| Donnie Marbut |
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Washington native Don Marbut is in his fourth year at the helm of the Cougar Baseball program and fifth overall at Washington State University. The two-time Northwest Athletic Association of Community Colleges (NWAACC) Coach of the Year joined the team in the fall of 2003 to assist the infielders and took over head coaching responsibilities May 31, 2004.
He is just the fifth full-time coach to guide the Cougar diamond program since the 1920s and follows, among others, 32-year head coach Arthur "Buck" Bailey and Frederick Charles "Bobo" Brayton, who was at the helm for 33 years.
WSU's baseball field is named after both Bailey and Brayton and was the only college field to feature FieldTurf throughout the playing surface when it was installed prior to the 2004 season.
Marbut has won 85 games as Washington State's head coach, the most by a Cougar mentor during his first three seasons on the Palouse. In 2008, WSU will attempt to a post a third-straight winning season, something the Cougars have not done since 1994 when a 35-26 mark capped a run of 37 consecutive campaigns above .500.
The Cougars will have momentum heading into 2008 having won their final three Pacific-10 Conference series in 2007, including victories over national champion Oregon State and UCLA, a NCAA Super Regional participant last season. Overall, WSU won four conference series, the most by a Cougar team since the Pac-10 reunified in 1999.
The Cougar team GPA of 2.91 in fall 2007 was the best semester GPA in school history.
In 2006, WSU's 15-win improvement over 2005 tied for the greatest single-season jump in school history while the nine-win increase in conference play established a record. The season also produced three conference series victories for the first time since the Pacific-10 Conference went to a full round-robin format in
1999, and saw WSU win conference series against Stanford and USC for the first time since the 1969 season, snapping a 23-game skid against Stanford in the process.
Additional highlights included three tournament titles, the most hits (649) and lowest ERA (4.87) since the 1991 season, and a national ranking (No. 28 by Collegiate Baseball) for the first time since the 1994 season. The 2006 recruiting class was ranked No. 25 nationally
In 2005 Marbut began the rebuilding process at Washington State. After losing seven starters from the 2004 squad, the 2005 roster was comprised of 19 freshmen or first-year players. The youthful Cougars posted a 21-37 record, with 16 games being decided by two or fewer runs.
In his first season with the Cougars, Marbut helped guide the team to a 29-26 record, WSU's first winning campaign since 1998 and only its second since 1994. Marbut's defensive prowess was immediately felt, with the Cougars setting a school record in 2004 for fielding percentage (.972).
A Washington native born and reared in Aberdeen, Marbut is no stranger to baseball in the Pacific Northwest. His background includes standout playing seasons at Aberdeen High School, Edmonds Community College and Portland State when the Vikings played in the old Pacific-10 Conference North Division.
His coaching pedigree includes Capital High in Olympia, two community colleges, Bellevue and Edmonds, and Washington State University as an assistant.
Marbut's coaching career began at Capital High in Olympia, Wash., during the 1997-98 school year. In 1998 he was head assistant coach as the Cougars captured the State 3A championship.
Following his lone season at Capital High, Marbut was named assistant coach at Bellevue Community College for the 1999 season. In his one season at BCC, the club captured a second straight NWAACC Northern Division title.
From Bellevue CC Marbut returned to Edmonds CC as head coach in 2000. While coaching at the school, he earned northern division coach of the year accolades in 2000, 2001 and 2003 and in two of those seasons, 2002 and 2003, Marbut was awarded NWAACC Coach of the Year honors.
During the 2003 season, he guided his team to a league record of 43 wins. Marbut completed his coaching career at Edmonds CC with a 152-38 record.
Growing up in Aberdeen, Marbut earned all-leagues honors three times in baseball at Aberdeen High. He also earned all-league honors three times in football and once in basketball. When he graduated in 1992, Marbut had set a total of six school records in three sports.
In the fall of 1992, Marbut enrolled in Edmonds Community College. While competing for Edmonds CC, he was named to the All-NWAACC team twice as an infielder, 1994 and 1995. In 1995, he was also named the team's most valuable player.
After receiving his associate of the arts degree from ECC in 1995, Marbut continued his education and career at Portland State. During his first year with the Vikings, Marbut was named the team's most offensive player.
The next season, 1997, Marbut was selected as a team captain and was president of Portland State's athletic advisory board. The Viking athletic director at the time was Jim Sterk, now WSU's athletic director.
Marbut earned his undergraduate degree in social sciences from Portland State in 1997.
Marbut and wife Jennifer have two daughters, Avery Shay (1/12/03) and Olivia Catherine (6/20/04).
