Herndon baseball coach wins coach of the year

By McAllister Pierce-Biney, Guest Writer

A cornerstone of Coach Frank's coaching philosophy is trust. Photo by Steve Beasley.

Herndon High’s boys varsity baseball had their second most wins and the third best winning percentage between 2021-24, at 14-3 and .824 on the year. Head coach Steve Frank won Liberty District coach of the year.

After having a tough region loss to Westfield, Coach Frank looked at this season as a win and made it about growth, including seeking solutions and learning from last year's record. The team accomplished goals this year, including beating South Lakes, improving on last year's record, and being the toughest team in the district.

“These awards are a result of our team's hard work and dedication,” Frank reflected. “Despite not having any 1st or 2nd team region players, the team we tied for first place (McLean) had six players advance to all regions versus none of our players, which shows that we were a team and played as one unit which makes us even stronger and fearless.”

Coach Frank came up with ways to keep the team flowing together by having the players talk about their heros, hardship, and highlights– their three H’s. It creates an opportunity for everyone to get to know each other better. A team that has deep bonds is easier to coach.

The best takeaways were that the players really embraced team-first family mentality. In the end of season meetings, there were many mentions of this being their best athletic experience because of their team bonds and friendships and ability to win games.

Coach Frank is extremely high on trust. He says, “I let each kid have the green light to steal. Most coaches give a steal sign - we don't do that. We practice it a lot and I trust them to go if they feel they have everything in place.”

As a result of this great tactic, in the last 2 years they've had a player have 1st and 2nd highest single season stolen bases in school history. Brayden Humpherys had 27 in the 2024 season, and Kyler Rodgers stole 24 bases in the 2025 season.

Coach Frank believes that identity is what makes you a great team, because relying on those characteristics is what makes you build success.

The highlight of the baseball season was their spring break trip to UNC for Wake Forest vs UNC. “Then we went on to Folly Beach, SC and played 4 games in 3 days, and had some great beach time and plenty to eat- definitely a highlight for the players that not every team does on spring break,” Frank said.