University of the Southwest Athletics

New Mexico native Steve Appel was named head coach of the University of the Southwest baseball team in June of 2014. Appel has quickly made his mark on the Mustang Baseball program.

Appel is entering his 9th season in 2022-2023 as the Head Coach of USW Baseball. 
 
Appel has led the Mustangs to 181 wins and four postseason births in 7.5 seasons at USW (2020 season was limited to 23 games). 

In 2022 The Mustangs won 33 games and won two games in the conference tournament, the most since 2004,  and set numerous team and individual program records.

In 2021 the Mustangs made the conference tournament and won their first game in the conference tournament since 2004. 

USW won 30 games in 2019 which was good for 3rd all-time and the first 30-win season since 2004. 

The Mustangs continued to trend up in 2018 and won 27 games and 12 games in RRAC play, the most since the 2003 season. USW qualified for the RRAC tournament as the No. 6 seed, and earned their second consecutive trip to the RRAC Tournament.
 
In each year since the arrival of Appel, USW has continued to win more games each year, now making them a yearly contender in the RRAC.
 
Several student-athletes have earned post-season accolades under Appel. Pitcher Bryan Hernandez earned 2015 1^st Team All-Conference and 2015 First Team Rawlings Gold Glove National Awards. In 2017, hurler Alex Goodman earned First Team All-Conference, outfielder Isaiah Peters was named First Team All-Conference and pitcher Travis Dotson earned Second Team All-Conference accolades. In 2018, Ean Smith earned Second Team All-Conference Utility and JJ Kruzel also earned Second Team All-Conference on the mound. 
 
Appel and his staff have built and remodeled the baseball facility. Appel aided in the largest donation in school history, which was used to build the indoor baseball facility, renovate Jake Williams Field, which includes upgraded playing service, new metal fence and renovated grandstand area. This last fall, Appel aided in reconstructing the new backstop which features a new netting system, concrete wall, and padding from dugout to dugout. 

Off the field, Appel and his staff continue to strive in excellence.  His players continue to work tirelessly in the community with various community outreach programs.  The team has also built a strong foundation in the classroom, maintaining over a 3.0 team GPA in the last three years.
 
Appel came to USW after serving as head coach at Oklahoma Panhandle State University in Goodwell, Oklahoma. While at OPSU, Appel transformed the Aggie baseball team into a disciplined program that was being built to succeed in the highly competitive NCAA Division II Heartland Conference. Under his leadership, OPSU baseball student-athletes also excelled in the classroom as the team GPA improved from 2.20 in 2011 to 3.30 in 2014. During his tenure, Appel was the catalyst for a number of facility enhancements that turned the OPSU baseball field into one of the top facilities in the Heartland Conference.
 
Appel, a Socorro, New Mexico native, began his intercollegiate athletic playing career at Fort Scott Community College in Fort Scott, Kansas, where he received his associate’s degree before continuing his collegiate playing career at the University of Bridgeport in Bridgeport, Connecticut where he served as team captain for the baseball program, earned his Bachelor of Science degree with Magna Cum Laude honors and was also awarded his Master of Science degree. Immediately following his collegiate playing career, Appel joined the coaching staff at his alma mater as an assistant pitching coach and began his climb in the baseball coaching profession. Appel was named the UB baseball program’s top assistant and pitching coach in 2006 and by 2009 had constructed a pitching staff that finished the season with a 3.25 ERA and was ranked sixth in the nation.
 
Following the 2009 season, Appel was selected by Oklahoma Panhandle State as its top assistant coach. After the 2010 season, he was named the head coach of the Aggies baseball team and began his efforts of building a program that would compete at a high level, earn the respect of its opponents and become a source of pride for the university and its community. Appel’s recruiting efforts throughout the states of New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma and the Southwest region resulted in the establishment and growth of an Aggie baseball program that boasted 55-60 student-athletes on its roster during his tenure.
 
Appel holds an associate’s degree from Fort Scott Community College, a Bachelor’s from University of Bridgeport and a Master’s, also from Bridgeport.