Inductees

In the summers in Marshfield, about 25 minutes east of Springfield, Brent Thomas and his brother, Craig, would ride their bikes to the fairgrounds and offer to be fill-ins for summer league baseball teams.

“We also organized our own baseball league with teams from the east side, west side and south side of Marshfield,” Brent said. “It was great to have zero parents involved.”

The baseball gods certainly carved out a spot for him in the game, as Thomas later went on to be an assistant baseball coach for Missouri State University for 32 seasons. And it’s why the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame proudly inducted Thomas with the Class of 2025.

As the Bears hitting coach from 1983 to 2014, he helped Missouri State to six Mid-Continent Conference championships, five Missouri Valley Conference titles (1996, 1997, 2001, 2003, 2009) and eight trips to the NCAA Tournament. That included the 2003 College World Series.

His duties included academic evaluation of players and game administration, as well as working with hitters and outfielders. Among his pupils were boppers Ryan Howard (MSHOF 2019) and Jason Hart (MSHOF 2021).

All this for a baseball man who was a success at Marshfield, played at Crowder College and then two years at MSU in 1981 and 1982 before joining the coaching staff.

That’s when longtime coach Bill Rowe (MSHOF Legend 2016) moved to the athletic director’s chair, and Keith Guttin (MSHOF 2015) was promoted to head coach. Thomas had earned his teaching degree, with thoughts of becoming a high school coach.

“As luck would have it, my heart was with the Bears, so I decided to stay with Coach G and the program,” Thomas said. “I’d like to think that college baseball coaching chose mee as opposed to me choosing it.”

He certainly put himself in position to grab the job.

A 1978 Marshfield graduate, Thomas was a four-year starter in baseball, and also played football and basketball. He earned four all-conference honors in baseball and was a two-time all-conference selection in football. He also coached the Marshfield American Legion team two summers.

At Crowder College in Neosho, he earned MVP honors twice. Coaches Tom Nunn and Gary Roark set him up for success, especially Roark.

“I thrived under Coach Roark and recognized that I wanted to follow in his footsteps,” Thomas said. “He was a motivator and a teacher of fundamentals. His teams could execute both offensively and defensively.”

And, by taking the job at Missouri State, Thomas knew the expectations. He had helped the Bears’ 1981 unbeaten MIAA Southern Division champs and the 1982 team that earned a regional title and a trip to the NCAA Division II World Series.

“My two years playing for Coach Bill Rowe started 45 years of being a Bear,” Thomas said. “At the time, MSU was completing its final two years of Division II athletics.  Coach Rowe and Coach Guttin already recruited athletes that could compete at the next level.”

Thomas became a success because he adjusted his coaching techniques for each player. Not only did they win on the field, but hundreds were drafted, and some reached the big leagues.

“We’ve had big-leaguers that included an AL batting champion, an NL Rookie of the Year, an NL home run hitting champion and an AL home run champion,” Thomas said. “There are players who came as true walk-ons to become all conference players. I am proud to say that many former players are successful in their careers and leaders in their communities.”

The early 1990s and into the 2000s saw an offensive explosion in college baseball, and the 2003 CWS season punctuated the Bears’ success.

“I remember Norm DeBriyn (former Arkansas baseball coach) calling to congratulate us,” Thomas said. “His message was ‘Go do your business and play your best but enjoy the experience.’ I remembered those words, and I tried to soak it all up. The other thing I tried to do was thank our baseball alumni, as we could not have made it to Omaha without their contribution to the program.”

Looking back, Thomas cannot thank Rowe and Guttin enough. He also long had the support of his wife, Debbie. They are parents to Evan and Allie.

“Being at the ballpark everyday was special and working with young people was particularly special,” Thomas said. “Watching a young man come into our program and see him grow gave me tremendous satisfaction.  Working with young people and doing something that I love kept me young and feeling like a kid.”