm.
Before arriving at TLU in 2012, Heines served as the pitching coach and recruiting coordinator at Texas A&M-Kingsville from 2010-2012, helping the Javelinas receive an at-large bid to the NCAA Division II Baseball Championship (regional round) in 2012. The Javelinas pitching staff led the Lone Star Conference in earned run average and strikeout-to-walk ratio.
After growing up in San Antonio, Texas, Heines began his collegiate baseball career at Midland College (Texas), where he was an all-conference selection in 2004. After receiving his associate's degree in Kinesiology from Midland, Heines continued on as a student-athlete at Purdue University. He was named All-Big 10 as a pitcher and Academic All-Big 10 while at Purdue in 2006. In 2007, Heines tied for the NCAA Division I season lead in shutouts, with four, before graduating with a bachelor's degree in Movement and Sports Science.
Upon graduation, Heines embarked on his collegiate coaching career as a volunteer pitching coach for Purdue in 2008. Since then, he has coached eight Major League Baseball draft picks.
In 2016, Heines completed his master's degree in Education Administration from Texas A&M-Kingsville.
UHSP Director of Athletics Jill Harter believes Heines is a perfect fit with the Eutectic Baseball program.
"Rick checks all the boxes for us," said Harter. "He's an experienced coach with a track record of competitive success and a proven recruiter.
"Rick spent the fall establishing relationships with our players, which will make his transition to head coaching duties seamless. With an excellent foundation already built, I'm excited to see what Rick and the team will do this spring in our first season of conference play."
For his part, Heines is excited about the future of UHSP Baseball and the 2024 season.
"I am thrilled for the opportunity to lead the baseball program at UHSP," said Heines.
"I would like to thank Director of Athletics Jill Harter along with the rest of the leadership team. I would also like to thank Jared Franklin for his hard work constructing the current roster from scratch, as well as affording me the opportunity to work on his coaching staff this fall. Starting a college baseball program is a monumental challenge and I could not be more excited about building on what is a very solid foundation.
"Ultimately, through hard work and persistence, my purpose is to provide a championship level experience for the student-athletes in the UHSP baseball program."
After already playing a few fall scrimmages, the Eutectics are scheduled to kick off the 2024 season in Huntsville, Ala., on Feb. 11, at Oakwood University. The UHSP team will host its first-ever American Midwest Conference matchup on Mar. 22 against Central Baptist College.