The head baseball coach at Heartland Community College is the national coach of the year in junior college Division II.
Chris Razo led the team to two postseason appearances in his first two years as head coach. The team won the national tournament this year and had a season record of 53-5.
“This honor is well-earned by what Coach Razo has accomplished with wins but also outside of competition. Chris embodies everything athletics at Heartland tries to accomplish. He brings the experiences and lessons learned from a very successful college and professional career," said Heartland Athletics Director Ryan Knox.
“You can’t ask for a better on-field performance that what our team accomplished this year with a World Series title. But off the field, our players set a new high mark with GPA. Chris is a big part of what these student-athletes have been able to achieve."
The American Baseball Coaches Association also named Razo its regional junior college athletic association coach of the year.
Razo joined the Heartland staff in 2018 as a pitching coach. He also played at Heartland and was a standout pitcher at Illinois State University. He was on the Missouri Valley All-Conference first team and won Pitcher of the Year in the Missouri Valley Conference.
Razo was a late round draft pick by the Milwaukee Brewers a decade ago. He grew up in Chillicothe.
The American Baseball Coaches Association has more than 13,000 members in 50 states and 30 countries. There are eight divisions: NCAA Division I, II and III, NAIA, NJCAA, Pacific Association Division, High School and Youth.
