Head Coach Danny Heep enters his 19th season with an impressive 569-401 (.587) mark. He has directed UIW to 30-win campaigns on 13 occasions and counts only three losing seasons on his record.
Heep has faced a difficult task in transitioning the Cardinals from a Division II program to a Division I program. He has not backed down when it comes to scheduling. The Cardinals played some big name programs like Oklahoma State, Notre Dame, Texas, Texas A&M, TCU and Baylor and they have picked up non-conference wins against UT-Arlington, Gonzaga, LIU-Brooklyn, Hofstra, Central Michigan, UT-Pan American, Northwestern, Villanova and Prairie View A&M in their first two years of Division I play.
Heep has a plan to get the Cardinals ready to contend for a conference title when the team is eligible for postseason play in 2018. That means that UIW fans should be prepared to watch a lot of young talent in 2016. The goal is to have a squad full of experienced juniors and seniors ready to go in 2018.
Heep has the Cardinals entered in the Irish Alamo Classic for a third straight season where they will play Notre Dame, Bradley, Gonzaga and Texas Southern.
Heep is closing in on 1,000 career games as the head coach at UIW. He will reach that milestone on April 5 when the team travel to UT Rio Grande Valley.
Over the final two seasons in the Lone Star Conference, Heep and the Cardinals went through some unusual things. In 2012, the Cardinals had a number of games cancelled due to the weather leading the team to play the fewest games in school history, 44. The team started slowly, but they finished strong with a 16-11 mark in Lone Star Conference play. The team’s final record was 23-21 and that included a second straight conference tournament bid.
The following season saw the Cardinals jump out to a 13-2 record, including a pair of season opening wins at Houston’s Minute Maid Park. Unfortunately, the team became snake bit losing five consecutive games by one run and they finished 6-11 in one run games leading to a 26-26 record.
In 2011, the Cardinals finished 37-18. That come on the heels of 2010 when UIW and Heep surpassed the 40-win plateau with a school record 42 victories against 18 losses.
The 2011 season found the Cardinals winning a championship in their first year of competition in the ever-tough Lone Star Conference. They were the LSC regular season champions and went on to finish third in the LSC Tournament.
Regardless, the Cardinals received an at-large berth in the NCAA Division II South Central Region Tournament and advanced to the title game before being ousted. It was the fourth time in eight years for UIW to make the regional event and it was the second time that they reach the championship game.
In 2010, the Cardinals posted a 34-13 regular season mark in the Heartland Conference to finish third. After a loss in the opening round of the conference tournament, they stormed to four straight wins for the title and automatic berth in the South Central Region Tournament.
Heep guided the Cardinals to three conference championships in their final six years as members of the Heartland. In his career, he has won two conference tournament titles and three regular season titles.
Heep took over the reigns of the UIW program in 1998 when they were still members of NAIA and the Heart of Texas Conference. He went 63-49 during his first two seasons before making the transition to NCAA Division II.
The Cardinals joined Division II in 2000 and it was also the only losing season of Heep’s career. He quickly got the team back on track with 11 consecutive seasons with at least 30 wins and two seasons with at least 40 wins.
Heep’s teams have always been able to hit. In over half of his years as the head coach the team has hit at least .333 for the season. In 2013, the team hit “only” .295, but still drew 255 walks leading to a .403 on-base percentage.
The ability of Incarnate Word teams to hit has to go back to the guy, Coach Heep, who talks hitting to his players whether it is on the field or in the batting cage.
Heep was named the Heartland Conference Coach of the Year in 2005 and 2008 and the Lone Star Conference Coach of the Year in 2011. He has had numerous players earn all-conference, all-region and even All-America honors. He has seen five of his former players get drafted by Major League Baseball clubs.
Heep has had six of his players get drafted in the annual MLB draft. Geno Encina, who was taken in the 18th round by the Toronto Blue Jays in 2015, is the latest UIW player to join the pro ranks. His players have earned 13 All-America citations.
Danny Heep certainly has the baseball know-how and the baseball lore to impart to his players. Before coming to the Cardinals in the fall of 1992 as an assistant coach, the lefthander played 13 seasons of major league baseball. Heep’s time in ‘The Show’ was spent with the New York Mets, Los Angeles Dodgers, Boston Red Sox, Houston Astros and Atlanta Braves.
Over that time, he had his share of successes, playing on World Championship teams with the Mets in 1986 and with the Dodgers in 1988. His name is still in the Mets record books after he clubbed four pinch hit home runs during the 1983 season.
Heep is a San Antonio native. He played baseball at and graduated from Lee High School. His collegiate playing days were spent at St. Mary’s University in San Antonio where he was twice an All-American, in 1976 and again in 1978, as a pitcher.
At St. Mary’s, he earned his bachelor’s degree in physical education, and he is a member of their Athletic Hall of Fame.
He and his wife, Jane, reside in San Antonio and have two children, Joanna and Robert.
