At the conclusion of baseball’s 2018 regular season game against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, head coach Britt Bonneau resigned.
Senior catcher Luis Trevino said he was surprised to hear about Bonneau.
“I was very sad. It caught me off guard and I was not expecting that,” Trevino said. “He was more than a coach to me. He was a guy who opened the doors of his house to feed us many times during the fall and spring seasons. He was really trying to make it feel like Abilene was your home.”
Bonneau closed his final season with an overall record of 21-33 and a conference record of 5-25. He steps down in a tie for the second-longest serving head coach, alongside men’s tennis coach Hutton Jones after 22 years with the Wildcats. Former men’s basketball head coach A.B. Morris (1924-1955) holds the longest amount of consecutive years coaching at 29 years.
Bonneau gave a sentimental thank you to the ACU community in a prepared statement.
“My family and I love ACU and it will always be part of us. I might not be the head baseball coach any longer, but I’ll always be grateful for my time at ACU, the people I worked with, the friends we’ve made and the players I’ve coached,” Bonneau said. “We will always be big fans of the ACU Wildcats and we will be part of the ACU community for many years to come. Thank you to everyone who has been a part of this baseball program and our lives for the last 23 years. Your care and concern for the program and my family will never be forgotten.”
Highlights from Bonneau’s career includes being named Lone Star Conference Coach of the Year six times, coaching 17 different All-America players which included six first-teamers, leading ACU to nine NCAA Div. II South Central Region Tournaments and taking his 2003 team to the regional championship as well as the program’s only Div. II World Series appearance.
President Phil Schubert also released a statement regarding Bonneau’s resignation.
“Bonneau put together an amazing run as the head coach of the ACU baseball program, and he will be missed,” Schubert said. “He loves ACU and has been a great ambassador for the university and ACU Athletics and that will never change. He has produced championship teams on the field and terrific young men who have gone on to enjoy tremendous personal and professional success away from the field.”
Following Bonneau’s resignation, Schubert also said a search for his replacement will begin immediately.
