Senior Captain to Sooner Coach

June 12, 2010

NORMAN, Okla. -- Prior to the 2010 season, senior Ross Hubbard was voted a team captain by his teammates along senior Jeremy Erben and sophomore Garrett Buechele. The trio of Sooners represented the veteran experience that was going to lead a young squad filled with freshmen and sophomores.

After 38 games, Hubbard hit .318 with four homers and 28 RBIs and was later named honorable mention All-Big 12. On May 16, senior day against Memphis, Hubbard's Sooner career came to an unfortunate end.

During batting practice prior to game three with the visiting Tigers, Hubbard was fielding balls behind a protective screen at second base and a line drive struck him in the head. The result was a mild concussion, three orbital fractures around his left eye and a hemorrhage that still impairs his vision.

"The funny thing is I remember everything about it," said Hubbard. "I remember everything about it from the pitch before, and it just shocked me. I turned around and remember reaching to see if my eye was still there because it went totally dark. I asked Cale (Ellis) if my eye was still there.

"There was never anything that was painful, just a little uncomfortable feeling. I didn't feel pain until the concussion brought on a headache. Even two days after, it was just uncomfortable to have my face all swollen up. It took probably 40 minutes until I could see out of it (eye) again."

The Denton, Texas, native has been scratched from the starting lineup since and, with his eligibility exhausted after this season, he will not play in another game as a Sooner.

However, just like Senior Day when he was present on the field for the pregame ceremony after suffering the injury and was later transported to the hospital, Hubbard persevered and will dress again in a Sooner uniform.

Saturday, in game one of the Charlottesville Super Regional, the senior captain will be leading the Sooners as a student assistant coach.

Per NCAA rules, a student assistant coach is any student-athlete that has exhausted his or her eligibility in the sport or has become injured to the point that he or she is unable to practice or compete ever again.

"I think the NCAA deserves some praise for having a rule like that in place," said OU Head Coach Sunny Golloway. "It certainly has the student athletes' best interest at heart and that is what collegiate athletics is all about.

"Ross has been an integral part of this team as a player and a captain, and it means a lot to the coaches and players that he gets to continue this run with us."

Golloway and rest of the coaching staff approached Hubbard after the Sooners won the Norman Regional Championship and offered him the opportunity to become part of the staff. Not only could Hubbard still be present at practice in Norman, but he could also travel with the team for postseason events as part of the 35-man travel party.

"I was ecstatic, I called my mom and she started crying, and she was so happy. She was probably the most emotional on about it just because I didn't get to go out on my terms, baseball-wise," said Hubbard. "Once she heard I had to relinquish my playing days, she was hesitant and still holding on to that little bit of hope that I was going to play again. But I wasn't going to take that chance because my vision probably wasn't going to change in one week.

"I decided to sign off and do the whole student assistant thing. It has allowed me to travel with the team and cheer on them on from the dugout instead of my couch."

With his playing days potentially behind him, Hubbard shifts his focus to a new role in baseball where he can continue to lead and share his knowledge of the sport to others.

"I wouldn't mind this leading up to coaching or something along those lines," added Hubbard. "I have always wanted to coach and getting the opportunity to be a student assistant, I feel like it is opening the door to something I want to do and pursue career-wise."

University of Oklahoma Athletics

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