The 2012 baseball season will be the 17th for Coach Brad Bass as head of the Pioneer baseball program. He has won over 700 games during his 26 year collegiate coaching career, including 486 at Wayland where the Pioneers compete in the Sooner Athletic Conference, arguably the toughest small college conference in the nation.

A 1984 graduate of Hardin Simmons University where he was a member of the Cowboy's baseball team, Coach Bass experienced his best season at Wayland  in 2009 when the Pioneers fell just one game short of advancing to the NAIA World Series, losing in the final game of the National Championship Opening Round Tournament to eventual National Champion Lubbock Christian University.

He began his college playing career at Ranger Junior College. While at Ranger he played on a team that won the 1978 Junior College World Series. From Ranger Junior College Coach Bass went on to play two years at HSU, then served as an assistant coach for 5 years. Before coming to Wayland Baptist, Coach Bass was the head baseball coach at Texas Wesleyan University in Fort Worth.

A graduate of Connally High School in Waco, Coach Bass and his wife Sally, have three children: Calvin, Meredith, and Will.

A long-time supporter of Wayland baseball, Coach Tommy McMillan joined the Pioneer coaching staff six years ago as a volunteer assistant, but after retiring from his Accounting practice over the summer, the Plainview native has now assumed the roll of full-time assistant.

A 1976 graduate of Texas Tech University, Coach McMillan spent three seasons as a member of the Red Raider baseball team.

He has been a part of the Plainview Noon Optimist's Summer Baseball Program almost continuously as a player, coach, umpire, baseball committee member, league representative, and tournament official since 1969, and was inducted into the Southwest Regional Babe Ruth Hall of Fame in 2004.

An original member and chairman of the Going the Distance Committee, which was the driving force behind the development of Wilder Field, Coach McMillan has also served as a coach for the WBU Summer Collegiate Baseball League since it's inception three years ago. Coach McMillan and his wife, Susan, have a daughter, Lori, and her husband, James; a son, Chance, and his wife, Kelsey; and are the proud grandparents of two granddaughters, Rileigh and Madeline Johnston; and a grandson, Grayson McMillan.

Wayland's first 1st team NAIA All-American since 1993, Brett Cook finished his career as a Pioneer in 2009 as the school's all-time leader in runs scored (209), hits (269), and doubles (50). He also holds WBU records for best career batting average (.426) and slugging percentage (.731) and is second in career home runs (41).

A native of Kearny, Airz., Coach Cook played three years at Wayland after transferring from Lamar Community College. He graduated in December of 2009 with a degree in Exercise & Sports Science.

In addition to his duties on the baseball field, Coach Cook and his wife, the former Brandi French, work as the Resident Hall Supervisors at McDonald Hall.

Nathan Hillery comes to the Pioneer baseball program from Taylor University where he was a four-year starter for the Trojan baseball team.

During his career at Taylor, Coach Hilliery hit .302 with 29 doubles, eight triples, 15 home runs and 123 RBI.  He was a Mid-Central Conference and NAIA Region VIII Player of the Week in 2008 and led the MCC in stolen bases in 2009.

Coach Hillery helped lead the Trojans to back-to-back NAIA National Championship Tournament appearances in 2009 and 2010.  The team captured the MCC Tournament title in 2009 and established a school record for regular season wins.  The next year, Taylor won the regular season MCC championship, once again tying the school mark for wins.

A native of Fort Wayne, Ind., Coach Hillery earned a bachelor's degree in health and physical education with a specialization in U.S. History.