During the 1990's, the Dallas Baptist Baseball program established itself as one of the top NAIA programs in the country.  Over the course of a 10 year span, DBU racked up nearly 500 wins, posted an astonishing .729 winning percentage, produced 24 NAIA-All American selections and saw 32 players drafted and sign professional baseball contracts.  Among that elite list of players was an outfielder by the name of Scott Harp.
 
Harp arrived at Dallas Baptist in 1994, to play for his father Jim Harp, who had been the head coach at DBU since 1973.  Early into his first season, Scott knew that he was a part of something special.  "We had guys that came from all walks of life on that team," Harp recalls.  "There was great leadership on that club and we played for each other.  We had the talent and the team chemistry to play with anyone in the nation." 
 
Beyond the game of baseball, Harp recognized something special and unique about being at DBU.  "Prior to my arriving in '94, I played one year at the junior college level and my life revolved solely around baseball," Harp stated.  "When I came to DBU and got a chance to play for my dad, I began to get my priorities right and started growing in my relationship with Christ."  It was a feeling that resided not just in Harp, but the entire team.  "There were times when we would have 25 guys in the batting cages, playing music and having our own worship service.  It really was a special time in my life." 
 
For three seasons in a DBU uniform, Harp would build an impressive list of both individual and team accolades.  All three of those years, DBU advanced to the post-season, including a trip to the NAIA World Series in 1994.  The '96 team went on to win a school record 62 games and that same season, Harp led the nation in hits with 107.  His record still stands as the most hits all-time in a single-season in DBU Baseball history. 
 
Following the '96 season, Harp became one of six players from the DBU roster to be selected in the top 25 rounds of the Major League Baseball draft.  In his lone season in the Minors, Harp played for the Kansas City Royals Short Season-A affiliate in Spokane, Washington.  A remarkable seven members from that club went on to Big League careers including, Carlos Beltran & Jeremy Giambi.  "That was the most talented team that I ever played on, but we couldn't stay healthy.  Day in and day out we were battling injuries," Harp said. 
 
After hitting .275 over the course of 55 games at the Minor League level, Harp began the next chapter of his life.  In 1997, Harp joined his father's coaching staff at Dallas Baptist.  That year, DBU won 54 games and Harp returned to the NAIA World Series for the second time in his career, this time as a coach.
 
Following a short stint in the spring of 1998, as a baseball coach at nearby Waxahachie High School, Harp accepted a position as the hitting coach at North Central Texas College in Gainesville.  The former DBU All-American has found a home at NCTC, having spent the past 15 seasons there, including the last nine years as the team's head coach.
 
During his stint as the head coach, Harp has experienced tremendous success.  In nine years, Harp's teams have won 265 games and have been a part of two of the three best post season finishes in school history. 

As a junior college program, one of Harp's goals is to help players reach the Division I level.  Since 2005, 50 members of the NCTC program have made the jump to a D-I program.  "We've been blessed with great talent through the years here," Harp said.  "Our job as coaches is to make them better, so that when they make that leap, they are a different ballplayer than when they arrived."
 
Along with the impressive numbers of players who have advanced to the Division I ranks, Harp has also helped to produce 23 players who have been selected in the Major League draft and seen six of those players break into the Big Leagues.  Most recently, Bryan Holaday, who played at NCTC and was named the nation's best catcher his senior year at TCU, was promoted to the Detroit Tigers last season.  This year, Colt Hynes, a left-handed pitcher, who went on to play at Texas Tech after two years at NCTC, made his Major League debut with the San Diego Padres in July.
 
Aside from the accolades on the field, Harp has also preached academics to his players.  In 2013, his team posted the 17th highest GPA in the nation at 3.17  NCTC has also produced 15 Academic All-Americans over the last nine years, with a 3.60+ GPA for four semesters.  Harp stresses to his teams that to make it to the next level, it requires more than just talent on the field.  "We tell our guys that the job they do in the classroom is like building a resume.  At this level they have to standout not only on the field, but also with their grades," Harp stated.  "For players at this level to transfer,  they need a 2.5 GPA, so what they do in the classroom becomes a recruiting tool for them to advance to a Division I program."
 
As Harp turns his attention to his 2014 team, he is excited about the prospects of a new season.  "We have a terrific make-up of players on this year's squad.  I like the crop of young pitchers that we have brought in and we'll have a solid offensive line-up once again," Harp said.  If Scott Harp's history is any indication as to where this year's squad will end up, expect nothing less than the program's 14th Regional Tournament appearance in the last 18 years.