Danny Higginbotham - Assistant Coach - Baseball Coaches - South Dakota State University Athletics

Photo by: SDSU Athletics

Danny Higginbotham

Title:
Assistant Coach
Email:
Daniel.Higginbotham@sdstate.edu

Danny Higginbotham rejoined the South Dakota State baseball coaching staff as assistant coach and recruiting coordinator in January 2024. He previously spent the 2018 and 2019 seasons as the volunteer assistant for the Jackrabbits.

In 2024, the Jackrabbits led The Summit League offensively in home runs (80), slugging percentage (.492) and doubles per game (1.92), while ranking second with a .283 team batting average. Seven different players in the lineup hit at least five home runs, led by Summit League Player of the Year Cael Frost with a single-season school-record 21 round-trippers.

SDSU advanced to the title game of the Summit League Baseball Championship in Higginbotham's first season on staff in 2018 and compiled a 28-22 overall record the next season. The Jackrabbits went a combined 33-23 in league play during his earlier stint in Brookings.

Prior to returning to SDSU, he spent four seasons as the assistant baseball coach/recruiting coordinator at Des Moines Area Community College. At DMACC, he ran the offense and worked with catchers. He also worked part time for the Iowa Cubs, the AAA Affiliate of the Chicago Cubs, as an assistant in the hitting department during their 2022 and 2023 seasons.

In 2017, he spent one season as an assistant coach at Iowa Central Community College. At ICCC, he worked with the catchers and hitters. During that season at ICCC, the Tritons went (38-16) and were Region XI Champions. Before joining the ICCC staff, he spent two years at Arkansas Tech University as a graduate assistant.

During the first five years of his career, he spent each summer coaching in the Coastal Plain League. His last four were as manager of the Martinsville Mustangs (2016, 2017) and the Macon Bacon (2018, 2019). His first summer, he was the pitching coach for the Morehead City Marlins (2015). During his tenure in the CPL, he amassed over 100 victories, qualified for the playoffs twice, and mentored 18 players selected in the MLB Draft.

During his playing career, he caught at Arkansas Tech University from 2009-2011 where he earned Gulf South Conference Academic Honors in each of his three seasons. He started his college playing career at Howard College in Big Spring, Texas, in 2008.

He is originally from Bedford, Texas and resides in Brookings with his wife and daughter.