After two seasons at the helm of the Lane College baseball program, Donny Crawford has announced his retirement as head coach.
Lane hired Crawford to lead the baseball program in June of 2022. Crawford, who previously coached at Stillman College, turned that baseball program into a powerhouse over the 11 years he led the program.
Crawford collected a milestone coaching victory this past April with his 300th collegiate career coaching win in his 13 years as a head coach.
While at Stillman, Crawford had 272 career wins while claiming the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Championship (SIAC) title and coaching his team to the NCAA Division II South Regional Tournaments in 2007-2009 and 2011-2014. In 2010 and 2015, the Tigers finished as runner-up at the SIAC tournament.
Crawford led Stillman to an HBCU baseball national title in 2012, the first in program history, securing his place among all-time HBCU baseball national coaching champions. He was inducted into the Stillman Hall of Fame on February 17, 2023 for guiding the Tigers, knocking off nationally ranked NCAA Division II baseball powerhouse programs.
Black College Nines contacted the head coach after sources disclosed rumors of his retirement. Crawford retires to care for his ailing mother and her needs to make her comfortable. He stated that retiring was the hardest decision he’s made, but his mother comes first.
In the years I have known Coach Crawford, I have nothing but respect for him as a person and a game changer. HBCU baseball loses one heck of a coach whose hard-nosed approach to the game helped his team journey into winning ballgames. He was a teacher of the sport, teaching student-athletes the game, academics, and life.
Crawford was an assistant coach in the SEC at the University of Alabama before joining the HBCU baseball coaching ranks. His head coaching record includes a nine-year streak of 20-plus wins from 2006-2014 and a 20-plus winning season in 2024.