Rick Church has led the Buccaneers to 22 Region XIV Conference Tournament appearances and now enters his 27th season with the program.
Blinn College softball has captured conference and regional championships in 2003, 2006, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, and most recently in 2015 with the program’s seventh trip to the NJCAA National Championships. His team finished second in the nation in 2003, the best finish in program history.
Church holds the most all-time victories at Blinn College with 959. His overall college coaching record stands at 1,033-499 (.674). He was a 2021 inductee into the NJCAA Softball Coaches Association Hall of Fame. In 2025, Church recived the NJCAA Coaches Legacy Award.
Last season, the Buccaneers endured an early-season rough patch before going on an incredible run off success to close out the regular season. Blinn opened its campaign with a 3-14 overall record and a 2-4 mark in the Region XIV South division before finishing the regular season on a 20-9 run which included a 17-1 finish to South play. The Bucs earned their first South regular-season crown since 2019 and the South's top seed in the Region XIV Tournament. Ultimately, Blinn fell short of a Region XIV Tournament crown and concluded its year with a 23-23 record. Six players landed on the Region XIV all-South team, included first-team sophomore selections Paige Bunting, Bailey Boetjer, Darian DeLeon, and first-team freshman choice Cadence Wiese. Sophomore T'Era Farrett and freshman Annie Beckendorf were second-team honorees.
In 2024, Blinn finished 34-20-1 overall and 17-7 in Region XIV to earn a berth in the region tournament. Freshman infielder Haley Hughes was named an NJCAA Division I first-team All-American, and joined sophomore outfielder Alayna Calvillo on the Region XIV All-Region first team. Six total players earned all-region and All-Region XIV South Zone teams. Church also won his 1,000th career game on April 11 in a doubleheader sweep against Lamar State College-Port Arthur.
Church and assistant coach Jami Ingram were named the 2019 Region XIV Coaching Staff of the Year. The National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) honored Church and assistant coaches Jami Ingram and Jaymie Heibel by naming them the 2015 Midwest Region Coaching Staff of the Year. The NFCA honored Church and Ingram as the Midwest Region Coaching Staff of the Year in 2010, 2011, and 2012. Church, Ingram, and assistant Haley Long were named Midwest Region Coaching Staff of the Year and were named the Region XIV Conference Coaching Staff of the Year. Honors in 2009 included Region XIV Coach of the Year and NFCA Midwest Coaching Staff of the Year.
In 2017, Church was recognized by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association for earning his 800th win. Church was awarded Midwest Region Coaching Staff of the Year honors in 2004, while 2003 season honors included Speedline/NFCA Coaching Staff of the Year, Midwest Coaching Staff of the Year and Region XIV Coach of the Year. Before arriving at Blinn, Church served as co-founder, owner, and head instructor for the Can-Am Baseball/Softball Academy in Langley, British Columbia, from 1992-1997. While in Canada, he also was the coach of the White Rock Renegades women’s fastpitch team.
The Renegades won back-to-back Canadian championships in 1993-94. His overall record with the Renegades was 179-46 (.790). He had the privilege of training eight current or former Canadian National Team players. He joined the Can-Am Academy Houston operation as a consultant from 1997-1999.
Prior to his Can-Am years, Church served as the head softball coach and professor of physical education at Arizona Western College from 1990-1992. His record at AWC was 74-34. AWC finished as Region I runners-up in 1991 and placed third in 1992. Church served as an assistant coach at the University of Nebraska from 1986-1989. During that time, the Huskers made two College World Series appearances, finishing third and fifth, respectively, in 1987 and 1988.
Church has earned doctoral hours from Texas A&M University, a master’s degree in kinesiology from Sam Houston State University (1984), and his bachelor’s degree from Kearney State College (1982), where he played college baseball as an infielder.
He has been a speaker, presenter, or clinician at more than 200 camps and clinics. In 2006, Church was selected to join the Canadian National Team coaching pool.
In the summer of 2006, he was a coach for the Canada Elite team and was elevated to the National Team staff in December 2006. In the summer of 2007, the Canadian National Team earned a silver medal at the Pan-American Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Church is a member of the National Fastpitch Coaches Association. Church also served as Chair for the Division of Health and Kinesiology (Brenham Campus) from 2007-14.
Church is married to Rocio, a kindergarten teacher in the Klein school district, and they have two children, Jordi and Demi.
