Library Fundraiser Dinner

Throughout her career, Alvarez-Mathies has integrated her background in communications and business development to foster innovations for institutions to better engage the public with contemporary art. She has spearheaded partnerships and fundraising initiatives that cross creative industries to engage diverse audiences and has advocated new approaches to philanthropy that prioritize social and community impact.

Since joining Dallas Contemporary as Deputy Director in 2019, Alvarez-Mathies has worked closely with the museum's staff, board and stakeholders to recast the vision and mission of the institution. Since her appointment, she has amplified the museum's digital presence and formalized new revenue streams to sustain the museum's free and open programming, including the launch of an online store offering publications, prints and artist editions. Her work in driving more creative and sustainable models to support the museum, its artists and the wider community has led to greater cross-industry collaborations spanning art, fashion and design.

Prior to Dallas Contemporary, Alvarez-Mathies served as Director of External Affairs at the New York-based public arts non-profit Creative Time, where she worked on solo presentations with Pedro Reyes, Phil Collins, Sophie Calle and several multi-artist projects, including Pledges of Allegiance and Basilea, a project commissioned by Art Basel, as well as the institution's annual Summit gatherings. She was previously Head of Communications at New York's leading Latin American cultural institution El Museo del Barrio. There she supported blockbuster solo exhibitions by artists Antonio Lopez, Gabriel Figueroa and Marisol (Marisol Escobar). She also collaborated on group exhibitions like The Illusive Eye, an international survey on Kinetic and Op art featuring Lygia Clarke, Carlos Cruz Diez, Carmen Herrera, Gego and Julio le Parc, amongst others, and CUT N' MIX: Contemporary Collage, which presented works by 26 artists including Jesse Amado, Maria Berrio and Catalina Parra.

A staunch supporter of Salvadoran contemporary art, Alvarez-Mathies sits on the advisory board of Y.ES Contemporary, a non-profit that creates opportunities for contemporary artists working in El Salvador and its diaspora. From 2017 to 2019, she served as El Salvador's Ambassador on Special Mission for Cultural Affairs, with the dual goals of strengthening and promoting her native country's culture worldwide and raising the visibility of Salvadoran artists by creating new opportunities for exposure and dialogue around their work.

Alvarez-Mathies is an alum of Texas Christian University. She is a Fellow of the Fourteenth Class of the Central America Leadership Initiative, making her a member of the Aspen Institute's Global Leadership Network. In 2021, just two years into her tenure in Dallas, Alvarez-Mathies was named by D CEO Magazine as one of the region's most influential leaders.

Eric Bell was hired as the Horned Frogs' new head women's soccer coach on Dec. 17, 2011. Bell is just the third women's soccer coach in TCU history. He enters his eleventh season as the head coach in 2022.

Coach Bell has won consecutive Big 12 Coach of the Year awards. He led TCU's Women's Soccer team to back-to-back Big 12 Conference Titles in 2020 and 2021. This year his Horned Frogs landed an astounding 10 players on Big 12 All-Conference Teams, including Big 12 Goalie of the Year Lauren Kellett and Big 12 Defender of the Year Brandi Peterson.

Bell's fifth season on campus the Horned Frogs earned their first-ever bid into the NCAA Tournament and the momentum has carried through to the 2021 campaign where TCU finished atop the Big 12 standings in addition to winning the program's first-ever tournament title. The Horned Frogs are one of fourteen programs to have appeared in each of the last six tournament fields.

Bell led his team to victory during the 2020-21 season, earning the No. 4 National Seed in the tournament and advanced to the Elite Eight.

Under Bell's leadership, in 2019 TCU earned its highest-ever national ranking at No. 17 and was ranked for multiple weeks during the season, another program first. TCU's 2018 squad made history advancing to the second round of the NCAA Tournament, while four Frogs earned postseason accolades, and Ryan Williams became the first-ever player to get drafted. TCU qualified for the Big 12 Tournament four times in four years (2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015).

Prior to coming to TCU, Bell spent the previous six seasons with the Seminoles. After arriving as an assistant coach in 2006, he was promoted to associate head coach in 2008. Bell was Florida State's recruiting coordinator his entire tenure in Tallahassee.

As recruiting coordinator, Bell made school history as the 2007 class earned its highest national ranking. The Seminoles were recognized by Soccer Buzz with the nation's second-best recruiting class, while grabbing the top spot in the Southeast Region.

In 2008, Bell once again made school history as Soccer Buzz awarded Florida State with the top recruiting class in the nation. The publication ranked six freshmen in the top 40 with five receiving Parade All-America honors.

The 2009 class was ranked as the fourth-best recruiting class in the Atlantic Coast Conference by TopDrawerSoccer.com.

Bell helped guide the Seminoles to three College Cup appearances in 2006, 2007 and 2011, including a berth in the school's first national championship game in 2007.

Bell also served as head coach at Indiana University of Pennsylvania in 2000 in addition to being an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at the University of Illinois and Ashland University in Ohio.

In 2005, he was named NSCAA Central Region Assistant Coach of the Year while working at the University of Illinois, one of the top soccer programs in the Big Ten.

Bell is a United States Soccer Federation A Licensed coach and a member of the National Soccer Coaches Association of America. He attended the College of Wooster where he earned a B.A. in 1992. As a player, he led his team to two NCAA Division III tournament appearances in 1989 and 1990 and to a North Coast Athletic Conference title in 1989. He was voted the team's best offensive player following the 1991 season.

Bell and his wife, April, were married in May 2001. They have two children: Malena and Cameron.

Krys Boyd is host and managing editor of Think from KERA in Dallas—a position she's held since 2006. To date, the national call-in program can be heard on over 150 stations across the country.

A graduate of Texas Christian University's Bob Schieffer College of Communication, Krys began her career as a journalist along the U.S./Mexico border and returned to North Texas in 1999 to serve as News Director for Broadcast.com, and later Senior Producer of Broadcast News at Yahoo. Krys joined KERA in 2001, hosting the nightly radio talk show Conversations. Later, she wrote and produced documentary and educational television programs, including the critically-acclaimed, nationally broadcast JFK: Breaking the News in 2003, and served as producer and co-host of the Emmy Award-winning public affairs program On The Record. She also hosted a weekly television version of Think from 2007-2011.

Think has been honored with numerous local, state and national awards. Krys and her husband, Matt, live in Dallas and have four children.

Julie serves as President & Chief Executive Officer of the Tarrant Area Food Bank. Tarrant Area Food Bank (TAFB) was founded in 1982 by a group of Fort Worth residents concerned about hunger in their community. In 2022, the Tarrant Area Food Bank celebrates its 40th Anniversary. As Fort Worth has grown to the 12th largest city in the nation, so has the need for the Food Bank's mission to "empower communities to eliminate hunger by providing food, education and resources through innovation and collaboration." In addition to Tarrant County, TAFB services span 12 counties including: Bosque, Cooke, Denton, Erath, Hamilton, Hill, Hood, Johnson, Palo Pinto, Parker, Somervell and Wise. Tarrant County ranks in the top 10 counties in the U.S. for the highest number of hungry people overall. With 1 in 6 people, and 1 in 4 children, across its service area struggling with hunger and food insecurity, the need is tremendous.

Prior to joining the Tarrant Area Food Bank, Julie spent most of her career working for large, multinational corporations in the healthcare industry, specifically focused on food and nutrition, and has held a variety of positions in operations and business development. Julie also served as a Captain in the United States Army during Operation Desert Storm.

Julie graduated from Texas Christian University with a Bachelor of Science in Nutrition and Coordinated Dietetics and holds a Master of Science in Food Systems Management with an emphasis in Health Promotion from the University of Oklahoma. Julie is a Registered, Licensed Dietitian.

Julie has served in leadership roles in many organizations including: Fort Worth Rotary, Cowtown Marathon Children's Activities for Life & Fitness, Fort Worth Circle Theatre Board, Leadership Fort Worth, Delta Gamma Fraternity, Leukemia Society, and Fort Worth Sister Cities. In August of 2022, Julie joined the Food Bank News Editorial Advisory Board, a CEO-level group that advances information about best practices in hunger relief. In her spare time, Julie enjoys tennis, running, yoga, golf, and travels with her husband of 30 years, Greg, and their two Labradors.

Bill and Pam Campbell founded William Campbell Contemporary Art in 1974, selling the gallery after 46 years in December of 2020. Still going strong, the gallery exhibits high-quality contemporary art in a variety of media, including paintings, works on paper, photography, original prints and sculpture.

Bill graduated from Texas Christian University in 1969 with a degree in Fine Art, with sculpture as his major emphasis. During college, Bill worked at the Fort Worth Art Museum, now the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, as an assistant preparator of exhibitions. After being drafted and serving in Vietnam, Bill, along with Pam and their then 4-week-old son, Linc, moved to Dallas where Bill worked in advertising until moving to Fort Worth. In 1974 he opened Gallery One, now William Campbell Contemporary Art, Inc.

Pam also graduated from Texas Christian University, with a degree in Fashion Merchandising in 1967. She went on to work in management for Neiman Marcus for almost ten years before becoming involved with Bill in the art business.

For 46 years Bill and Pam staged approximately four hundred solo and group exhibitions. The primary focus of the gallery was and continues to be exhibiting and promoting contemporary artists from Texas and across the United States, as well as representing two German artists and one from Vancouver, BC. The majority of the artists are mid-career veterans of practicing art. Many are nationally recognized and have had international exposure, while a few are emerging artists. We are proud to say that many of these artists are in major museum collections, as well as prestigious private and corporate collections.

Having sold William Campbell Contemporary Art almost two years ago, Bill and Pam continue to consult with clients on their art acquisitions and keeping their collections appraisals up to date.

Pam is also an accredited fine art appraiser, being designated as an Accredited Senior Appraiser with the American Society of Appraisers and having her CAPP (Certified Appraiser of Personal Property) designation with the International Society of Appraisers. She has also recently been elected to serve a three-year term on the Board of the International Society of Appraisers.

Sonny Dykes was introduced as TCU's head football coach on Nov. 30, 2021.

Dykes arrived at TCU after serving the last four seasons as head coach at SMU, where he completed one of the more remarkable turnarounds in college football. Behind an offense that consistently ranked among the nation's best, Dykes guided SMU to 19 weeks in the national top 25 and three consecutive winning seasons for the first time since the mid-1980s.

The son of legendary Texas Tech football coach Spike Dykes, Sonny Dykes rebuilt SMU through his deep ties to the state of Texas, focus on recruiting in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex and utilization of the transfer portal.

Dykes returns to TCU after being an integral part of past Horned Frogs' success. Before becoming SMU's head coach, he served as an offensive analyst for TCU in 2017. He was instrumental in the Horned Frogs posting an 11-3 record, reaching the Big 12 Championship Game and finishing with a No. 9 national ranking after a 39-37 victory over Stanford in the Alamo Bowl.

Dykes was 30-18 at SMU with a 25-10 record over the past three seasons. Included in that total were SMU's first consecutive victories over TCU since 1992-93. His .625 winning percentage ranked fourth in program history for head coaches of more than two seasons. The 25 victories over the last three years tied for the second-most by an FBS team in Texas and just one off the lead. The 2019 Mustangs went 10-3, their most wins since 1984, and earned their highest national ranking (14) since 1985.

Known for his offensive mind, Dykes had the Mustangs 13th in the nation in total offense this season with an average of 465.9 yards per game. SMU was 12th in 2020 and ninth in 2019.

Dykes was named a finalist for both the 2019 Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year Award and the Paul "Bear" Bryant Award. He was also a semifinalist for the George Munger Coach of the Year Award.

In addition to setting numerous school records and ranking among the national leaders in most major offensive categories, Dykes also left his mark on the other side of the ball. In 2019, SMU led the FBS in sacks per game and ranked third in tackles for loss. SMU's 51 sacks and 111 TFLs were program records. SMU had nine players receive all-conference honors, its highest total since 2011.

Dykes also served as head football coach at Cal (2013-16) and Louisiana Tech (2010-12).

In 2011, Dykes was the Western Athletic Conference Coach of the Year as the Bulldogs won the WAC Championship and earned a Poinsettia Bowl appearance against TCU.

While at Cal, Dykes took a team from one win in 2013 to an 8-5 record two years later and a win over Air Force at the Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl in Amon G. Carter Stadium.

Cal's eight wins in 2015 marked the school's most since 2009. The Golden Bears also cracked the national rankings for the first time since 2010. The Golden Bears were ranked for four consecutive weeks, climbing as high as No. 19. Additionally, Dykes led Cal to a pair of wins over Texas.

Dykes developed quarterback Jared Goff into the No. 1 overall pick in the 2016 National Football League Draft.

Under Dykes, Cal's offense set a modern-era record for points scored and shattered all the program's offensive marks. Cal became the first college football team in history to have six players with 40 or more receptions and three 500-yard rushers in the same season.

In Dykes' first season in Berkeley, the Golden Bears became the first team in the program's modern era to score 55 or more points in a game three times, including at least 40 on five occasions and 30 or more 10 times.

Dykes came to Cal after spending three seasons as head coach at Louisiana Tech. In his final campaign in 2012, he directed an offense that led the nation in both scoring (51.5 points per game) and total offense (577.9 yards per game). The 51.5 points per game marked the fifth-best scoring average in history by an FBS team.

After inheriting a LA Tech team that was 4-8 the year before his arrival, it took Dykes just two seasons to lead the Bulldogs to the 2011 WAC title. It was the program's first league championship in a decade. He compiled a 22-15 overall record with the Bulldogs and won 16 of 17 regular-season games during one stretch.

Dykes' 2012 Louisiana Tech team had road victories over Illinois, Houston and Virginia while reaching as high as No. 18 in the national rankings.

Prior to becoming a head coach, Dykes worked as an assistant in the Pac-12, Big 12 and SEC under Mike Stoops (Arizona), Mike Leach (Texas Tech) and Hal Mumme (Kentucky).

As offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Arizona for three seasons (2007-09), Dykes helped the Wildcats to the 2008 Las Vegas Bowl and 2009 Holiday Bowl. Arizona had previously gone 10 seasons without a bowl appearance.

Under Dykes' direction, Arizona's offense set multiple school records and ranked among the national leaders in passing yards and scoring.

Prior to his tenure at Arizona, Dykes spent seven seasons at his alma mater Texas Tech, serving as receivers coach from 2000-04 and adding the title of co-offensive coordinator from 2005-06. The Red Raiders made seven straight postseason appearances and won 56 games during the span, including four bowl victories over his last five seasons. In 2006, Dykes received the Mike Campbell Top Assistant Coach Award from the American Football Coaches Association, the same year he was recognized as one of the top 25 recruiters in the country by Rivals.

Dykes began his collegiate coaching career with a two-year stint (1995-96) at Navarro College in Corsicana, Texas. He also was a baseball assistant at Monahans High School in Texas in 1994 and a football assistant at Richardson's J.J. Pearce High School in 1995.

Born in Big Spring, Texas, Dykes received his bachelor's degree in history from Texas Tech in 1993 and was a member of the Red Raiders baseball team for two seasons. He and his wife, Kate, have two daughters, Ally and Charlie, and a son, Daniel.

Fort Worth native Marc Istook is ecstatic to be back home in Texas. He joins the Daybreak team of co-anchor Kara Sewell, meteorologist Greg Fields and traffic anchor Tashara Parker.

"I'm incredibly grateful for the opportunity to join the Daybreak team," said Istook. "I've dreamed of working on a dynamic, informative, energetic morning show for years and this show, in my hometown, is a perfect fit."

The Southwest High School and TCU graduate started his TV career behind the scenes, producing graphics for ESPN.

His first on-camera job was at KTEN in Sherman, Texas, as a sportscaster and news anchor. There his work was recognized by the Oklahoma Association of Broadcasters and Texas AP Broadcasters.

In 2001, he made the leap to Los Angeles, where he covered news, entertainment, tech, and sports for outlets like the TV Guide Network, CNN, Yahoo!, the BBC, ABC.com, and others.

Additionally, Marc hosted a reality show for the SPEED Channel, a kitchen gadget show for the Food Network, a daily comedic news show for FOX TV stations, and covered the Emmys, Golden Globes, Oscars and Grammys.

His work has taken him all over the globe, but now he's thrilled to embark on new adventures back home in Texas at WFAA.

"In a way, this job brings me full circle," said Istook. "While studying journalism at TCU, I had a news internship in WFAA's Fort Worth bureau and later a sports internship at WFAA in Dallas. Walking through the station now brings back old memories and has me enthusiastic to create new ones."

When he's not on-air, Marc is an avid cook, photographer, runner, and dad—he and his wife have three young boys.

Bob Jameson has delivered record visitation and bookings for Fort Worth as president and CEO of the city's tourism marketing organization. Under his leadership, Visit Fort Worth aggressively promoted tourism to lead the economic recovery and to raise the city's profile.

Recent achievements include more than 9.4 million visitors in fiscal year 2021 and a $2.4 billion economic impact, supporting more than 28,000 hospitality-industry jobs. Other highlights from the past year include:

• Fort Worth Sports Commission securing and hosting more than a dozen major events worth more than $100 million in economic impact.
• Fort Worth Film Commission hosting the world premiere of 12 Mighty Orphans and securing filming locations for the hit TV show 1883.
• Innovation in marketing for meeting sales and approval of the Convention Center phase one expansion.

Jameson has modernized the organization, which has been recognized nationally for research, technology and social media initiatives to engage visitors and meeting planners.

Jameson's career in hospitality began with Marriott International in California in 1977 and continued with 28 years in leadership at Fort Worth's Worthington Renaissance Hotel. Jameson's service to civic and arts organizations includes Executive Committee of the Board of Directors of Downtown Fort Worth, Inc., Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra and Arts Fort Worth.

Jameson was born in Long Beach, California, and raised in Garden Grove, California. He graduated from the University of San Francisco in 1976 with a Bachelor of Arts in History. Jameson and his wife, Anne Milder Jameson, are the parents of four children: Bradley, Simone, Mackenzie and Andrea.

Known as the "Grandmother of Juneteenth," Ms. Opal Lee was present on June 17, 2021, when President Joe Biden signed the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act bill that established June 19 or "Juneteenth" a federal holiday. Ms. Lee said on that day, "Now we can celebrate freedom from the 19th of June to the 4th of July!"

Ms. Lee was born in Marshall, TX in 1926 and moved to Fort Worth, TX in 1937. At age 12, her family's home was destroyed on June 19, 1939, but she nor her family allowed that to deter them from making an impact on the community. She has served on many boards and with many organizations including Citizens Concerned with Human Dignity (CCHD), Habitat for Humanity, and the Tarrant County Black Historical & Genealogical Society dedicated to the preservation of the history of the Fort Worth Black populace. During her tenure as Chairman of the Community Food Bank, the organization received the 1.3-million-dollar 33,000 sq. ft. facility that now serves 500 families a day.

Ms. Lee is the oldest living board member of the National Juneteenth Observance Foundation (NJOF) a national movement started by the late Dr. Ronald Myers to have Juneteenth declared a National Holiday. At 90 years of age, she started her walking campaign from Fort Worth, TX to Washington, DC to bring awareness to the need for celebrating Juneteenth nationally. She walked 2.5 miles in cities across the country to represent the 2.5 years it took after Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation for enforcement to reach Texas to free the enslaved. In 2019, she launched an online petition campaign that garnered over 1.6 million signatures to continue the crusade for holiday observance.

Dave Lieber is "The Watchdog" columnist at The Dallas Morning News, a job he first created as the Star-Telegram Watchdog in 2005. In that job, he exposes bad practices in business and government and helps people through his "Watchdog Nation" consumer rights movement. Dave is also a playwright with two hit plays under his belt. AMON! The Ultimate Texan about Amon Carter and PEROT! American Patriot about Ross Perot Sr. The author of nine books, Dave also wrote companion books to both plays. Learn more at AmonPlay.com, PerotBook.com and DaveLieber.org.

Jacques Marquis joined the Cliburn as president and CEO in March 2013 with outstanding expertise and a wealth of international music competition experience. Since then, he and his team have majorly expanded the Cliburn's offerings and brand. This summer, the sixteenth edition of the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition reached new heights, launching the career of "a one-in-a-million talent" and becoming one of the most-watched classical music events of all time (Dallas Morning News). The webcast has amassed more than 25 million views across 170 countries in two months, including the record-breaking video of Gold Medalist Yunchan Lim performing Rachmaninov's Piano Concerto No. 3—which has already been viewed on YouTube 7 million times, more than any other video recording of the famous piece.

In the 10 years of Jacques' leadership, the Cliburn has also: launched a third quadrennial international competition, the Cliburn International Junior Piano Competition and Festival, for 13- to 17-year-olds (third edition, June 2023); enhanced the Cliburn International Amateur Piano Competition (eighth edition, October 2022); added new local concert series and free community programming; doubled the Cliburn in the Classroom in-school education programs to 300 per year; and created "Van Cliburn: an American Hero," which tells the story of Van Cliburn to 12,000 4th graders each year, in partnership with Performing Arts Fort Worth. In 2020, the organization quickly transitioned to primarily digital programming, creating several online series designed to inspire people of all ages with classical music, including Cliburn Kids (music education videos and lesson plans for elementary students) and Cliburn Masterpiece (deep dives into the greatest piano works).

A bilingual executive with degrees in business administration and music, he previously served as executive and artistic director of Jeunesses Musicales Canada, where he was instrumental in establishing the Montreal International Musical Competition and oversaw 11 editions, and as COO of the Orchestre Métropolitain.

Eric Nelsen is an Emmy and Tony award-winning American actor and producer. He is known for his work as Ennis in the Yellowstone prequel 1883. On stage, Nelsen portrayed Brett Sampson in the original Broadway production of 13, and he starred in The Good Mother. He has appeared in over 30 television series, including Hulu's revival of All My Children playing AJ Chandler, a recurring role in The Affair on Showtime, The Blacklist, Girls, The Following, NCIS, Blue Bloods and iCarly. Nelsen also appeared in the Universal Pictures film A Walk Among the Tombstones opposite Liam Neeson and in Coming Through the Rye opposite Academy award winner Chris Cooper. In 2018, Nelsen most recently won a Daytime Emmy award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Digital Daytime Drama Series for his work on the Amazon web series The Bay. As a producer, Nelsen has won three Daytime Emmys for The Bay and a Tony award for the Broadway play The Inheritance. He also produced the indie feature Wakefield starring Bryan Cranston and Jennifer Garner. At age 23, Nelsen became the youngest producer in history to win an Emmy award.

Patrick Newman joined FWBG | BRIT in May 2021 as Chief Executive Officer. He brings more than 14 years of public gardens experience, serving most recently as executive director of the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.

Prior to the Wildflower Center, Patrick was director of programs for the Red Butte Garden in Utah. Before that, he served as a Peace Corps volunteer in the Republic of Azerbaijan, where he taught English and Science. He is currently active with the American Public Gardens Association and serves as facilitator of the Directors of Large Gardens.

Patrick earned a Master of Public Administration in Nonprofit Management and a Bachelor of Arts in Biology from the University of Utah.

In addition to being a self-identified plant nerd, Patrick is also an avid runner, having completed 48 marathons in 28 states. He enjoys reading, being outdoors, and spending time with his wife, two daughters and their dogs, Charlie and Milo.

James W. Riddlesperger, Jr. (B.A., M.A., North Texas State University; Ph.D., University of Missouri-Columbia) is Professor of Political Science at Texas Christian University. A native of Denton, Texas, he has taught at TCU since 1982. His interest is in American politics, with emphasis in the presidency, Congress, and Texas politics. He is co-author of Texas Politics (14th edition, Cengage, 2022), Lone Star Leaders (2011, TCU), and The Austin-Boston Connection (2009, Texas A&M Press). He co-edited, among others, Reflections on Rayburn, (2018, TCU Press), Considering American Government: A Reader (2nd edition, Kendall Hunt, 2020), The Wright Stuff (2013, TCU Press), and The Presidential Leadership and Civil Rights Policy (Greenwood, 1995). He has published more than 40 articles in scholarly journals, including the Journal of Politics, Social Science Quarterly, Legislative Studies Quarterly, Presidential Studies Quarterly, Congress and the Presidency, and Judicature as well as numerous chapters in edited books. Winner of the TCU Chancellor's Award for Creative Teaching and Research in 2017 and Honors Professor of the year in 2012, he is a frequent consultant to news media about politics and elections. He was Chief Reader of the College Board's AP US Government and Politics Exam (2011-2015) and served on the committee that designed the current U.S. Government and Politics Exam. He is past president of the Southwestern Political Science Association (2011). He and his wife, Dr. Kristina Riddlesperger, have two grown sons and four wonderful grandchildren.

Kirk Saarloos was named TCU's head baseball coach on June 15, 2021. Saarloos was labeled Coach of the Year in 2022, leading the Horned Frogs to a second consecutive Big 12 regular season title in his first year as head coach. Impressively, he is the first Big 12 coach to be so lauded in his first season.

TCU put together a 38-22 record in Saarloos' first season as head coach and took home the league title on the strength of a 16-8 record.

Saarloos joined the coaching staff in the summer of 2012 after two seasons as the pitching coach at Cal State Fullerton. During that time, the Horned Frogs have totaled six conference regular season and tournament championships and four College World Series appearances.

Originally hired as the pitching coach in 2012, Saarloos was promoted to recruiting coordinator the following year.

In his time at TCU, Coach Saarloos' presence has been felt both on and off the field. As the recruiting coordinator for nine seasons, he mentored one of the nation's top pitching staffs which was a key factor in TCU's four straight trips to the College World Series from 2014 to 2017. Ten Horned Frogs received all-conference recognition and five were drafted over the summer.

Since his arrival, the Horned Frogs rank fifth nationally in team earned run average (40) and ninth in shutouts (55). TCU led the nation with a 2.22 ERA in 2014 and ranked second in 2015 with a 2.45 ERA. On the recruiting trail, Saarloos is a force to be reckoned with. The incoming class for the 2021 season was ranked thirteenth nationally. This comes on the heels of the No. 4-ranked recruiting class in 2019. Since his arrival, TCU's recruiting classes have continuously been ranked in the top 25.

Under Coach Saarloos, the Horned Frogs 2020 pitching staff was ranked 15th nationally in ERA (2.40) and 17th nationally in WHIP (1.08). Haylen Green was tabbed a second-team Louisville Slugger All-American after eight scoreless outings spanning 17 2/3 innings in an abbreviated season as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

With his guidance, the 2019 season produced TCU's highest-ever draft pick in Nick Lodolo, who was tabbed by Cincinnati with the seventh overall pick. Additionally, newcomer Brandon Williamson became the second player taken on Day 1 of the draft, getting selected by Seattle in the second round.

In 2016, Saarloos brought in a group of fifteen newcomers to help lead TCU to a third straight appearance in the College World Series.

His efforts on and off the field, garnered Saarloos the 2016 D1Baseball.com National Assistant Coach of the Year award.

Saarloos helped develop Brandon Finnegan as the 17th overall draft pick in the 2014 MLB First-Year Player Draft.

The impact of Saarloos' tutelage was immediate as the Horned Frogs boasted one of the top pitching staffs in the country in 2013. They were top 15 nationally in most pitching categories, including ERA, K:BB and WHIP.

Saarloos also served as pitching coach at Cal State Fullerton (2011-12), leading the Titans to two Big West titles.

Under Coach Saarloos, Dylan Floro was named the 2012 Big West Pitcher of the Year. He went on to be drafted in the 13th round of the 2012 MLB draft.

Saarloos spent seven years in the major leagues, playing for Houston (2002-03), Oakland (2004-06, 08) and Cincinnati (2007). In 2001, he was drafted 86th overall (3rd round) by Houston after a decorated collegiate career at Cal State Fullerton.

In seven seasons in the big leagues, Saarloos made 73 starts as part of 165 appearances on the mound. He posted a career record of 29-30 with two saves and a 5.02 ERA. In 509 innings pitched, he fanned 251 batters. He was called up to the majors on June 18, 2002. Saarloos made history on June 11, 2003 as he was one of a major league record six Astro pitchers to combine for a no-hitter against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium.

As a player at Cal State Fullerton, he racked up a school-record 127 appearances over his four seasons in a Titan uniform. His first three seasons were spent as a reliever before moving into a starting role as a senior. In 2001, he went on to earn first-team All-American honors and was named the Big West Conference Pitcher of the Year after putting together a 15-2 campaign. He owns one of the Titans three no-hitters as he blanked Pacific on April 8, 2001.

He was 33-12 with a 2.96 ERA in four collegiate seasons. He ranks sixth all-time in innings pitched, second in wins, third in strikeouts and fifth in saves. In two appearances at the College World Series (1999 and 2001), he recorded a save and allowed just two runs in 15 1/3 innings pitched.

Saarloos and his wife, Kristen, have a son, Brady, and two daughters, Emery and Lane.