Baseball Head Coach Larry Lee Receives Inaugural Wayne Graham Award
6/20/2025 5:00:00 PM | Baseball
OVERLAND PARK, Kan. (CBF) – After guiding Cal Poly to a historic 43-win season, conference championship, and NCAA Regionals appearance, Larry Lee has earned the Wayne Graham Award for Teaching Excellence from the College Baseball Foundation (CBF).
The Wayne Graham Award for Teaching Excellence is presented annually to the coach, at any college level, who demonstrates the qualities of teaching, developing, and coaching college baseball players that prepare them not only on the field and in the classroom, but for life after their baseball careers.
The award is voted on by a panel of coaches, players, umpires, and administrators who possess significant background and experience in the sport. Among those currently serving on the committee are college baseball coaching legends, including former Oregon State Head Baseball Coach Pat Casey, current Rice and former Texas Head Baseball Coach David Pierce, and former Wichita State Head Baseball Coach Gene Stephenson.
Lee just wrapped up his 23rd season at Cal Poly, having led the Mustangs to fourteen 30-win campaigns, a 713-552-2 mark, and 19 top-four Big West finishes, including three consecutive second-place endings from 2017-19. His milestone 700th victory came this season, and his current career wins total ranks No. 38 among active head coaches in NCAA Division I, while he is fifth in the West Region.
In 23 seasons with the Mustangs, Lee has produced 60 first-team All-Big West players, 13 All-Americans, and 12 freshman All-Americans. Under Lee, 39 Mustangs have been drafted in the top 10 rounds compared to just nine draftees in the top 10 rounds before his arrival. Fifteen of Lee's Cal Poly players have reached the Major Leagues, which currently includes Brooks Lee, his son, and Cal Poly's highest-ever draft pick, with the Twins, Drew Thorpe of the White Sox, and Mariners AL Cy Young contender Bryan Woo.
"It is an honor to be the recipient of the inaugural Wayne Graham Teaching Excellence Award," Cal Poly Head Baseball Coach Larry Lee said. "Coach Graham epitomized the qualities of teaching how to play the game correctly, the development of talent, and the understanding of how to win games at any level. He was one of the best to have ever done it. Coach Graham is highly respected by so many in our profession for his leadership, how he conducted himself on and off the field, and the success he enjoyed at all levels of the game."
Wayne Graham Teaching Excellence Award Winners will also be recognized at the future College Baseball Hall of Fame being designed by the world-class architects at Populous at the iconic Museum at Prairiefire in Overland Park, Kansas, a suburb of Kansas City.
The Wayne Graham Award for Teaching Excellence is presented annually to the coach, at any college level, who demonstrates the qualities of teaching, developing, and coaching college baseball players that prepare them not only on the field and in the classroom, but for life after their baseball careers.
The award is voted on by a panel of coaches, players, umpires, and administrators who possess significant background and experience in the sport. Among those currently serving on the committee are college baseball coaching legends, including former Oregon State Head Baseball Coach Pat Casey, current Rice and former Texas Head Baseball Coach David Pierce, and former Wichita State Head Baseball Coach Gene Stephenson.
Lee just wrapped up his 23rd season at Cal Poly, having led the Mustangs to fourteen 30-win campaigns, a 713-552-2 mark, and 19 top-four Big West finishes, including three consecutive second-place endings from 2017-19. His milestone 700th victory came this season, and his current career wins total ranks No. 38 among active head coaches in NCAA Division I, while he is fifth in the West Region.
In 23 seasons with the Mustangs, Lee has produced 60 first-team All-Big West players, 13 All-Americans, and 12 freshman All-Americans. Under Lee, 39 Mustangs have been drafted in the top 10 rounds compared to just nine draftees in the top 10 rounds before his arrival. Fifteen of Lee's Cal Poly players have reached the Major Leagues, which currently includes Brooks Lee, his son, and Cal Poly's highest-ever draft pick, with the Twins, Drew Thorpe of the White Sox, and Mariners AL Cy Young contender Bryan Woo.
"It is an honor to be the recipient of the inaugural Wayne Graham Teaching Excellence Award," Cal Poly Head Baseball Coach Larry Lee said. "Coach Graham epitomized the qualities of teaching how to play the game correctly, the development of talent, and the understanding of how to win games at any level. He was one of the best to have ever done it. Coach Graham is highly respected by so many in our profession for his leadership, how he conducted himself on and off the field, and the success he enjoyed at all levels of the game."
Wayne Graham Teaching Excellence Award Winners will also be recognized at the future College Baseball Hall of Fame being designed by the world-class architects at Populous at the iconic Museum at Prairiefire in Overland Park, Kansas, a suburb of Kansas City.
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