Bio

The 2023-2024 school year will mark the 10^th season for Kurtis as the Head Coach at Odessa College.  During his 9 years at the helm the Odessa College the Wranglers have accumulate 295 wins to 189 losses, one conference championship, and seven regional appearances.    

The 2023 Wrangler season came to an end in the regional semifinals and finished the year 34-22.  Kurtis saw 13 sophomores continue their careers at the university level 9 of which moved on to the Division 1 Universities.  Since the spring of 2015 Kurtis has seen 40 players continue their careers at the Division 1 level.  Most notably the 2022 Golden Spikes Award Winner Ivan Melendez who began his collegiate career at Odessa College in the fall of 2018.

Throughout the past 9 years Kurtis has seen his team nationally ranked numerous times both by the NJCAA and Perfect Game.  Prior to COVID the 2020 Wranglers finished 21-2, were ranked #6 in the country according to the NJCAA and #11 in the country according to Perfect Game.    During the 2015 season Kurtis led Odessa College to its first regional tournament appearance since the year 2010.  The 2017 Wranglers finished the year with a 46-13 record, were ranked as high as #2 in the NJCAA national polls, and won the conference championship.  It was the first conference championship at Odessa College since the year 2000.  Kurtis’s players have continued to play throughout the country at every collegiate level. Currently Kurtis has 8 former players who have played professional baseball, Brad Wieck (San Diego Padres) Addison Russ (Philadelphia Phillies) Owen Spiwak (Toronto Blue Jays) Chandler Casey (Houston Astros) Matteo Bocchi (Chicago Cubs) Kyler Castillo (Miami Marlins) Chandler Arnold (St. Louis Cardinals) Ivan Melendez (Arizona Diamondbacks.)

Prior to his arrival at Odessa, Kurtis spent the previous three years as the head baseball coach at Frank Phillips College.  During his time with Frank Phillips he led the Plainsmen to their two most successful seasons in the history of the program.  In 2013, his second year as head coach of the program, the team finished with 35 wins on the season and clinched the third seed for the Region V baseball tournament.  In the 2014 season, Kurtis led his team to their first ever NJCAA national ranking, finishing the year once again with 35 wins and clinched the number two seed in the Region V tournament.

Kurtis began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Lubbock Christian University.  After he completed his masters he spent the following two springs as the pitching coach and recruiting coordinator at Western Texas Junior College.  During the 2010-2011 school year, Kurtis served as the assistant coach at Cochise College in Douglas, Arizona before moving back to Texas to become the head coach at Frank Phillips College.

Kurtis is originally from Abilene, Texas and graduated from Abilene Cooper High school in 2002.  After high school Kurtis played baseball at North Central Texas College and Odessa College before returning back to Abilene to play for Coach Steve Coleman and the Hardin Simmons University Cowboys.  While at Hardin Simmons, Kurtis was a pitcher and designated hitter and achieved all region NABC honors during his junior and senior years.

Kurtis received his Bachelor of Science in Sports Fitness from Hardin Simmons University.  In the winter of 2008 he received his Master of Education from Lubbock Christian University.  Kurtis is happy to be reunited with Odessa College.  Kurtis currently resides in Odessa and is married to Delma and has two step children; Audrey and Anthony and three grandchildren; Peyton, Teagan, and River.