Pearland diamondmen are in good hands under Rogers

March 24, 2024

When David Rogers was named head coach of the Pearland baseball program, it was discovered that he didn't take the usual high school coaching path to lead the Oilers baseball fortunes.

That's because Rogers was an elite-level baseball umpire for 26 years starting in the Southwest Conference in 1989. He called games in the PAC-10, Conference USA, the Big 12, and the WAC.

He eventually earned assignments in two College World Series and was an alternate three other times in Omaha. His last umpiring assignment was in 2011 when he worked a super-regional in Gainesville, FL before serving as a CWS alternate.

Rogers is in his fifth year at Pearland and guided the Oilers to the Class 6A state title game last year only to fall short to Flower Mound 6-4.

The Oilers faced the Austin Westlake Chaparrals (40-5) in the 6A state semifinals and blew them out 11-1 basically before their home crowd in nearby Round Rock. After the fourth inning, you couldn't hardly find a Westlake fan with a search warrant.

Pearland won the District 23-6A and 6A Region III crowns and finished as the 6A state runner-up with a 38-7-1 mark.

It came as no surprise that Rogers was named the Greater Houston Area "Coach of the Year".

With seven starters returning this year, the Oilers looked primed and ready to return to the 6A state baseball tournament as they have some unfinished business in 2024.

With a strong stable of outstanding pitchers led by first-team All-State pitcher Nico Partida, the No. 4 state-ranked Oilers are sitting atop the district leaderboard with a perfect record and look to repeat as league champions this season.

Rogers credits his coaching success to what he learned from college coaches as an umpire.

In an interview he said, "I always talked to college coaches when I was umpiring. One thing I really took note of through my umpiring career concerns those eight baseball teams in Omaha. There were eight different personalities, eight different belief, eight different ways to do things, and eight different organizational make-ups.

"It proved to me that there's not just one way to win. You have to adjust to your personnel. You also need to have a belief philosophy and get the players to buy in."

The Pearland diamondmen have certainly bought in to Rogers' belief philosophy in a big way and are on another path to the district crown and a chance to repeat as regional champions.

Presently, the Oilers are 18-4-2 with most of the district games in front of them as a team.

One thing for sure -- the Oilers are in good hands with Rogers at the helm of the baseball program.