Moving on Up: TJC baseball returning to Division I

Published 1:15 pm Thursday, October 7, 2021

On display is an autographed ball and a cap from the latest TJC baseball national championship in 2021. The Apaches are moving from Division III to Division I.

TJC baseball coach Doug Wren has a new goal for his Apache team and he could borrow a phrase from Horace Greeley, “Go West, Young Man.”

The Tyler Junior College baseball program, which has dominated NJCAA Division III with six World Series titles, is moving back to NJCAA Division I, effectively immediately, Kevin Vest, TJC athletic director, announced Tuesday.



“It’s an understatement to say that today is a big day for our baseball program,” Wren said. “I’m beyond grateful for the opportunity to lead this program into this new era. Our program has been extremely blessed since making the move to Division III back in 2003 but we are extremely excited about the new opportunities ahead as we return to Division I status. We look forward to continuing our standard of excellence as we change our destination from the Smokies to the Rockies!”

The NJCAA Division III World Series is held in Greeneville, Tennessee, near the Great Smoky Mountains while the NJCAA Division I World Series is played in Grand Junction, Colorado, near the Rocky Mountains.

The move has been approved by the National Junior College Athletic Association and the NJCAA Region XIV Conference Athletic Directors and Presidents. Tyler Junior College will become part of the Region XIV regular season schedule and playoff structure effective in the spring of 2022.

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The Apaches have won six NJCAA National Championships at the Division III level, five of them under Wren and one under Coach Jonathan Groth who resurrected the program in 1993 after a hiatus since 1977. Included in the championship run in DIII were four consecutive titles from 2014 to 2018. The final game of the Division III era will be a memorable one as the Apaches clinched their sixth national title in Tennessee on June 2 highlighted by late inning heroics by Miguel Vega.

The program has been Division III since 2003.

“We are very proud of the unparalleled success Doug Wren has led us to in our Apache Baseball program,” Vest said. “This is the next step in providing opportunities for our baseball student-athletes and we look forward to new challenges and accomplishments at the Division I level. I am grateful for the support of President Dr. Juan E. Mejia, our Board of Trustees, and all of those who have supported us in this transition.”

Dr. Mejia was on hand for the announcement as well as Dr. Deana Sheppard, TJC provost and vice president for academic and student affairs; former athletic directors John Peterson (legendary TJC tennis coach) and Dr. Tim Drain, Associate Vice Provost — Student Affairs; and TJC Board of Trustees members Peggy Wagstaff Smith and Lonny Uzzell; Kevin Fowler, executive director of human resources and Chief Human Resources Officer at TJC; Coach Groth and a number of current TJC baseball players and coaches of other sports.

Wren said he is looking forward to attracting and investing in East Texas homegrown talent now that scholarships will be available. There will be 18 scholarships available for a roster of 24 players.

TJC will compete in Region XIV East Conference with Angelina, Bossier Parish, Navarro, Northeast Texas, Panola and Paris. Region XIV South includes Alvin, Blinn, Coastal Bend, Galveston, San Jacinto and Wharton County.

A spring 2022 schedule will be released in the coming weeks.

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