Dave Burroughs

In 1988, Dave Burroughs arrived at Cowley College in Arkansas City and built the Tigers into a community college powerhouse.  In a thirty-year run, Burroughs won 1,301 games.  The Tigers have made five appearances in the NJCAA World Series, winning back-to-back titles in 1997 and 1998.

Upon graduating from Ketchum (OK) High School, Burroughs played three seasons in the Kansas City Royals’ organization before returning to school at Northeastern (OK) State University.  Following graduation, he coached as an assistant for one season at Bacone (OK) College and for one year at Northeastern before coming to
Arkansas City.

Burroughs immediately turned the Cowley program around, going from 15 wins in 1988 to 29 in 1989.  In 1997, the Tigers made their first-ever appearance at the NJCAA World Series.  Led by future major league star Travis Hafner, Cowley won the title and Burroughs was named NJCAA Coach of the Year.

In 1998, the Tigers returned and again won the title with Burroughs again named NJCAA Coach of the Year.  Cowley also made NJCAA World Series appearances in 2001, 2002 and 2009.

Along with Hafner, other major league players produced by Cowley during Burroughs’ tenure include Junior Spivey, Rusty Ryal, Travis Hughes, Dustin Richardson and Trevor Rosenthal.

Burroughs’ brother Darren was his assistant at Cowley for 30 years and succeeded him as head coach in 2020.