SPRINGFIELD – The 2024 season will be the 42nd and final campaign for Keith Guttin, the long-time Missouri State baseball head coach announced Friday, Nov. 3.
Guttin, who took over the baseball Bears for the 1983 season, has accumulated 1,373 career victories, the most for any head coach in the history of Missouri State athletics, 12th all-time in Division I baseball and second among active coaches.
During Guttin’s tenure, 137 Bears have signed professional contracts, including six first-round draft picks and 21 players who have advanced to the Major Leagues. Additionally, MSU has won 20 regular-season or conference tournament championships, made 12 NCAA Division I Tournament appearances, and finished in the top half of the conference race in all but seven of his 41 seasons.
Missouri State players have earned all-conference honors more than 200 times under Guttin’s guidance with eight receiving Player of the Year distinction and 36 bringing home All-America honors. Off the field, his players have been recognized to the MVC’s scholar-athlete team 75 times, with seven of those earning Academic All-America citations a total of 12 times.
A 13-time conference coach of the year, Guttin led the Bears to the College World Series in 2003 and additional Super Regionals in 2015 and 2017, the latter two coming during a stretch that has seen Missouri State win three MVC regular season championships and advance to four NCAA Regionals in the last decade.
A Missouri State Bear through-and-through, Guttin was a second baseman for the Bears in 1976 and 1977 for head coach Bill Rowe, then served as an assistant for Rowe from 1979-81 before succeeding him as head coach in August 1982.
Missouri State will announce its plans for hiring Guttin’s successor at a later date.
Head Coach Keith Guttin on Retirement:
“It has been an honor to lead this program at this great university for what will be 42 years after this season, which will be my last. I have been part of the program for 47 of its 60 years as a player, assistant and head coach.
First, to my wife Marianne and daughters Lauren, Lindsey and Samantha, along with their families. Thank you for all of the love and tremendous support.
I want to thank Coach Rowe, my mentor on and off the field for the past 47 years, for giving me all three of those opportunities. Coach set the foundation for the program and remains its biggest supporter. He is the godfather of MSU baseball.
I would like to thank Kyle Moats, Clif Smart and Casey Hunt for their unwavering support since they have come on board, along with the six previous presidents since 1982.
A special thank you to our former full-time assistants Brent Thomas, Paul Evans, Nate Thompson and Matt Lawson, current staff members Joey Hawkins, Nick Petree, Geoff Jimenez and Dustin Williams, as well as the countless volunteer, graduate and student assistants through the years.
We have been very fortunate to have great support staff over the years, led by athletic trainer Jim Penkalski for 35 years, along with our rehab specialist Mitch Hauschildt and numerous student trainers along with our talented team of doctors. Our academic achievement center led by Dan Raines with Darren Weinberg and Jo Belle Hopper preceding him. Our administrative staff at Forsythe Athletics Center along with the many other MSU employees who have contributed, including our strength and conditioning and nutrition staff.
We have some very loyal fans, some of which have been with us since the Meador Park days up until now at Hammons Field, where we have a great relationship with the Springfield Cardinals. Thanks to our donors, who make it possible to do the extra things that allow our players to maximize their experience here.
Thank you to our athletics communications staff and the print and electronic media who have provided stories and information that allow the public to get to know our student-athletes.
The biggest thank you of all goes to the players who have put on the uniform with pride and given their all for MSU. They have created the memories that we all cherish and the meaningful relationships that go way beyond their careers here.
The program is in a good position going forward with the talented people in place here. Our focus now is preparing our team for the 2024 season and competing for championships. Go Bears!!”
Athletic Director Kyle Moats on Keith Guttin:
“It is bittersweet to accept the retirement of Coach Guttin after the 2024 season. He has been a mainstay in our department and the Missouri Valley Conference for 40-plus years.
Coach Guttin will go down as one of, if not, the most successful coaches ever at Missouri State and college baseball. His players respected, adored, and played passionately for him throughout his career. It was a privilege to have the chance to work with Coach Guttin.
Some of my most memorable moments as an athletics director were provided by his teams. I will always appreciate his support to our university, department and his ability to be a team player in all endeavors. The legacy he leaves will be the standard by which we compare. I wish him and his wife, Marianne, and family all the happiness as they embark in this new chapter of their lives.”
Guttin’s Milestone Victories:
Win Date Result (Site)
1 3/5/83 MSU 8, Indiana State 2 (Meador Park)
100 3/11/86 MSU 7, Jacksonville 5 (Jacksonville, Fla.)
200 4/16/88 MSU 4, Eastern Illinois 2 (Charleston, Ill.)
300 5/13/90 MSU 9, Eastern Illinois 2 (Chicago, Ill.)
*395 5/1/93 MSU 9, UNI 2 (Meador Park)
400 5/9/93 MSU 7, Wichita State 6 (Meador Park)
500 5/17/96 MSU 8, Wichita State 7 (Wichita, Kan.)
600 4/24/99 MSU 13, UNI 7 (Meador Park)
700 5/4/02 MSU 5, Wichita State 1 (Wichita, Kan.)
800 5/11/05 MSU 15, Kansas 6 (Hammons Field)
900 5/11/08 MSU 7, Middle Tennessee 6 (Hammons Field)
1,000 3/3/12 MSU 3, Northwestern State 2 (Natchitoches, La.)
1,100 3/17/15 MSU 10, Little Rock 3 (Hammons Field)
1,200 4/18/17 MSU 5, Missouri 3 (Columbia, Mo.)
1,250 5/11/18 MSU 5, Southern Illinois 3 (Hammons Field)
1,300 4/13/21 MSU 7, Missouri 5 (Columbia, Mo.)
