Baseball
Berkman, Lance
Lance Berkman
- Title:
- Volunteer Coach
- Email:
- Baseball@rice.edu
Lance Berkman, Rice’s career leader in nearly every offensive category and the first Owl player to be inducted into the College Baseball Hall of Fame, will assist his former teammate and roommate on road trips, Jose Cruz, as a volunteer assistant this season.
Berkman came to Rice as part of a stellar 1995 recruiting class that also featured future overall No. 1 draft pick Matt Anderson, and he roomed on road trips with Cruz, who would go on to win national Player of the Year honors that year before being selected in the first round of the draft that season by Toronto.
Two years later, Berkman matched Cruz by winning national Player of the Year honors by slugging 41 homers, driving in 134 runs while batting .431, and leading Rice to its first trip to the College World Series. His 41 homers rank third all-time in NCAA history, while his RBI total stands second. He closed his career as an Owl with a .385 average, 67 home runs, 272 RBI, and 233 runs.
He was taken with the 16th overall pick in the first round by the Houston Astros and made five of his six career All-Star games with them. He was a key figure in the Astros’ first appearance in the World Series in 2005 and the following year slugged 45 homers while breaking Jeff Bagwell’s club record with 135 RBI. His 45 homers allowed him to become the only player in history to top 40 home runs in a season at both the Division I and Major League level.
He hit .293 over 15 seasons (12 with the Astros, two with the Cardinals, and one each with the Rangers and Yankees), which included a World Series title with St. Louis in 2011. He was a six-time All-Star selection and was the National League’s Comeback Player of the Year after hitting .301 with 31 homers and 94 RBI in the Cardinals' run to the World Series title. He hit 366 home runs and drove in 1,234 runs. His 366 homers are the third most by a switch hitter in major league history.
In addition to his induction into the College Baseball Hall of Fame, he was inducted into the Texas Sports Hall of Fame in 2009, the Rice Athletics Hall of Fame in 2019, the Astros Hall of Fame in 2023, the Houston Sports Hall of Fame in 2024.
Berkman retired at the end of the 2013 season and began his coaching career in 2016 at Second Baptist High School, where he guided the Eagles to the TAPPS 4A state championship in 2016. He was an assistant coach at the University of St. Thomas in 2021, where the Celts went 17-16 in only the second season of the program’s existence, and then served as the head coach at HCU from 2022-24.
Berkman was born in Waco and was a standout at Canyon High School in New Braunfels, where he hit .539 with eight home runs as a senior. He and his wife, Cara, have four daughters.
Berkman came to Rice as part of a stellar 1995 recruiting class that also featured future overall No. 1 draft pick Matt Anderson, and he roomed on road trips with Cruz, who would go on to win national Player of the Year honors that year before being selected in the first round of the draft that season by Toronto.
Two years later, Berkman matched Cruz by winning national Player of the Year honors by slugging 41 homers, driving in 134 runs while batting .431, and leading Rice to its first trip to the College World Series. His 41 homers rank third all-time in NCAA history, while his RBI total stands second. He closed his career as an Owl with a .385 average, 67 home runs, 272 RBI, and 233 runs.
He was taken with the 16th overall pick in the first round by the Houston Astros and made five of his six career All-Star games with them. He was a key figure in the Astros’ first appearance in the World Series in 2005 and the following year slugged 45 homers while breaking Jeff Bagwell’s club record with 135 RBI. His 45 homers allowed him to become the only player in history to top 40 home runs in a season at both the Division I and Major League level.
He hit .293 over 15 seasons (12 with the Astros, two with the Cardinals, and one each with the Rangers and Yankees), which included a World Series title with St. Louis in 2011. He was a six-time All-Star selection and was the National League’s Comeback Player of the Year after hitting .301 with 31 homers and 94 RBI in the Cardinals' run to the World Series title. He hit 366 home runs and drove in 1,234 runs. His 366 homers are the third most by a switch hitter in major league history.
In addition to his induction into the College Baseball Hall of Fame, he was inducted into the Texas Sports Hall of Fame in 2009, the Rice Athletics Hall of Fame in 2019, the Astros Hall of Fame in 2023, the Houston Sports Hall of Fame in 2024.
Berkman retired at the end of the 2013 season and began his coaching career in 2016 at Second Baptist High School, where he guided the Eagles to the TAPPS 4A state championship in 2016. He was an assistant coach at the University of St. Thomas in 2021, where the Celts went 17-16 in only the second season of the program’s existence, and then served as the head coach at HCU from 2022-24.
Berkman was born in Waco and was a standout at Canyon High School in New Braunfels, where he hit .539 with eight home runs as a senior. He and his wife, Cara, have four daughters.
DAVID PIERCE INTRODUCTORY PRESS CONFERENCE
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KHOU Ben Dukes
Saturday, May 04
2024 Night of the Owl End of Year Recap
Thursday, April 25
Louisiana game one recap
Friday, March 01
