07/08/2025
National Honor for Raney
The American Baseball Coaches Association announced this week that Blanchard Head Coach Josh Raney has been named ABCA High School Division III National Coach of the Year. Raney is a 4-time Oklahoma state champion who guided Blanchard to state titles in 2015, 2019, 2022 and once again in 2025. He owns an outstanding career record of 510-122, all in Blanchard. Raney is also a 3-time ABCA Regional Coach of the Year award winner (2015, 2019, 2025). This year’s award recognition is his first at the national level.
“Listen, this a 100% a program award,” the 19-year Lion head coach noted of his ABCA recognition. “You don’t win this award without program-wide success, and you don’t win it after having just one good year. It’s as much an award for our players throughout the years, for our assistant coaches and for our community as it is for me. And ultimately, it comes down to the players. You don’t win without good players, period.”
Raney will be honored with the award on stage at the ABCA National Convention in Columbus, Ohio, on January 8th. He was selected as the High School Division III National Coach of the Year by the ABCA from a pool of 8 Regional Coaches of the Year ranging from California to New York.
“I’m humbled to go accept this award -it’s the highest honor you can receive as a high school coach and it really is a big deal for our program. This will be the first time an Oklahoma coach has won this award since Larry Turner in 2007.”
The Lion head coach also noted the support system that has helped him achieve so highly in his field.
“My wife, Sara, is the single strongest person in our household and everybody knows it, it’s not even close. We have 3 great kids – a 17-year old daughter, a 14-year old daughter and our son, Easton, who is about to be a 6th grader. They are all amazing and there is no way I could do this without them.
“As a young coach, I learned so much from Lonny Cobble, who is now head coach at Oklahoma Christian University. Dave Walsh also had a massive influence on me when I was just starting out. Then you develop so many relationships as you get older, deeper relationships with coaches that you can call and ask questions and network. You have guys like Mike and Logan Brumley, who regularly have contact with big time players making $300,000 a year or more, and they would still make time to come to Blanchard every year to share with us. Mike passed away tragically in a car accident in 2024 and he is greatly missed. I learned so much from all those great coaches. It’s about listening and learning and trying out what you like, keeping what you can use. Coach [Patrick] Shutrump and I have done that through the years and really formed our vision of how to achieve the goals we set.
Raney also noted his hopes for the next steps for the Lion baseball program.
“A new stadium would match the history of Blanchard baseball, which is one of the most respected programs in the state of Oklahoma. And I know some people say that we are already winning and don’t need that. But if you look at companies that are consistently successful, they are always growing and innovating. If they see a tool that a competing company is using to great success, they go get that tool. They don’t just stand pat.
“We have 36-44 high school players out every year and another 40-50 junior high players. And those numbers are growing, so facilities really are vital for our continued success. The off-campus issue is also vital, both for player travel safety and for practice time, which we are restricted on now. It’s also about actual game time – we had 8 games rained out last year because we play on a grass field. And when we have a new high school facility, it’s not like our historical field won’t be used. We need a dedicated junior high facility to practice and play games. I hope the facility needs are something our community will continue to consider.”
