| Loren Hibbs | |
| Birth Date: | 17 May 1961 |
| Birth Place: | Wellington, Kansas, U.S. |
| Alma Mater: | Wichita State University |
| Player Years1: | 1982–1984 |
| Player Team1: | Wichita State |
| Player Years2: | 1984 |
| Player Team2: | Everett Giants |
| Player Positions: | Outfield |
| Coach Years1: | 1985–1992 |
| Coach Team1: | Wichita State (asst.) |
| Coach Years2: | 1993–2019 |
| Coach Team2: | Charlotte |
| Coach Years3: | 2023 |
| Coach Team3: | Wichita State (Interim HC) |
| Admin Years1: | 2020-2022 |
| Admin Team1: | Wichita State (Dir. of Operations) |
| Overall Record: | 850–706–4 |
| Tournament Record: | NCAA: 3–10 |
| Championships: | 2 Metro Conference Regular season Titles (1994, 1995) 4 Atlantic 10 Regular season Titles (2007, 2008, 2010, 2011) 1 Metro Conference Tournament championship (1993) 1 Conference USA Tournament championship (1998) 3 Atlantic 10 Tournament championships (2007, 2008, 2011) 5 NCAA Regional Appearances (1993, 1998, 2007, 2008, 2011) |
| Awards: | C-USA Coach of the Year (1998) A-10 Coach of the Year (2007) AAC Coach of the Year (2023) |
Loren Hibbs (born May 17, 1961) is an American baseball coach and former player, most recently serving as the interim head baseball coach for Wichita State for the 2023 season.[1] He previously has served as the head baseball coach at Charlotte.
Hibbs played college baseball for Wichita State. During his time as a player with the Shockers, he was on the all-tournament team at the 1982 College World Series and, in 1982, set the NCAA record for runs in a season. After college, Hibbs played a short time in the San Francisco Giants farm system, appearing in 39 games for the Everett Giants in 1984.[2]
Hibbs served as an assistant with Wichita State from 1985–1992 before being hired by the Charlotte 49ers.[3] At Charlotte, Hibbs won the Metro Conference tournament and an NCAA tournament berth in 1993, the Metro regular season titles in 1994 and 1995, the Atlantic 10 regular season and conference tournament titles in 2007 and 2008, and the Atlantic 10 regular season title in 2010. In 1998 the Niners won a school-record 43 games and reached the NCAA tournament. Charlotte broke the 1998 mark for wins in 2007 with 49 wins, including two wins over NC State in the 2007 NCAA tournament.
On June 14, 2019, Hibbs announced his retirement as head coach of Charlotte baseball to rejoin Wichita State as its director of baseball operations.[4] In December 2022, he was named interim head coach after the resignation of Eric Wedge. Despite taking the reins just months before the 2023 season, he was named the American Athletic Conference coach of the year after leading the Shockers to a 30-25 (13-10 AAC) record, an improvement of a 21-36 overall mark and 9-15 finish in league play in 2022.[5]
On May 30, 2023, Wichita State director of athletics Kevin Saal announced that Hibbs and the rest of the Shockers coaching staff would not be retained for the 2024 season, with the university opting to perform a national search for Wedge's permanent replacement.[6]
Below is a table of Hibbs's yearly records as an NCAA head baseball coach.[7] [8] [9]
Hibbs's wife, Lisa, is the director of the Athletic Academic Center at UNC Charlotte. His son Tyson Hibbs played for his father as a utility player and pinch runner with the 49ers from 2006 to 2009. He is also the father of two daughters, Erin and Lanie.[10]