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SPRINGFIELD – The Missouri State University Board of Governors formally approved a contract extension for head baseball coach Joey Hawkins this week, keeping the second-year skipper on board through the 2029 season.
 
Hawkins guided the Bears to a 30-25 overall record and a Missouri Valley Conference regular season championship in his first season as head coach in 2025 with an offense that ranked fourth in program history with 109 home runs.
 
Since returning to his alma mater as hitting coach for the 2022 season, Hawkins has helped the Bears rank eighth nationally with 422 home runs the last four years while mentoring five players to conference specialty awards, including MVC Player of the Year recipients Spencer Nivens (2023) and Nick Rodriguez (2025). He also developed 2025 National League Rookie of the Year Drake Baldwin into a third-round MLB draft pick in 2022.
 
Hawkins leads the Bears into Conference USA in 2026, with season tickets for MoState’s 27-game home schedule available at this link. No additional changes were made to Hawkins’ existing contract.
 

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