Gene Stephenson is an American retired college baseball coach, who served as the head baseball coach at Wichita State from 1978 to 2013.
Career
When he arrived at Wichita State, he inherited a program that had been dormant for over seven years. In his first year, despite not playing a home game until their 18th game, his Shockers finished with a winning record. In his third year, they made the first NCAA Tournament appearance in school history, and in his fifth they advanced all the way to the title game. The team, with four first team All-Americans, lost to Miami. This was all the more remarkable considering that until 1984, they played at a bare-bones stadium with only a tiny bleacher section for seating. The momentum from their 1982 title game appearance helped spearhead the building of a permanent facility, Eck Stadium, in 1985. Under his leadership, the Shockers made seven College World Series and 26 NCAA tournament appearances, including 14 straight from 1987 to 2000. His teams never had a losing season. His 1982 team went 73–14, establishing an NCAA record for single-season wins. Stephenson won his first CWS championship in 1989; also in 1989, the Shockers won 24 consecutive games. Stephenson was suspended in 1999 for his part in the Anthony Molina incident. Molina was due to lead off an inning for the University of Evansville. As pitcher Ben Christensen warmed up on the mound, Molina took practice swings 24 feet from home plate. Wichita State's coach, Gene Stephenson, taught his pitchers to "brush back" on-deck hitters standing too close. Christensen threw a pitch at Molina's head, the unsuspecting victim looked up just as the ball collided with his face. Molina was taken to the hospital and treated for his injuries. The hitter's vision fell from 20/10 to 20/400. Prior to coaching at WSU, he served as an assistant coach at Oklahoma. During that tenure, the Sooners won five league championships, and went to five College World Series. For most of the day on July 10, 2005, Stephenson was the head coach of Oklahoma. Several hours after accepting the job, however, Stephenson decided to remain at Wichita State, reportedly due to scholarship issues at Oklahoma. After 36 years, Stephenson was fired on June 4, 2013.
