Rice hires Cruz to manage Owls baseball team

Rice University’s baseball team is keeping some of the Cruz baseball clan in Houston. 

The Owls recently announced that Jose Cruz Jr. has been hired to take the helm of the diamond stars at Rice. And his father, Jose Sr., will be by his side as a special assistant. That will keep some Houston fan favorites in the city.

“For most of the guys, it's an opportunity to be better, expand, broaden your horizons,” Cruz Jr. said in an ABC13 report. “So explaining that as a player, former player and parent, it's very valuable.” 

The Cruz family has long had ties to Rice. 

Besides Cruz Jr., his brother Enrique Cruz was on the Owls’ roster in 2003 when the team won the College World Series. 

Jose Cruz Jr.’s son Trei was part of the team until the Detroit Tigers signed him in 2020, and son Antonio is an outfielder there now, according to the Rice University website. 

“I was a parent and paid tuition. I was part of the booster club,” Cruz Jr. said in explaining the deep ties to Rice. “My wife was one of the team moms here as well.”

The new manager hopes to bring a new style to the diamond as he wants to see Rice play what he calls “more of a modern style of baseball.” That means using technology and data to help improve and prepare for opponents.

Rice was a powerhouse under manager Wayne Graham, who led the team from 1992-2018. That tenure saw the Owls make their first-ever appearance in the NCAA Tournament in 1995, a feat that was followed by 20 consecutive tickets to the postseason, with seven trips to Omaha for the College World Series. 

Cruz Jr. is taking over a team that went 23-29-1 under predecessor Matt Bragga. The goal is to get back into the NCAA Tournament after a five-year absence.