Education: Ohio University (2006), Fort Hays State (2012)
Seasons at Ouachita: 9 total, 6 as head coach (Assistant Coach, 2009-11; Head Coach, 2019- Present)
Record at Ouachita (prior to 2025): 146-128
Luke Howard has put Ouachita baseball back on the map as a yearly contender for the GAC championship and a yearly contender for a spot in the NCAA tournament.
In six seasons as head coach, Howard has led the Tigers to three straight winning seasons, two seasons with at least 30 wins, and two NCAA tournament appearances. Howard's 2023 Tigers finished as the GAC regular season runner-up, just one game behind the leader.
After three years of recruiting and rebuilding, Howard led the Tigers to the program's most successful season in more than a decade in 2022 with a final record of 33-24 and a 20-13 mark in Great American Conference games. The Tigers advanced to the semifinals of the GAC Championship Tournament and then earned an at-large bid into the NCAA Division II tournament, where they shocked the bracket with an upset of the top-seed and host Central Missouri in the first round by a final score of 5-4.
More wins followed in 2023 with nearly the entire roster back from 2022. Howard led the Tigers to a second-place finish in the GAC with a final overall record of 37-19 and a 23-10 mark in conference games. Ouachita knocked out Harding in the first round of the conference tournament, but then had a disappointing finish in the GAC Final Four at Arvest Ballpark in Northwest Arkansas. However, the Tigers' resume from the regular season was strong enough to earn another at-large bid to the NCAA tournament, again hosted by Central Missouri.
Howard led the 2024 Tigers to the program's third straight winning season at 28-23 overall and 19-14 in GAC games, earning a spot in the GAC championship tournament.
Howard returned to Ouachita in June of 2018 and laid the foundation for the success of 2022 and beyond. In his first season, he led the Tigers to their first 20-win season since 2015. In 2021, Ouachita finished with a record of 18-22, highlighted by a 13-4 finish in the last 17 contests, giving the program momentum heading into the NCAA tournament run of 2022.
In total, the Tigers have earned 22 All-GAC selections, six all-region selections, and two All-America selection under Howard's coaching, including G. Allen in 2023, who earned All-America honors both athletically and academically, and Dustin Bermudez, who earned All-America honors as a two-way player in 2024. Howard also coached 2022 GAC Freshman of the Year Wyatt Core and 2024 GAC Newcomer of the Year Chase Oberle. Oberle was an All-GAC First Team pitcher in 2024, leading the league and ranking sixth in the nation in ERA that year at 2.23. Pitcher Cooper Timmons, who was a four-time All-GAC honoree under Howard, broke the program's all-time strikeout record with a final total of 349. Timmons also tied the program's career wins record at 26.
Howard returned to Ouachita after serving seven years with the King University baseball program, the last five as associate head coach. Prior to coaching at King, he was an assistant at Ouachita from 2009-2011. Before his first stint with the Tigers, Howard served as an assistant coach at Murray State University in 2007 and the University of Cincinnati in 2006.
He started his playing career at Purdue University before transferring and ending his career at Ohio University. He earned his bachelor’s degree in Sociology and Marketing from Ohio in 2006 and his Master’s Degree in Organizational Leadership from Fort Hays State in 2012.
Howard and his wife, Annie, are the parents of two sons, Drew (14) and Will (11).
Coaching Experience:
Ouachita, Head Coach (2019-Present)
King University, Associate Head Coach (2014-18)
King University, Assistant Coach (2012-13)
Ouachita, Assistant Coach (2009-11)
Murray State, Assistant Coach (2008)
Cincinnati, Assistant Coach (2007)
