CMU Baseball

Bio: Chris Hanks enters his 22nd season as the Mavericks' head coach. In his 21 seasons at the helm of the Maverick program, Hanks boasts an impressive is 884-356 (.713) overall record and has led the Mavericks to the NCAA Division II National Tournament 17 times including four Division II College World Series berths (2009, 2014, 2017, 2019). In the 2019 season the Mavericks were 53-12, won their eighth straight RMAC championship, were National Runner-up and Coach Hanks was named National Coach of the Year by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association.

Chris is a native of Carbondale where he played football and baseball at Roaring Fork High School. He was drafted to play baseball out of high school, but chose to attend the College of Southern Idaho. He was a two-time All-American catcher at CSI where he hit 48 homeruns in his two-year career and led the nation with 26 as a freshman. He was also a two-time Region 18 Player of the Year selection. Hanks was named MVP of the 1988 National Junior College Baseball World Series played in Grand Junction. Coach Hanks signed with the Boston Red Sox and played four years in their organization, and a year with the Detroit Tigers before an arm injury cut his career short.

Chris is a 1993 graduate of Colorado Mesa University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Education. He received his Associates Degree from the College of Southern Idaho in 1988. In 1997 he earned his Master’s Degree in Physical Education/Pedagogy from the University of Northern Colorado.

Chris and wife Nikki have three children, son Jared, daughters Kylie and Natalie. Nikki is a native of Montrose and a graduate of CMU.